I think bute is a lot more effective for some horses. Maybe give it a shot? It is much less expensive than Equioxx.
when you start asking the Euth question of yourself, the rules about long term bute go out the window here! I do a lot of seniors.
i also stuff them full of delicious grain to keep the weight up. I mean, nothing to lose, right?
Haha, considering that my husband is the one that enables me to pay for all this, I think he is a keeper 
He grew up during a time where a lame horse could cause the family to go without food for a month, so it is understandable that his way of thinking is different than mine. However, whatever his opinion may be, he will still support my decision even if it means that hundreds are being spent on an old horse. He may roll his eyes while writing the check thoughâŠ
I will certainly talk to the vet about it!
Buck22âyour description of your horse hanging out with you to help with chores is just beautiful! Your 37 y/o is really special and the bond you describe is what we should all strive for. My mare is >30 and doesnât help with the chores, but loves watching meal preparation, is a great talker, and has kept my best secrets for almost 29 years.
Right but as Buck22 told us, there are other jobs the old gal can help out with and find her place in your barn.
Buck22, your story is lovely. What a great partnership you have with your horse! It is palpable through your words.
Vanessakz It doesnât matter what any of us would do or have done. Itâs such a personal equation and you are the only one who knows âthe facts on the groundâ totally. Follow your gut feeling, and whatever your decision, it will be the right one for you and for her. None of us will judge you because if we havenât already been there, we will be.
I admit that I would probably euthanize her. But winters here are harsh, long, and I have an absolute horror of finding my beloved old horse had gone down one night in the winter and been unable to get up again.
When it was his time my last horse gave me the gift of the right question. Itâs not a question of âCanâ but rather âShould I keep him going through another winter?â In his case he had lost so much strength in his hind end over the previous winter that the risk was too high and I made the call.
You know your situation best. (((Hugs)))
I vote for putting her down.
Youâve given her a wonderful end to her story, sheâs very lucky you found her.
Pick a day, make the appointment and spoil the hell out of her until then. Sheâll move on knowing she was well loved at the end.
Wow⊠i would so easily call the vet, have the X-rays done. See if some shoes can help (they probably can). Keep her in a blanket during the winter and in the barn at night⊠if sheâs having trouble with hay you may need to switch to a complete feed and hay pellets which will b easier for her to digest.
A daily anti inflammatory would help- equioxx is the one i like best but since she had issues with it, maybe bute or even try some of the non prescription ones.
OH wow, such a hard thing. You sound like you have given her a great soft landing. She sure sounds not unhappy except for the weight loss. If you have good shelter lots of good hay in front of her and blankets this winter she should be fine. Does she have a pasture buddy she enjoys? Do you have any horseless students who would like to just have someone to brush and walk? fuss over? she may love the extra attention. She does not sound like she is a candidate to be pts. but I understand the feeling. I had a 23 yr old TB who I had since he was 9. he would still be going had he not been struck by lightening. He never acted his age. and was happy to cart around a kid.
I would feed her up and blanket her up and see how it goes. The bute canât hurt either. Can you trail ride her, just maybe a walking short trail ride a few times a week so she has a job? Good luck, Let us know how she gets on. Do you have pictures of her?
Based on what you have written, it seem like you are looking for validation that it is okay to put this mare to sleep. Most here have said that it is not an unreasonable choice. Many have also pointed out that you could choose differently, bu it is really your choice.
If she is green, it seems less likely she is missing a job. Perhaps missing some attention or a big herd.
If you can let her go and then find another horse that needs your help and may have a longer pain-free future, (and maybe would not have a future without you) that is a consideration as well.
As long as she is treated humanely, you can ethically choose to keep her or let her go.
If she lies down, can she get up on her own? For me this is a big one with old horses- when a horse struggles to get up that is a BIG PROBLEM in my mind.
Personally, Iâd do a bute trial and see how she does. Iâd also put her on a complete senior feed and some kind of processed hay product to keep her weight up, if she wasnât already (I used TC Senior and Blue Seal Hay Stretcher soaked together). Iâd definitely blanket her as well.
I would NOT bother having the vet out to xray her feet, nor would I shoe her. She can be a pasture pet or just be ridden at the walk to keep her happy and in better condition. The goal is quality of life, not quantity. Do you have some trails that someone can just ride her out at a quiet walk for 1/2 hour a few times a week? Or, you could pony her off another horse when you are cooling down or hacking out. If she starts to look sounder on the bute you can probably do some trotting work that way as well. Oh, and I also wouldnât stall her. The consistent movement of being out 24/7 except in very very bad weather is much better for arthritis and old horses than sitting for 12 hours in a stall.
