# How do you decide if it's time to put an old horse to sleep?



## Ace80908 (Apr 21, 2011)

I completely empathize with you. I had to put my ancient Cocker Spaniel to sleep this summer, but I waited too long. She was riddled with tumors, and in the end the vet slightly chastized me saying it appeared she had suffered with the tumors affecting her breathing and eating - though she appeared "OK" on the outside, she wasn't on the inside. She still had good days, so I thought there was still time...

I wish you peace in your decision, and I do think it is a kindness to let her pass in a field of green grass on a sunny day. (Gosh, I am tearing up as I type...).


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## Lockwood (Nov 8, 2011)

You are not long winded at all.  It’s not always easy to know.
Many people will say “Oh, they will tell you when it’s time” and yeah, sometimes they do, but more often they don’t.

One of the things I do is look at their over all quality of life. Are they having mostly good days? Or are they having mostly bad days?
Don’t make this decision in the middle of a short bad spell (unless it’s very serious) and likewise don’t make this decision during a happier/more active time.
Instead look back over the last year and see if you can figure it out.
Not an actually percentage, but enough to get an inkling of how things have been and how they may be in the upcoming year(s).

Also, be sure to separate how you feel from what may be best for the horse. Often owners (in general) will put these decisions off too long because they can’t let go, despite having a pet or horse who may be obviously suffering.

For me (who also has to make this decision before winter on one of my donkeys) it has a lot to do with what I mentioned above. It’s not a bums rush to do it on a day where pain is not the last thing they know, however, waiting until the choice is made for you by more dire circumstances means you may not be able to give them the dignified and peaceful end that they deserve.


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## rydernation (Mar 12, 2014)

Redhead said:


> How do you decide if it's time to let an old horse go?
> 
> 
> I have a 35 yr. old mare. I was there the day she was born. About five years ago she suddenly stopped eating and drinking. I had a vet out and he found nothing really wrong with her. I asked him to do a blood workup to see if anything was brewing. Test came back that she was in kidney failure. I've been getting her blood checked every 6 months to keep an eye on her kidney function. This last spring it had actually improved a little. She has all her teeth. She does have a really hard time keeping her weight up every winter.
> ...


Don't do this yet. It sounds like she's aging gracefully. You really want to wait until they are a) in chronic insoluble pain, or b) have bad breathing issues, or c) have an injury that you don't think you should put her through treating. The problem with all the above is that you are waiting until something happens. If this were you and you were a hundred and people started talking about putting you to sleep, what would you say? P.S. I have relatives who've lived to 106 and somewhat above.


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## Northernstar (Jul 23, 2011)

Welcome to the forum, Redhead 

I'm seeing some good, sound advice so far - I live in a very cold and snowy climate, and can understand your concern.... aside from what others have said, if she's also growing a good winter coat, eating, drinking, free of pain (aside from the arthritis, which my Vet recommends 1 gr Bute/day for arthritic horses) she will still just be your sweet, old mare.

My mares are in their healthy early 20's, but I know one day I'll be faced with these decisions as well. I say stick with it for now, and watch her closely as you are. You're a good, loving horse mom


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

35 is old so I am sure her time is limited.
Recently I felt it was time to put a horse down who wasnt getting along well due to arthritus. I changed his feed and now he is bucking and running around, Go figure


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## skiafoxmorgan (Mar 5, 2014)

35 is really pushing her longevity. Here is the thing: winters are HARSH. Young horses suffer sometimes. I suggest a tentative date in the fall, before it gets too cold, when they are all frisky and the days are still beautiful. Plan for that date. If you get there and she is frolicking and kicking up her heels, push the date back. You may find that she's telling you she's ready.


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## squirrelfood (Mar 29, 2014)

When there are more bad days than good. When the light has gone out of the eye and the spring from the step. If you watch carefully and pay attention, they will tell you when it is time.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

If she's slowly going downhill she may suddenly plummet in the winter.

There are also logistical issues with winter euthanasia, or she could pass on her own then.

If she is ready to go put her down before winter.


