Field board vs euthanasia?

[SMF11]

I board retirees so I have faced many end of life decisions. I am fine with putting a horse with issues down!! But my experience is informed by 2 occasions where we were within minutes of euthanizing and I decided to wait just a little longer. In both cases, the animals (1 horse, 1 donkey) lived happy, healthy years after I came so close to putting them down. So I am cautious. If it’s a matter of shortening their life by a few months, no big deal. But years are another thing.

OP I would be guided by your vet who knows your horse in real life. I don’t mean my post above to mean you should not euthanize; I cannot assess all your horse’s issues over the internet, but your vet certainly can. You sound like a very caring and responsible owner.

[theresak]

For the sleep deprivation, try her on field board in the spring. Full-time turnout fixed my horse’s sleep deprivation in the first week. The barn owner saw him sleeping in the pasture before sunrise within a few days.

With her other physical issues, I’d take a hard look at her condition next fall and determine if you want her to go through another winter.

[gradytb]

I’ve had the melanoma experience too and that was the only issue my gelding had. The longer he’d had them, the faster they seemed to grow. The other 2 horses had begun to pick on him, and he’d always been the dominant one. He was…embarrassed, I think too. Don’t know how else to describe his significant change in demeanor. It was sad and hard and I cried driving home the empty trailer (had it done at my vet’s) but it was the right thing to do. Melanoma isn’t going to stop progressing and with all of the other issues and costs you’re facing, euthanasia is absolutely a viable option.

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

@Mistys_Girl

The melanomas as a big concern with her. Her gluteal pouches have a lot, and when she had her bladder stone removed it was a tough surgery due to them being so invasive on her colon, there is no stretch. Her anus went from one the size of a pea when I got her September 2021, to not being able to see her anus now. Vet has advised if she starts colicing, or having issues passing manure, it’s time.

For me, this is a huge red flag, especially if the ones you can see are growing faster than they ever have. I would have zero qualms about putting her down in this case.

A long time ago, I knew a very nice five-year old gelding. He was showing Training, schooling First, absolutely happy and healthy. Showed one weekend, colicked on a Sunday night. They hauled him to the nearest equine hospital. When they opened him up, they found tumors invading almost his entire colon. There was no way to know he had them, until it was too late.

It could very much happen the same way with your mare. If you don’t have access to a 24/7 on-call vet, how long might it take to have her put down, should the worst happen?

[beau159]

@Mistys_Girl

I’m torn between outdoor board with grain and no extra vet work, and euthanasia.

@Mistys_Girl

Just trying to come up with a solution that best for her, and that I can still afford my bills to live.

Put her down. From an outside non-emotional perspective, it’s the no-brainer solution.

Now obviously, you have emotion invested into this and that makes the choice much more difficult.

But if you are having to decide on being able to afford your bills, just put her down. You never know (anyway) when one of those melanomas is going to grow in the wrong place. She’s happy and feeling well right now, and that’s when you want to do it.

You asked for opinions so there is mine.

I’m sorry you are having to decide this decision. It’s never easy.

[Texarkana]

I’m so sorry you’re going through this.

I recently euthanized my 20 year old mare back in the fall. I’ve never euthanized one of my own that young, which is a blessing. I don’t board, but my dilemma was similar to yours. My mare had been perpetually NQR since I got her only two years ago. I adored her and she was everything I wanted, but I could not get the upper hand on her health issues. It was constantly one step forward, two steps back.

This past fall, her health problems started to escalate again. And while she was by no means “suffering,” I felt like I was out of options. The idea of throwing even more money into veterinary interventions that were not working also played into the decision. So I came to the conclusion pretty quickly that the best thing to do was euthanize her while the weather was good instead of potentially having a catastrophe in the foreseeable future.

I really miss her. Some days, I wonder if I tried hard enough or made the right call. Other days, I am so grateful I’m not having to stress about her health in this dreadful winter weather. Overall, it was for the best.

Hopefully my story helps you feel not so alone, whatever you decide.

[Lah0808]

Totally agreed. It’s the financial aspect at play that makes this a no brainer decision for me as an outsider. I’d let her go.

