I’m so sorry. You did everything (and more) you could for him. And he’s at peace now.
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Aw, I’m so sorry. You’re right though, he is at peace now. It’s the most selfless act of mercy we can give: delivering our beloved animals from suffering, even if it means we suffer ourselves because we miss them so much. It was the right thing to do. <3
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Thank you to all for the sympathy. And thanks especially to @Critter for sharing that article-- it brought tears to my eyes. The symptoms she described perfectly matched what we saw with my gelding. I have a lot of grief but no regrets.
Here is a picture of my beautiful boy: https://imgur.com/a/myDtK2p
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I am so sorry. You did right by him.
{{{{RedWingedBlackbird}}}}
Susan
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I am so sorry. He was a lovely boy.
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Virtual hugs to you. He was a lovely looking boy, and he’s at peace. May your heart heal soon.
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I’m so sorry for your loss. Even when it is the right thing, the grief is still hard.
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Sending hugs from Colorado. I’m so sorry.
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Such a handsome man. Love the mane.
Jingles for peace for you.
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Aww. What a cutie he was!! Treasure the memories while you heal.
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You did right by him, and my heart breaks for you. Sending huge hugs. 
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Rest easy sweet boy. So very sorry for your loss. Sending you huge healing hugs.
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I’m so sorry to hear that, OP. You did the right thing though. Just a heads up, it took 7 weeks for the necropsy results to come back on my horse, it was a miserable time waiting to know.
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When I posted about euthanizing my mare in March for severe behavioural issues with lots of description, it may have been you who suggested it could have been EDM. Thank you, and thank you for this article.
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So sorry about losing your girl too:(
EDM is a horrible, horrible disease…both for the horse and the owner. Unfortunately, more and more people are learning about it. When I first heard the term, I was like ED- what!!! And I consider myself pretty current on medical topics and issues (especially as a healthcare provider). I was lucky that another member of COTH was willing to have an hour long phone conversation about EDM and how her horse presented. That conversation made me realize I wasn’t alone…and also made me feel like I wasn’t as horrible a person for making the decision to euthanize my guy based on symptoms alone. The article Lauren wrote really summed up a lot of what I felt…what all of us feel…when we’ve been through this disease with a horse.
I am not sure we are anywhere near a cure…but I do hope that one day soon they can get a definitive test that can be done before you have to euthanize. That would help to reduce the agony of the making that final decision. Won’t make the entire experience easier…but would remove a lot of the guilt and what-ifs we all had to go through.
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I really need to thank my current barn owner/coach/ etc for being straight with me.
Too often we are expected (mostly by ourselves) to ride through it, deal with it, suck it up, never the horses fault, etc.
Contrary to many others, she just called what she saw. This is not normal. We started with retirement. However, over 4 months things just got worse. By the end, the mare was dangerous to all, including herself.
Reading this post and the article you shared, I really do see that there was a serious issue with her mental processing abilities. She reacted to things in ways that made zero sense for the situation.
I will love her always. She was the most beautiful mare and she was incredibly sweet. However, I cannot risk the health of other humans and horses, including myself.
I’m hoping that one day we know more about this condition.
On another very sad note, I lost my second horse to colic less than a month ago. That was in incredible gut punch.
On a positive note, I have a wonderful yearling who I bought 8 months ago knowing that my two older guys may not be around forever. They gave me the gift of wanting to work with this lovely young girl. For that, I am incredibly grateful to them. I’m also half leasing a gelding until she is rideable. He’s a sweet soul. Safe as a house for me and my grand daughter.
The horse wold is a funny quirky place. The beasts will break your heart, and then put it back together. As will the amazing horse people I’ve been fortunate to work with.
Thank you so much. I came back to download that article.
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