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## Redhead (Feb 11, 2014)

Thanks for all your replies. Your all saying all the things that are constantly running through my head. 
Another factor in all of this is that she will be staying basically outside all winter. Snowflake is a very high strung horse with separation anxiety. After thinking long a hard about it, five years ago after she started eating again and go back to her usual self, I decided to put her into board. Except for a few years when we didn't have property she's always been with me.Originally she was here with my other horse. I decided that if she was nearing the end I would get her to other horses. I loved how she would stand in the field in the mornings and look towards my kitchen window and nicker to me. I tried telling myself that she was too old to move. Vet told me she could be moved. I tried three different places with her. The first two she was to anxious. If I tried to take her away to groom or have her feet done, she would have a melt down. She was loosing so much weight I had to try to find the perfect place. The second place she had her own stall for her "soup" but she could to out with the herd the rest of the day. When they'd start releasing the others got so worked up one day that she broke down the fence. She really liked being with other horses.
I found a place and she started gaining her weight back. She had and in and out and pasture when it was dry. She wasn't happy when the second of two neighbours moved out. They couldn't even move another horse in the barn, even if they were still in the barn where she could see them, without turning into a spinning pacing nut job in her stall. She wouldn't even seem to notice if someone was with her. So the BO and I decided to move her into the outdoor paddocks with her two horses. She really likes this arrangement but,it means she'd be out this winter with just the three sided cover. She lost so much weight last winter when she was in a stall at night and wearing her blanket I don't see how we're going to keep the weight on her this winter. The difference in her with being out with the others is like night and day. She's calm all the time. I can take her away for her feet and grooming and even hand grazing and she's fine. Use to be she wouldn't even graze when she was literally just outside the fence from the others. She would just keep fussing and behaving like her world was about to end. 
This is my long winded way of saying bringing her back into the barn at night is just not going to work. Given the circumstances, I don't like the idea of her not having as warmer stall to sleep in. Even with all her blankets on, I doubt that she'll be warm enough. She absolutely love being in the situation she's in now.
This is my problem. I can leave her as she is for the summer and she'll be calm and happy. She'll be outside when the area she's in gets very muddy when the rain starts with only the open cover.
If I start having her brought in when is starts getting cold and wet she's going to fret and pace in her stall and not finish her soup. I know she'll loose weight again because the soup is really what she lives off of. The hay she gets is more to keep her busy all day. 
People who know me tell me that I should listen to my brain. In my brain I know it would be better for her to let her go before she has to go through another winter. In my heart I still see the horse I watched grow up from a cute little filly to the mare she is now. I think if I'm honest with myself I know I'm really only seeing what I want to see because I can't let go.


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## Redhead (Feb 11, 2014)

Me again. 
Please excuse all the spelling and otherwise poor writing from my last post. I'm fighting off a migraine that's been threatening me all night. I don't function, or even think properly when I get these. I know I sound like an illiterate babbling nincompoop but I hope you can follow what I've said.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

I'm so sorry. I know it's hard. It does sound like realistically it's time. Better now than in February, trust me.

I agree with the poster that said set a date for this fall, when it's still nice out, and see how she's doing then.

Are you thinking of her or you? As hard as it is the decision needs to be made for her not for you. If you genuinely believe she will suffer through the winter/it may be her last winter either way, do it before that point.


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## Redhead (Feb 11, 2014)

http://www.horseforum.com/members/103457/album/snowflake-12410/snowflake-pasture-july-2014-91138.jpg
So this is my Snowflake yesterday. She still looks good for 35 yrs. old on the outside, at least.
Snowflake is the appaloosa in the background.


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## beverleyy (Oct 26, 2011)

OP, you're about 45 minutes from me (I'm in Huntingdon), so I understand about the wet winters. 

Personally, she doesn't sound like she's majorly slowing down, just general aging. 