I put my elderly gelding (28-30? not sure his exact age, but old) down a few years ago. He had melanomas as well, cushings, heaves. He was still getting around more or less fine but getting more uncomfortable in the summer and it felt like summer was starting earlier and lasting longer. I had the opposite issue as you, he was field boarded and for his quality of life going back to stall board would have been better for him. I wasn’t struggling to pay bills but I definitely was just kind of stuck in place with a lot of my disposable income going toward his upkeep. I was at an age where I couldn’t afford to be stuck in place much longer if I don’t want to work till I’m 70. I could have moved him to stall board and had even more disposable income being spent on him. Or I could say this is enough, I’ve done right by him. He could have lived longer, hell maybe even years longer if I changed his management. But that absolutely would have been detrimental to my finances and at some point enough is enough. As my vet said, you could move him for sure but that’s not going to stop all of these other things going on. Not going to stop him aging. She was 100% supportive of letting him go while he was still doing mostly ok. It’s a really hard decision OP, I didn’t make it lightly but now 3 years out from that time, it was absolutely the correct decision for me and him.

[MrPerfection]

I am crossing that bridge right now, where I care for a 30-31 yr old mare with severe asthma issues, and now seems to be having seizures issues, or EPM, we are going to let her go tomorrow. She is on field board for 16 years, and probably shouldn’t have kept her thru this winter… she has kicked herself out of her shed 2x because of coyotes, which adds to pain in her already arthritic hind legs. Yesterday she fell down right in front of me after spinning around by herself and it took a while for her to get up. This is the 3rd episode that I have seen… and I thought it was all over. she has been spinning around and then standing staring into space, and now falling. It is a hard decision at any age, but it’s always better to let her go a day to early rather than find our down with a broken leg suffering… Send me some positive hugs, this is a hard one.

[quietann]

/hugs

It’s part of keeping an old horse, but so hard.

[SMF11]

You are making the right decision (and I don’t always say this!). But it still is the worst part of horses. Hugs.

[Kyrabee]

{{{MrPerfection}}}

[MrPerfection]

thank you for your hugs everyone… she turned to look at me right before the vet put her down. They know… they know.

[IPEsq]

If the sleep deprivation is due to pain, that’s probably not going to change much outside, although some horses with KS and SI issues can do a little better with more movement. Of all of these issues, the sleeping issue may be the deciding factor for me. I’ve seen too many horses suffer not being able to lay down to sleep that it makes me uncomfortable to see that even if the horse otherwise seems relatively healthy.

[quietann]

I’m so sad for you! But thank you for doing so much for her, all the way through the end.

[Pezanos]

Sadly I agree. My horse who didn’t lie down was in such distress. We put a camera on him overnight and you could see how upset he’d get after he fell down. It’s such a vulnerable experience for a prey animal. He, too, had KS so we knew nothing was going to get better, and I suspect always crashing to his knees made the KS worse.

[SharonA1]

@MrPerfection

she turned to look at me right before the vet put her down. They know… they know.

Yep, and sometimes absolutely the worst feeling. Both of mine needed to be put down, due to terminal colic, but neither of them wanted to die and both knew I was leading them to it. I know I did the right thing for them, but, it was not a beautiful thing. Many hugs, OP. I know you did the right thing, too.

[SonnysMom]

You made the right decision. A friend’s favorite foxhunter coliced badly due to his melanomas. He had one small one that was visible on the outside. The vet could not get his hand inside his rectum due to the internal ones. The vet was on another call so the horse was very uncomfortable for a few hours before the vet could get there.
I am not sure if the owner had banamine available to keep him kinda comfortable until the vet got there as it has been about 17 years.

[Mistys_Girl]

Thanks everyone for your experiences.
She got an Osphos shot 4-5 weeks ago and is on previcox and not seeing any improvements.
We have decided to let her have summer and let her cross over in the fall. If anything changes we will move up the date. The next vet bill will be the last one.
Her falling has not improved and she comes in at night exhausted. When I try to let her play in the indoor with good footing, she’s not wanting to move. Usually she’s a firecracker and likes to romp and play.

Why is doing the right thing so hard😢

[libgrrl]

I have an old one (30) that doesn’t lay down either. He also has EOTRH. I made the mistake of telling my barn owners that I wanted to “let him go” before things got ugly and I became subject to this tremendous guilt trip. OP, you do what you need to do. You’ll know in your heart.

[fanfayre]

Ummm, OP…
She’s telling, nay, SHOUTING to you, but you’re not hearing her.