Post Mortem Opinions

[cutter99]

I have owned horses for over 45 years, and have had to euthanize 4, mainly from age related issues.

I have questioned myself every single time, so I understand questioning yourself.

Allow yourself the grace to mourn your loss and know you did everything possible for your mare. You made the hard decision in the end for her benefit, not yours. You did right by her.

I am so sorry for your loss.

[beau159]

I’m sorry for your loss.

Such everyday normal things (ex: abscess) can sporadically and oddly take a turn for the worst.

We had a freak incident with a horse quite a few years ago. I didn’t think he was going to make it and I was ready to throw in the towel. (My mom was doctoring him at her place.) He somehow pulled through. But it was something so dumb. Small puncture wound (we didn’t even know was there) into the hock joint and caused sepsis and nearly killed him.

Don’t beat yourself up. Sounds like you did everything right and you made the right decision for your horse.

[beowulf]

I’m sorry for your loss. As others have said, you did everything right. Sometimes their bodies just cannot keep going. She was lucky you arranged a peaceful end; the geriatrics can decline so fast. Major hugs.

[ATXmom]

I’m so sorry for your loss. Don’t beat yourself up - you did everything you could!

I do think it’s normal to work through all the details when dealing with an unexpected loss as part of your emotional processing but it sounds like this mare had excellent care and people who did their best for her.

We lost a horse to a sudden health issue 10 years ago and I still periodically run through the sequence of events trying to sort what we could have done differently,.

Many hugs to you and Godspeed to your good mare.