Euthanasia options and pentobarbital

[nvoss]

Hello all,
I’m looking for help with an article I’m writing for the Chronicle. We’ve become aware there are new restrictions regarding rendering of horses who have been euthanized with pentobarbital. I’m curious to hear if any of our forum users have been impacted by this–have you struggled to find a euthanasia option as a result?

Euthanasia/disposal are generally getting more expensive these days. Have any of you faced a conundrum about end of life decisions for your horse because of costs?

A depressing topic, I know, but an important one. Any feedback you guys could give me would be great.

[HungarianHippo]

It hasn’t impacted me here in Iowa. I have enough land and can bury deeply enough not to worry about incidental poisoning of scavengers. We do have a local cremation option that I’ve used in the past, but he seems to be subject to ever-increasing Dept. of Natural Resources scrutiny, so I have not used his services the last 3 horses I’ve put down. If he’s running afoul of the law / regulations, I don’t want to indirectly contribute to that.

[nvoss]

I hadn’t considered DNR restrictions for cremation facilities. Any idea what the issue is there?

[HungarianHippo]

Well, you typically need air quality permits to regulate emmissions from the crematorium. But with this local guy, his DNR problem stemmed from the fact that he was just burying most if not all of the horses that he had picked up for cremation. Guess that was a cheaper option for him. Here’s an article on it
https://www.thegazette.com/2014/01/21/environmental-commission-rejects-appeal-from-tipton-business-for-horse-burials

[Abbie.S]

The current law, passed within the last few years, in my state is that if a horse is euthanized with chemicals, it cannot be buried, period. There has been concern for them contaminating ground water/well water, as well as the usual arguments over the dangers to wildlife/scavengers.

Our waterways and water resources are in far more danger from the use of pesticides on crop fields and spreading of nitrogen-rich manure-based fertilizers than they are from a handful of horses carcasses buried or composted each day in the state . But the state isn’t doing much to curb that from what I can see. I am very pro-agriculture, but it seems rather backwards to be hyper focused on such a small contributor to the problem.

I suppose you could say this has impacted me personally, as I had to euthanize a horse almost two years ago after the law took effect, but I ended up burying the horse on the property she was boarded at with the permission of the farm owner. There are no rendering facilities near me that will take a horse carcass, and while there are plenty of farmers with composting piles, you’d have to have a working relationship or friendship with one to be allowed to bury your equine there. Cremation for horses is impractical and horrendously expensive and to my knowledge there are no cremation operations within the state that take equines (and either way, you’d be tasked with GETTING the animal to them, which is a process in and of itself given their size).

Laws like this aren’t worth anything if other options within the confines of the law aren’t readily available for your average equine owner. I will say, this law has given me a jump on getting handier with a gun in case a horse needs to be humanely euthanized in short order, but that isn’t always realistic either in many boarding scenarios.

[nvoss]

Hi Abbie, What state are you located in?

That’s been the interesting thing about this issue so far; we started off mostly interested in the pentobarbital restrictions, but it’s becoming clear there are a variety of challenges associated with any option.

One person I talked to suggested these challenges/expenses contribute to the auction pipeline, as owners look for less uncomfortable/costly alternatives. Thought that was interesting.

[hoopoe]

https://avma.org/KB/Policies/Documents/euthanasia.pdf

I assume, OP , that you are familiar with this document. the fact that it has not been reasonably updated with an eye towards these rendering issues disappoints me.

the use of non-narcotic chemicals is complex and not as owner present friendly as other means. If you could stun a horse down and then do a kosher kill, you may wind up with an eco-friendly, though abhorrent ( visual) situation

gun and/ or captive bolt, the most ecologically friendly is high risk when not carried out with expertise. The AVMA has a better illustration about the detail than the traditional “X”. I am not sure they even teach this technique in the vet schools any more.

I agree with Abbie, to put in place restrictions without viable and reasonably economical options leaves owners and vets with their hands tied. I agree, too, that it forces some owners to dump horses at auction when they should not be subjected to these situations.

