Saw Miss P tonight. She was bright-eyed and interested in everything that was going on around her. She was also talking up a storm, in her best little “whiney.” I couldn’t have been more pleased!
Silly Mommy, I will be there Saturday, have coffee!!
jl, I think it’s bated, and I haven’t the slightest idea where it originated.
What good news, Louise. I’m happy for you both. And BTW, that picture of Stormy belongs on a magazine cover - that is the funniest dawgone picture I’ve seen in a while.
“I have an infinite amount of patience so long as I get my way in the end.”
– Margaret Thatcher
…but I suspect you made this decision for many reasons, and that the expense of the surgery (if it in fact comes to that) was the last one thought of.
It might help you to keep those other factors in the front of your mind, instead of feeling guilty because financial considerations might have forced you to weigh them more objectively.
For example, what is your mare’s overall health like now? Does she have, or have the potential for, other medical conditions which will be debilitating or cause the quality of her life to continually decrease?
What are the chances of her surviving this surgery? And not only the procedure itself, but the recovery process?
Remember that she will undergo a lot if she has this surgery–will it be best for her to put her through it if the ultimate results are uncertain?
This is always a tough decision to make for an animal we haved loved and been responsible for. It is easy, sometimes, if money is not an issue, to say “I want to know I did everything possible.” And sometimes that’s the way it should be–if we can. But at other times, it may be that we are concerned with our own (laudable) desire to give, rather than what is, perhaps, best and necessary for the long-term well-being of the animal itself. We can only make the best decision we are capable of; and second-guessing can go on forever.
Knowing you, the financial issues would be the last thing on your mind if she did not make it through the surgery, or suffered through the recovery, or was continually weakened and debilitated for the relatively few years remaining to her.
It’s a sad thing that the lives of our much loved animals are shorter than ours–but they are. We can only give them the best lives we can and sometimes that means putting ourselves in the background and letting them go. They trust us, and Louise, of all people, you should trust yourself.
I wish I could have expressed all this better, and I will be hoping that surgery will not even be necessary.
Louise, I’m so sorry to hear this…
Nancy said it perfectly. I know you, and I know that if in your heart you thought surgery was the best thing for Promise, you would go into debt even if it was not a good thing for Louise.
I just want to say that I have always thought we are much kinder to our animals in this regard than we are to people, where we seem to be stuck in “life at all costs”, which seems to serve the family of the patient more than it serves the patient.
Several weeks ago when I was waiting for the vet to come out and euthanize Raven after he had broken his leg (time travels very slowly during these occasions), he was in a lot of pain and although he was in shock, he was rapidly reaching the place where he was fighting the pain. I swear, the moment we reached the decision to put him down and I spent my last few minutes with him, he immediately calmed and became relaxed - for the first time since the leg shattered. He wanted me to know that this was the best thing for him, and that I should be at peace with the decision.
If it should come to this end, Promise will give you the same peace, I promise…
Reading all these posts brings tears to my eyes and makes me realize that we have all been through what you are going through now. Please don’t feel guilty because you ARE doing all that is humanely possible, and know that all these wonderful people know right where you are at. I have no additional words of wisdom, but I will add one little thing. I am an RVT and have worked in the Veterinary field for 17 years. My small animal work is done at no cost. I have on occasion, when a condition so warrants, chosen to euthanize, rather than treat one of my animals–not due to cost but due to the suffering I would be putting the animal through. I have never made the decision lightly and it has always broken my heart. Death is sad, but suffering tears at my heart. They don’t understand anything but the pain they feel at the moment. Remember to take joy in the life you have given her, and that the grief you feel is a measure of your ability to love.
Yes, furballs make very good Kleenex, even if you’re just crying from relief. 
I’m so glad to hear Promise is doing better. I was going to e-mail you again but didn’t want to disturb you.
I’m so glad to hear that Louise, and I think we all have our “useless” critters (not mentioning Rebel & Princess by name 
)…
Give Promise (and Stormy) a carrot from each of us… wait… that might be a bad idea - just give 'em one from me 
This is such WONDERFUL news!!! I’m so happy for you and Promise.
So happy to read that Promise is on the mend tonight! Give her a warm hug from her Kansas fans!
SLW
Oh, Louise…I thought I might find you had posted something like this. Please, listen to everyone! You are not to feel guilty, as there is nothing to feel guilty about, no matter what the outcome. You have loved and cared for Promise for most of her life and hopefully, that impaction will take care of itself, so that you can continue to love her as you have. But, should the decision be made to put her down, you will continue to love her, Louise, and she, you. I didn’t get much sleep again last night, so I don’t know if I’m making a lick of sense here…
Louise, also know that we are all here for you. Promise is a lucky lady to have found you.