You certainly arenât obligated to do all this for a kill pen save youâve had for a year. Nobody should judge you if you choose to put her to sleep. Iâm just telling you what I would do, or at least consider doing, in that situation.
Alright I thought I would give you a little update.
I just got off the phone with the vet office, and I have an appointment scheduled for her for this Friday. I will have a lameness exam done, and then we will see if the vet recommends some x-rays in addition to that. Luckily, I will be able to pay the farm call with home-made Christmas cookies, so I will have to go straight to baking once I posted this
As for her diet, I have already started to adjust it about a week ago. Even chopped hay and grains are becoming more difficult for her, so I am now putting her feed into a food processor and pretty much turn it into a wet paste. Looks disgusting, but she loves it. I also added one more feeding for her, bringing us to 3 feedings a day. She has otherwise access to good quality grass hay 24/7.
Once the vet was here I may give you a little update as to what the findings are, and what course of action we will take.
While she still rolled fine just a few weeks ago, I havenât seen her rolling for some time now. Given the fact that she is at my own property, I see everything! Besides, she has her very own rolling spot and it is easily to spot if she rolled or not. However, this does not necessarily have anything to do with her condition. She is a very clean horse and avoids getting dirty at any cost! Considering that it is currently wet outside, it is not unlikely that she refuses to roll in order to stay pretty.
As many have pointed out, seniors come with their own set of very special skills, and I am someone who can appreciate them. She is not fast, not agile and not competitive. But she is kind, absolutely trustworthy and allows me to pony my youngster for example. She is also worth her weight in gold since she is old, wise and a fair but firm head of the herd. She puts youngsters and their non-sense back in their place, which makes things easier for me. Allows me to have my 6 year old handle her without concerns. I have now considered to âgiveâ her to my son, and taught him yesterday how to put her halter on, how to get her out of the stall, tie her up etc (she is a bit big for him). Maybe this way I could transition her into a different kind of job and she wouldnât have to feel so left out.
This cuts both ways.She doesnât owe you anything, but you donât owe her either. This isnât a horse that you grew up with, showed all over the place, and is now getting a well-earned retirement. Someone might (or might not since sheâs barely broke) owe her something, but that person isnât you.
True, but if nobody would ever step up where someone else failed to do so, how sad would it be? Obviously someone used to have her, use her and perhaps love her, and in the end failed to give her the retirement she deserves. Or even the chance to die in dignity. A lot of times people give their old horses away to a trusted âretirementâ family, thinking that they will keep the old soul and nurture her until she drops dead. It is often those families that send them to the meat man, since they have less of a or no emotional bond to the animal. I donât mind stepping up where others failed to do so, but it needs to be within reason. Someone else mentioned earlier that it seems as if I try to find validation to pts. However, I myself find both options, as in throwing hundreds of $ at her or putting her to sleep, valid and neither one of them is more or less likely the better one, worse one, kinder one.
Bumping this up, been wondering how she is, or if you have made any decisions.
I wanted to update everyone, but due to the weather I wasnât even able to assess any changes. First we were snowed in and temperatures were too cold to work with the horses, and now the arena is a soggy mess.
The vet was here that day and assessed her lameness thoroughly. He said that x-rays would not give him more info than his exam anyway, so he recommended not to have them done. The only thing that would be helpful would be an MRI, which I wonât pay for in this case of course. She is showing navicular discomfort, and the vet recommended putting her on 2 degree eggbars with a pad. He said bute would be an option, but agreed with me that it is perhaps not a good idea since her stomach already reacted to equioxx with diarrhea and excessive gas.
I then had the farrier come and make a unique set of shoes for her front. I wanted to give her a week on those shoes before I test for lameness when lunging her⊠and then the winter storm came
So far I can say that she is sound when being lunged on both sides. As for riding, she is sound to the left, but I am not sure about the right. Now, since she has been out of training for quite some time, I only trotted her for a short time. Once the arena is somewhat dry again, I will put her into work again from the ground at first before we go back to ridden work. I wonât know if she stays sound for extended periods of trot work until spring.
I am glad you are giving her a chance and trying to make things a little easier for her! Thanks for the update.
I think this is a really important question to ask yourself. What is her quality of life? Is it within your finical ability change her quality of life for the better?
I think this is hard for us to think about sometimes, but dying is not the worst thing that could happen. Living a miserable life is much worse. The loss of life is harder on the living that it will ever be for the one who passes on. If she doesnât have a good quality of life now, she will be out of pain if put down.
As her guardian, she is depending on you to make the hard decision and as the only one of use to actually see her, make that determination. I guess, what I am trying to say is that you shouldnât keep her alive, just because you can, but if you can make her more comfortable, either in life or not, then you should.
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