Equine Disposal at the Kennels

[pAin_t_Misbehavin]

[QUOTE=otterhound;6586381]

My personal thoughts are that there is nothing nice about decomposing in the ground - a clean end appeals far more. And that goes for myself as well - I have no intention of being buried.[/QUOTE]

:eek:Not having yourself fed to the hounds, are you?:lol:

I don’t know that embalmed bodies in concrete vaults actually decompose. Wasn’t it in The Staircase where the suspect’s first wife was exhumed and found nearly as fresh as she was when she went into the ground a decade earlier?

[Foxtrot_s]

Hunter’s Rest - I guess I did not make it clear in the interests of brevity. A
lot of horses in this part are either sold at auction and shipped live to Alberta where they are processed into food products and shipped to Europe or Japan,
or some go to a local place to be put down. He will either come to your place and use the humane killer, or take it to his place, or you can drop your horse off. The reference to grey horses is that they cannot be processed for food.
All other unusable horses, medicated, are shipped for disposal all the way to Alberta, and rendering.

The local company that will come to your own place won an award for best business at Horse Council a few years back - they perform a necessary job, quickly, humanely and professionally. They are not there to offer sympathy and a shoulder, they come, exactly on time, courteously handle the job, and go.

Somebody has to do it - and it is sad that people want the few hundred bucks to see their unwanted horse get shipped alive to the slaughter house in Alberta after serving us for probably many years. Hoping, I suppose, that somebody will buy it and take it home to la la land for ever.

[Benson]

I just went through this with my horse. I asked about a kennel donation, but no one in my area feeds horse meat and within a couple hour drive, the Hunts take horses from their members as a courtesy. Before I knew this information, I was trying to process how I felt about the kennel donation. How long would he be at the kennel before he was put down? If it was a while and he was out in a pasture with other horses, would he be beaten up or be jockeying for position in a brand new herd, with injuries leading up to him being there in the first place. What happened if he was there long enough to appear sound and someone Hunted him? What if he didn’t have any shelter? All of these thoughts were running through my mind.

The next option was to donate him to the zoo animals. I was very willing to do this, until I learned he would have to wait until the guy got 2 or 3 other horses to take to the zoo. He was a very special horse and I didn’t want his last few days/weeks of life to be lived in a new place - shelter? feed (he’s an uber hard keeper)?, etc.

In the end we euthanized him via injection. My husband said he was dead before he hit the ground. Very, very sad as it was just yesterday he was put down.

[JSwan]

I’m very sorry for your loss.

The hunts near me that take livestock do not put them in a pasture with other animals. You set an appointment (or are put on a waiting list), drive to the kennel, and drop the animal off. If there is a bit of a wait, the horse is put in a stall or small paddock. When I took my horse there, I’d set an appointment and handed his lead over to the huntsman. The horse died a few minutes after I unloaded him - we let him graze for a bit while I said my goodbyes.

They’ll also take livestock that have died of natural causes, provided the animal has just died. It’s done as a service to local farmers.

I’m glad his passing was peaceful, and again, my condolences on your loss.

[otterhound]

As mentioned, the horses we take for hounds are put down as soon as they arrive - they don’t even go in a yard or stable.

However we refuse to take dead stock, regardless of how recent it’s death was. In the past, farmers would ring and say they had a cow die a couple of hours ago and could we collect it, but the animal had actually been dead for a day or a night. Since it hadn’t been bled (throat cut) as soon as it died it would be full of blood and therefore the meat gets tainted and almost starts to jellify where the animal had been lying, and hounds were very reluctant to eat it. More trouble that it was worth, so now my partner will only collect if it’s still alive. Horses come live to the kennels, cattle are shot on their farm, bled, loaded onto our trailer and brought back here.

And no - I won’t be fed to hounds … “himself” reckons they wouldn’t touch me! :lol:

[Calamber]

[QUOTE=JGHIRETIRE;6591568]
This is true except for a special few horses - Secretariat was one. I believe Seattle Slew another.[/QUOTE]

And Man O’War who also had an open “casket” funeral.

[GoForAGallop]

[QUOTE=pAin’t_Misbehavin’;6592657]
:eek:Not having yourself fed to the hounds, are you?:lol:

I don’t know that embalmed bodies in concrete vaults actually decompose. Wasn’t it in The Staircase where the suspect’s first wife was exhumed and found nearly as fresh as she was when she went into the ground a decade earlier?[/QUOTE]

Cremation is, I imagine, what otterhound meant.