At least with slaughter houses, there might be hope of trained captive bolt users and also solves the disposal issue, though a person has to be accepting and unsentimental about this choice

[HungarianHippo]

Way back when, there used to be locally-available, small-scale slaughter facilities, but restoring that system doesn’t address the problem that many other drugs we give our horses (aside from the pentobarbitol-- for example bute) are not allowed in the food chain.

I’d propose that municipal landfills operate a livestock cremation service at the landfill site. Power the crematorium with methane gas that most landfills have to flare off anyway. A system to capture, scrub, & combust landfill gas runs about $1 million. If the landfill charged $300-500 per horse, that facility would be turning a profit in a couple of years, max.

[McGurk]

Wow, I (thankfully) haven’t had a horse put down in 15 years and didn’t realize T-61 was no longer an option for euthanasia. Is phenobarbital really the only other injection option? Yikes. DH has some concerns about burying a horse on our property, if the horse was euthed with barbiturates that really amps up that concern. I may have to re-think some of my end of life plans for my guys.

[nvoss]

@McGurk

Wow, I (thankfully) haven’t had a horse put down in 15 years and didn’t realize T-61 was no longer an option for euthanasia. Is phenobarbital really the only other injection option? Yikes. DH has some concerns about burying a horse on our property, if the horse was euthed with barbiturates that really amps up that concern. I may have to re-think some of my end of life plans for my guys.

As far as I understand, vets can still use the solution to euthanize; the issue seems to come in when it’s time to get rid of the body. This seems to vary from state to state and also facility to facility, which is part of why it’s been a bit hard for me to get a handle on who’s impacted and who isn’t.

[M_al]

I am up against this, researching options for two horses who are nearing end of life. I am going to reach out (once again) to our semi-local hunt club to see if they will take the horses (as I understand it, to be humanely shot and then they go to the hounds.)

I did this years ago with a prior horse, but am strangely loath to call again … don’t know why – maybe it seems like I’ll be rebuffed due to this being something that needs to be under the radar from the rabid animal rights groups? But this to me seems like the right answer. Humane, small scale and ecologically non-damaging.

I have heard that zoos or large predator sanctuaries might need horse meat but was rebuffed years ago and have never called again.

Say, anyone from my local hunt … please ping me! Otherwise, I need to put my courage together to call!

As an aside, one horse will likely need to be pulled off previcox a bit prior. Alternatively, since dogs are so much less sensitive to the drug than horses, they might just have an arthritis-relieved few days. That’s if I get them to agree to take the horses.

[hoopoe]

@nvoss

As far as I understand, vets can still use the solution to euthanize; the issue seems to come in when it’s time to get rid of the body. This seems to vary from state to state and also facility to facility, which is part of why it’s been a bit hard for me to get a handle on who’s impacted and who isn’t.

T61 is no longer made in the US so obtaining it and using it here is problematic.

it is permissible to drop a horse to deep anesthesia using conventional anesthetic and then terminate with hyper concentrated Potassium injection See the AVMA document for the equine section and page 16 which touches on disposal.

a while back there was a rising interest in bio-digestion but I suspect that remains out of reach of the average owner, cost wise, even if it were local and avaliable

[cutter99]

I am in TN and was told last year that chemical euthanasia cannot lawfully be performed here unless there is a hole for the horse to be placed into immediately and covered, as to avoid poisoning scavenger birds. Many vets in my immediate area are well prepared to perform euthanasia via bullet because of this law.

We last euthanized a horse in 2008 in Penbsylvania. It was done chemically, and at the time we were able to compost the remains as we lived on a dairy farm with a large compost pile specifically for animals. I am not sure if this would still be possible today.

[CatPS]

We put down my old guy in fall 2017 in eastern Massachusetts via injection. Other than a huge dose of sedative I don’t know what else my vet used, I didn’t ask. The total cost for euthanasia and disposal was around $850 - $900. It’s possible I could have found ways to reduce that cost by a few hundred dollars, but I didn’t try. I wanted to use my trusted vet, and I was hugely pregnant at the time and completely uninterested in investigating different disposal options.