I have a mare who is older - we've never known her age but I have owned her 11 years this week and she came to me green as grass, previously a broodmare. She's a 13.2h Welara. She is 100% healthy, but no longer able to eat hay. She has a full set of teeth but they are downright awful due to poor care before I owned her as well as from a barn I had her on full care board for a number of years (long story short I wasn't able to get out much and later realized how poor the care was, I moved her ASAP). She is on pasture almost 365 days a year as she is still able to eat grass. So warmer months she grazes all day and then gets her "mush" for dinner, just 1 bucket full. This includes her alfalfa cubes, BP, & grain - no "special" supplements, thankfully she gets fat off air. In winter though she gets pasture and 3-4 buckets of this same mix per day. She's still in a regular work load, she has more energy than my 8 y/o TB. While she is still in a regular work load and I swear she has more energy than my 8 y/o TB, I was so nervous when I pulled her off her hay that she's drop weight and I'd need to put her down. I think if anything she gained weight. She is actually slightly overweight but my vet prefers to see her that way considering her situation. 

How much weight does your mare drop over winter? Does she hold a good weight the rest of the year? Do you up her feed over winter/extra blankets as needed? Aside from not holding weight over winter, most of what you say just sounds like the general aging process and I wouldn't worry too much. Without actually seeing this mare or knowing more about her I would likely not consider putting her down at this point. But depending on how hard winter is on her, my opinion may change.


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## Redhead (Feb 11, 2014)

This last winter, she lost more than 100lbs. She was ribby and her spine was clearly visible. She just seamed skinnier every time I removed her blanket to brush her. I've been looking for almost any excuse to say that she's not really that bad. Right now she looks better than she has in years. 

I had blinkers on with my other mare. She died in a lot of pain. She got colic from complications brought on, at least in part, from medications she was on for heaves. She ended up with a twisted stomach. All my good memories are clouded now with the visions of her in so much pain. I don't want to wait until it's too late for Snowflake. I tell myself every summer when she seems to rally a bit and gain some of the weight back that she's really happy. Every winter though, I watch her loose all the weight she's gained. I see her out in the mud. She gets mud fever every winter too. She looks so unhappy. I end up praying every day that she can make it until the weather gets better. 
In a perfect world, I would keep her somewhere with no mud. Somewhere with heated stalls and companions that never leave. We live in B.C. though, winters here are usually cold and muddy. 
If only I had a crystal ball. At my age you'd think it would be easier. I can't think of anything else.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Even if you shipped her to a retirement place somewhere warmer it doesn't sound like it would be right for her (or you).

Honestly, I'm NOT trying to push you into anything AT ALL. But the vibe I've gotten all through this thread is you've already made the decision and are just trying to convince yourself it's the right one.

At the end of the day it's your horse. You know her best and it's your responsibility to do what is best for her. No one has any right to say otherwise, and even us as horse people, yes we will judge, but if you are making a logical decision in your horses best interest, then that is all we can say. It's your horse and you know her and love her.

Have you spoken with the vet? What does he/she say?

Our old mare had multiple issues. She slowly got worse with age but was still happy so we stuck it out. We ended up putting her down in January when she went down (not for the first time) and we couldn't get her up. I remember how upset I was. She was the best little mare and my first horse. However, that evening I had the strangest _overwhelming_ feeling of relief. Yes, of course I was still upset, but I was almost happy for her and for the big weight lifted off my shoulders. Sometimes it's just time. Maybe we should of put her down sooner, but she was happy up until the end so I am not going to second guess myself. As with you I wouldn't want to worry about doing things prematurely, though if you KNOW she's going to have a bad winter then maybe it isn't so premature (and as I said rational and logistical reasons say do it before, you don't want her suffering.)


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## beverleyy (Oct 26, 2011)

Redhead said:


> This last winter, she lost more than 100lbs. She was ribby and her spine was clearly visible. She just seamed skinnier every time I removed her blanket to brush her. I've been looking for almost any excuse to say that she's not really that bad. Right now she looks better than she has in years.
> 
> I had blinkers on with my other mare. She died in a lot of pain. She got colic from complications brought on, at least in part, from medications she was on for heaves. She ended up with a twisted stomach. All my good memories are clouded now with the visions of her in so much pain. I don't want to wait until it's too late for Snowflake. I tell myself every summer when she seems to rally a bit and gain some of the weight back that she's really happy. Every winter though, I watch her loose all the weight she's gained. I see her out in the mud. She gets mud fever every winter too. She looks so unhappy. I end up praying every day that she can make it until the weather gets better.
> In a perfect world, I would keep her somewhere with no mud. Somewhere with heated stalls and companions that never leave. We live in B.C. though, winters here are usually cold and muddy.
> If only I had a crystal ball. At my age you'd think it would be easier. I can't think of anything else.