[JGHIRETIRE]

Yes you’re right - Interesting about Sir Galahad.
The manager at Claiborne told us that as well about the signifigance - I didn’t remember.
Man O’War is at Kentucky Horse Park as is War Admiral and I can’t remember who else is there by the Man O’War statue.
There was a marker for Affirmed or Alydar?? Near the Hall of Champions as well.

[QUOTE=starlitlaughter;6591622]
At Claiborne’s main cemetery, Secretariat, Mr. Prospector, Swale and Round Table were buried entire. Seattle Slew, buried at Hill N’ Dale, was as well.

Oddly, at Claiborne there is a marker for Sir Gallahad III in the main cemetery, and another flat slab in the Marchmont cemetery - the stallion manager told me that his head, heart, and hooves were in the main cemetery, and the body at Marchmont.

The KY Horse Park buries the entire horse. They also list the significance of the traditional burial - “The head represents the horse’s intelligence and personality; the heart represents the spirit or will to win; and, the hooves represent their speed or agility.”[/QUOTE]

[JGHIRETIRE]

Sorry for your loss. This is the hard part of having animals.

[QUOTE=Benson;6592842]
I just went through this with my horse. I asked about a kennel donation, but no one in my area feeds horse meat and within a couple hour drive, the Hunts take horses from their members as a courtesy. Before I knew this information, I was trying to process how I felt about the kennel donation. How long would he be at the kennel before he was put down? If it was a while and he was out in a pasture with other horses, would he be beaten up or be jockeying for position in a brand new herd, with injuries leading up to him being there in the first place. What happened if he was there long enough to appear sound and someone Hunted him? What if he didn’t have any shelter? All of these thoughts were running through my mind.

The next option was to donate him to the zoo animals. I was very willing to do this, until I learned he would have to wait until the guy got 2 or 3 other horses to take to the zoo. He was a very special horse and I didn’t want his last few days/weeks of life to be lived in a new place - shelter? feed (he’s an uber hard keeper)?, etc.

In the end we euthanized him via injection. My husband said he was dead before he hit the ground. Very, very sad as it was just yesterday he was put down.[/QUOTE]

[JGHIRETIRE]

Yes he practically had a state funeral!!

[QUOTE=Calamber;6593049]
And Man O’War who also had an open “casket” funeral.[/QUOTE]

[HJAlter84]

I’ve had to euth 2 horses in my life. Both were by injection, and went quietly. My vet basically puts them under general Anesthesia ketamine and something else, then gives the euth meds. He will not do a chem euth any other way. It is pricey but since I am a wimp and like to stay with my animals in the end it was the best choice for us.

[JGHIRETIRE]

All the vets up here do the same thing and yes it is a bit pricey but we don’t have too many other options here that I know about.

[QUOTE=HJAlter84;6593621]
I’ve had to euth 2 horses in my life. Both were by injection, and went quietly. My vet basically puts them under general Anesthesia ketamine and something else, then gives the euth meds. He will not do a chem euth any other way. It is pricey but since I am a wimp and like to stay with my animals in the end it was the best choice for us.[/QUOTE]

[TrakHack]

After a friend’s horse was badly injured in a trailer accident and had to wait at least two hours to be put down by a vet, I bought a gun, got my concealed carry permit, and researched bullet placement and angle (memorizing what needs to be done but printing for reference, as well).

In a perfect world, I would have a piece of property where predators live on the edge. The horses would be brought to the edge of the property, shot, and the bones collected a couple weeks later.

In the real world, I have two oldsters who are boarded. There is actually a crematory that will take entire horses a couple hours away and will pick up. If I have the day scheduled and can plan ahead, this will be the plan. Cost is about two months’ board. If it isn’t planned ahead, the renderer will likely be called. The barn is out of city limits, but I will need the barn owner’s permission to discharge a firearm on her property. I should get that in order - I want them to go on the property, not after a trailer ride to an unfamiliar location.

I feel much better about things when I have a plan and know what I will do. I don’t know when the end will come for my horses, but when it does I have plans A and B in place.