Louise, Twister said it perfectly: “Your job is not to keep her alive as long as possible, your job is to get her to a good end.”
That is what you are doing. You ARE doing everything you can for her, and you ARE making sure that if this is her time, it will be as easy as possible. DON’T FEEL GUILTY! You have done more for this mare in the years you have had her than 99% of the world would have done, and she knows it and loves you for it. If now is her time, she will thank you, not blame you, if you let her go to her rest without additional pain.
There are many things worse than a peaceful end.
Just because a procedure is medically possible doesn’t mean it is the best thing or the only thing to do.
I was in your shoes to an extent a couple of years ago when the best horse I will ever know shattered his pastern.
The surgeon said we could try a procedure that was somewhat of a “heroic measure” (i.e., last ditch attempt) to immobilize the leg.
I thoguht about putting him through that and the high probability that what it would mean for him would be an extended period of living in pain, without any real likelihood of a successful outcome, and I decided that if I did that, I’d be doing it for me and not for him, and I let go.
It hurt then; it hurts now. But it would hurt all the worse if I had done otherwise.
Good luck with your mare. I hope the impaction passes.
I’m sure you’ve taken a deep breath, which is a good thing. Definitely let Betsy and Marissa love on you this evening and I will await further updates.
Thinking about you!
One of my horses many years ago went through a 24 hour colic episode. It seemed when we arrived at the horse show and bedded his stall in straw, he thought eating half the stall was good idea. 
Many hours later he recovered.
We were going to “bronze” the little poops we were so glad to see them.
It is truly amazing what thrills life has in store for us.
It is hard to express how happy I am for you. 
[This message was edited by Cactuskate on Apr. 05, 2001 at 12:33 PM.]
I am so happy to hear things have “come out alright in the end.”
That the siutation is “rectified”.
Ba-dum-bum.
Seriously happy your girl is on the mend!
is an adjective from “abate”, or so says the OED. It means “to beat down or away; to lower, let down; to beat back or blunt the edge of, to reduce; to lessen in force or intensity.”
Congratulations to you and Promise for the successful passage of this crisis.
I just wanted to lend my sympathy, agree with everything that’s been said, and add that IMVHO, even if you were a millionaire, that colic surgery on an 18year old is not something I would recommend as the “humae” decision. Some horse come through surgery like a million dollars and contintue a happy and productive life, but out of the 12 I know that had the surgery, only 2 had that hapopen. Seven of them died anyway, and the other three had serious, debilitating lifelong effects from the surgery. And these were largely young and otherwise super-healthy horses not otherwise compromised by age.
Twister, you put it better than anyone I’ve ever heard, the humane choice is not necesarrily life at all costs.
Good luck, my thoughts are with you.
Oh, Louise, I’m sorry.
But I agree with Heather, who said “even if you were a millionaire, surgery might not be the most humane option.” For an 18 year old horse who has lived a wonderful RETIRED life, you should have no guilt. Every horse has to die someday, and I agree that your job is to ensure that it is in a peaceful manner.
You have done right by this horse for 13 years; giving her a peaceful end is the way you can continue to do right by her.
Good luck. And my thoughts are with you.
what they said…
The other thing that you can use to convince yourself you’re doing the right thing is not only that you’ve given this horse a great life for alot longer than some horses live, but also because of her age, there are more often complications with anesthesia.
Last year, I had a bigtime problem with Mandarin–sinus infection. They (Cornell) had just gotten a new toy - a CAT-scan, and were willing to give me a great deal to use it on him. Problem was that they would have to knock him out to do it. I refused, and the doctor even put that in the records “client refuses alterior treatment by CAT.” What the vet didn’t know was that I was good friends with the anastesiologist, and had asked her opinion first. My friend told me that age was definately a factor (something like anything over 15 is at risk), and I hoped that the sinoscopy that they performed under local, would do the trick. The horse was 27, I was not going to let them knock him out so that they could play with one of their new toys, only to have him die because of the anasthesia!!!
Hope to see you Saturday, I’ll email you later, but I may be there with just the beast. It’s only 3’6" stuff on Saturday, and since April hasn’t been to a show in awhile, and the other horse isn’t fit enough… I have to come up to distribute prizelists for my mom’s show…
Sending more good thoughts your way.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