[Zarafa]

I had always intended a rifle euth for my old guy, largely due to his poor response to sedation and my desire to give him (and me) as peaceful a process as possible. I was lucky to find a service that did euth, removal and “cycle of life” composting disposal. He was quick, efficient and professional. My old guy went quickly, without suffering, and I have the additional knowledge that nothing was poisoned from the process.

I will emphasize, however, that this guy was a real pro - the go-to guy for our largest vet clinic. I wouldn’t have had just anyone pull out their rifle and do the deed, as it can go just as wrong as a chemical process.

[PeteyPie]

I just had a horse euthanized in April of this year and had no problem with any part of the process. The vet came out, gave a heavy sedative and then the euth medication. I just looked at the bill and it says “Euthanasia with: Euthanasia-III dosage (ml) 40” and “Xylazine 250 mg IV”, so I don’t know if that is the same substance being discussed here. My mare went quietly and very very quickly. She relaxed with the sedative and after he injected the second shot, she dropped like a rock and was literally dead before she hit the ground, so the procedure was as good as possible under the sad circumstances. My wonderful vet had explained everything he was doing and what was going to happen and it went just as he said. The total vet bill was $145.

I had a choice of two rendering companies. The first specializes in cattle and general livestock and only charges $100 (I think. Was it $75? I don’t remember because I didn’t use them). I ended up going with the second, more expensive company that charged $160 because of the bedside service of the owner/operator who specializes in horses and has a compassionate demeanor. I had used his services the previous year when my other mare died of natural causes, and I was happy with him. He arrived at the property ten minutes early, and when I got there he had already driven into the pasture, which had another (live) horse in it, and was preparing to take the body. I was going to tie the loose horse and he told me I didn’t need to, and he was right. Then, when he was done loading, I paid him $180 dollars which was the amount he had quoted me, and he gave me back $20 and said he was giving me a discount. I don’t know why, but it was nice.

So the whole sad affair was simple, uncomplicated, relatively inexpensive, and everyone was kind, very nice, and professional. Also, because the vet appointment was scheduled, I was able to schedule the rendering company for several hours later so that my mare’s daughter could be with the body.

[IronwoodFarm]

It helps when the euthanasia is planned versus unplanned. A planned euthanasia saves on money and stress, IMO. Unplanned means you have to scramble. I am lucky that I have plenty of land and neighbors with backhoes who will come on short notice for a very modest fee. I do recommend having a plan and contact numbers saved somewhere. If the even is an unplanned one, then you have a head start on dealing with the disposal of the body.

One note of interest. In Virginia it is illegal not to dispose of your dead livestock in a timely manner. it is a class 4 misdemeanor with a fine of up to $600 per animal. I learned this interesting point in a horse abuse case where the dead horses were just left to rot in place. The excuse was that it was December and the ground was frozen. The accused did not know that the ground is quite easy to dig below the frost line. It is. I have buried horses in December and January; it wasn’t an issue to dig the hole.

[noreins]

I had a horse euthanized in July 2017 using Fatal Plus (pentobarbital sodium). The remains were picked up by a local man offering pickup services “to take to a local rendering plant”. The horse was euthanized in Maryland, but was picked up by a Pennsylvania resident but not sure where the “local rendering plant” is (could be either of the two states) so I’m not sure which state’s rendering regulations would be applicable.

[HungarianHippo]

I hope this is not too insensitive, because I’m truly sorry for the loss of your horse. But I had to laugh a bit at the brand name “Fatal Plus”. Whoever that company’s marketing manager is, they sure don’t beat around the bush, do they? And did they really need a “Plus” version of that product? Sheesh

[Simkie]

I’ve read (on Facebook, have not confirmed) that there is no dead stock removal service in Connecticut. Not just no service that will take a euthanized with phenobarbital animal; no service at all. The very thought is mind boggling…there are so many horses here. I guess they must be buried? Some people pay the incredible $$ for cremation.

I’ve not had to euthanise a horse in nearly a decade, but I’ve been very, very grateful for the kind people who make their business in removal. They’ve always been available and understanding.