[starlitlaughter]

[QUOTE=JGHIRETIRE;6593463]
Yes you’re right - Interesting about Sir Galahad.
The manager at Claiborne told us that as well about the signifigance - I didn’t remember.
Man O’War is at Kentucky Horse Park as is War Admiral and I can’t remember who else is there by the Man O’War statue.
There was a marker for Affirmed or Alydar?? Near the Hall of Champions as well.[/QUOTE]

War Admiral and War Relic are buried with him - not sure if they were buried entire or not. Brushup, the dam of War Admiral, is also buried at KHP near the Man O’ War Memorial. The marker near the Hall of Champions is for Alysheba. Affirmed was buried at Darley and Alydar at Calumet.

[Mukluk]

I hope it’s a very long time before I am faced with putting my horse down. But when the time comes, I’d rather her body have some use. I know she loves to eat and would probably not mind becoming food for another hungry creature. And then there’s Trigger who I believe went the taxidermy route! I bet that wasn’t cheap.

[JGHIRETIRE]

I thought I remembered Brushup but wasn’t sure.
Yes they are in like a circle around him.
Isn’t there a jockey or a groom there as well?
Alysheba was at the Horse Park before he died?

[QUOTE=starlitlaughter;6594135]
War Admiral and War Relic are buried with him - not sure if they were buried entire or not. Brushup, the dam of War Admiral, is also buried at KHP near the Man O’ War Memorial. The marker near the Hall of Champions is for Alysheba. Affirmed was buried at Darley and Alydar at Calumet.[/QUOTE]

[otterhound]

Imagine the cost of having a complete horse done by a taxidermist these days! I have a hoof and a tail from one of mine. Plus a stunning Appaloosa hide on my wall. The hide alone cost $350 about 5 years ago - I couldn’t imagine what it would cost to do a whole horse! And I doubt it would end up looking just like the original - I’ve seen Phar Laps body (he’s been “stuffed”) and I think there’s quite an art in getting the face just right.

[starlitlaughter]

[QUOTE=JGHIRETIRE;6594309]
I thought I remembered Brushup but wasn’t sure.
Yes they are in like a circle around him.
Isn’t there a jockey or a groom there as well?
Alysheba was at the Horse Park before he died?[/QUOTE]

I believe Isaac Burns Murphy is the jockey buried there. There are a few others War Hazard, War Kilt…

Alysheba was returned from Saudi Arabia and took up residence at the KHP in October, 2008 and he passed the following year. The Blood Horse reported it here:
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/47847/alysheba-arrives-at-kentucky-horse-park

As far as stuffing and mounting, I’ve only ever seen one done very well - a big grey in the museum at Mount Vernon. Here is a photo I found of him:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanyagin/6869632817/

A taxidermist friend of mine said just the forms needed for mounting a horse can cost anywhere from $700-1,200. That didn’t include all the other work that needed done.

I am facing the decision of losing one of my horses. She developed cancer earlier this year; I had the tumor removed but it has returned quite aggressively, and she has been unable to maintain weight. Coat is glossy, eyes are bright, and still full of fire. Not sure yet if I’ll bury her here or have her cremated. She is my heart horse though, we’ve been together 17 years.

[otterhound]

[QUOTE=starlitlaughter;6594436]

As far as stuffing and mounting, I’ve only ever seen one done very well - a big grey in the museum at Mount Vernon. Here is a photo I found of him:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanyagin/6869632817/

.[/QUOTE] That is indeed very well done!

[JGHIRETIRE]

Yes that is a good one.

What kind of cancer does your horse have?

I’m fighting some squamos tumors that my mare is getting -she had one in the left eye that I treated - now she has one in the right. Over time they won’t necessarily kill her but she could lose the sight in her eye.

[QUOTE=starlitlaughter;6594436]
I believe Isaac Burns Murphy is the jockey buried there. There are a few others War Hazard, War Kilt…

Alysheba was returned from Saudi Arabia and took up residence at the KHP in October, 2008 and he passed the following year. The Blood Horse reported it here:
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/47847/alysheba-arrives-at-kentucky-horse-park

As far as stuffing and mounting, I’ve only ever seen one done very well - a big grey in the museum at Mount Vernon. Here is a photo I found of him:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanyagin/6869632817/

A taxidermist friend of mine said just the forms needed for mounting a horse can cost anywhere from $700-1,200. That didn’t include all the other work that needed done.

I am facing the decision of losing one of my horses. She developed cancer earlier this year; I had the tumor removed but it has returned quite aggressively, and she has been unable to maintain weight. Coat is glossy, eyes are bright, and still full of fire. Not sure yet if I’ll bury her here or have her cremated. She is my heart horse though, we’ve been together 17 years.[/QUOTE]