What To Do With An Old Horse

[Lynnwood]

I heard once that there was a well known and respected TB operation that guaranteed all of the older retired broodmares two years of lush grass /grain pampering at the end of those two years they were put down before other infirmities caught up with them.

Some might disagree but to me it seemed like a very fitting and soft ending to their appreciated lives. I currently have one older mare and there are days when I see her not be as robust as she once was or when I worry that her 1/4 tab or previcox isn’t quite keeping her comfortable and I hope for the strength to give her a kind end for her sake not mine.

[Lady_Eboshi]

[QUOTE=RugBug;8065170]
A free lease that doesn’t work out is often called a dead horse or one that has suffered a lot. Ask FlashGordon about her free lease situation.
http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/sh…t-can-go-(-(-(

Luckily, FG got involved before the horse died, but it wasn’t pretty…and this happens all the time. Would Fancy have been better off being put down? quite possibly.

Just because you are too emotionally involved to separate yourself from what really counts, doesn’t mean the rest of us are. Death is NOT the worst thing that could happen.[/QUOTE]

Death’s not the worst thing that could happen, but most situations don’t end in worst-case scenarios, either; and I think TONS of people read all this drama and think that gives them a pass to say, “Well, I’ll put him down because NObody can take care of him like I can.” Don’t take it personally; I’ve been watching people rationalize along those lines for over 40 years. But the truth is SOMEbody had your horse before you did, and he got to you OK.

One HUGE point I’d like to amplify from 4THEHORSES’ post above: Due to the economic downturn, a lot of otherwise well-qualified horse lovers and riders have been displaced from actual ownership. Part-leasing, share-boarding or semi-retirement are GREAT ways that one horse can enjoy the benefits of MULTIPLE people who care about him and step up to the plate to give him a good life–but within their financial and time capabilities. At the same time, people who aren’t necessarily rich get to still enjoy horses. I see this as a win-win-win for all.

As a professional with a retirement farm, I see euthanasia more than most. I am notably unemotional about it after this many years. But every time the vet has emptied that first syringe, the thought goes through my head: We can’t take this back now.

I said way, way up-thread I don’t judge anyone else on their personal decision. If you can put a healthy horse down just because you want a different one, that’s on you.

But I hope this thread makes people THINK as hard as Lord Helpus did before those two needles get plunged; because death is a very, very FINAL solution.