Sometimes it's just age, and there really is nothing you can do. I personally think it's better to put a horse down a little too soon, rather than the alternative of too late. But as horse lovers it's incredibly hard to let them go even when we know that it's time.

Not sure what your board situation or feed schedule is, but if you pasture board could you switch to stall board over winter? I don't know of many fully heated barns in the Fraser Valley, my barn is only semi-heated, but a stall (heated or not) is better than no stall at all for an older horse over winter. Do you up the feed over winter? Increase or add any supplements? What does your vet think regarding her weight over winter?


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

beverleyy said:


> Sometimes it's just age, and there really is nothing you can do. I personally think it's better to put a horse down a little too soon, rather than the alternative of too late. But as horse lovers it's incredibly hard to let them go even when we know that it's time.
> 
> Not sure what your board situation or feed schedule is, but if you pasture board could you switch to stall board over winter? I don't know of many fully heated barns in the Fraser Valley, my barn is only semi-heated, but a stall (heated or not) is better than no stall at all for an older horse over winter. Do you up the feed over winter? Increase or add any supplements? What does your vet think regarding her weight over winter?


I'd recommend reading post number 10 (the OPs post) she touches on most of those issues. It sounds like the mare genuinely does not do well during the winter and many changes that would fix the issues she has are ones that she cannot cope with due to her personality. Unfortunately it's a lose/lose and some horses are just like that. I would not sacrifice my horses happiness for their health, especially since it will effect their health. (In this case it sounds like the mare would be even worse off!)

OP- I see a lot of comments about her age- just wanted to mention my comments were not coming (solely) from that perspective. I would say the same if she were, say 25. Some horses just live longer than others. Unfortunately, none of them live forever :/.


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## Bondre (Jun 14, 2013)

I've never been in this situation myself so can't really advise you, but I just wondered if you've had her outside over winter before? You mentioned that last year she lost a lot of weight, but as I have understood things, it was due to separation anxiety as much as the winter conditions. 

Mud is miserable, but I sometimes wonder if it's us as horse owners who actually suffer more seeing our horses mud-caked than they do?

Just to say that sonetimes our perceptions of a horse's comfort level can be anthropomorhic.

Your mare obviously needs to be out with her mates for her mental wellbeing. Do you think her body will resist the winter conditions? If she eats well in her current situation and doesn't stress, maybe she can still sail through another winter?

My understanding of your dilemma is hampered by the fact that it's hard for me to imagine what a BC winter must be like.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Maple (Jan 10, 2012)

Yogiwick said:


> Honestly, I'm NOT trying to push you into anything AT ALL. *But the vibe I've gotten all through this thread is you've already made the decision and are just trying to convince yourself it's the right one.
> *
> At the end of the day it's your horse. You know her best and it's your responsibility to do what is best for her. No one has any right to say otherwise, and even us as horse people, yes we will judge, but if you are making a logical decision in your horses best interest, then that is all we can say. It's your horse and you know her and love her.


^^^ THIS is the vibe I have gotten as well. 

Regardless of WHEN, you are going to miss this horse incredibly. Nobody will deny that. I can understand that you want to hold onto her as long as possible, but clearly your _gut feeling_ is telling you that it may be time to say goodbye. Enjoy the remainder of the summer if you feel she is happy, and as the others have said set a date for the fall. 

You are being a good owner by putting the welfare and happiness of your horse before yourself. I can understand wanting to hold onto her, but the fact that you have posted this tells me that you care more for her than your own feelings. As hard as it is, this is the right thing to do and I have immense respect for your courage.


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