Putting Horses to Sleep

Ah_Yeah

Just off the back of other threads, and a conversation a friend and I had the other day, what are people's views on putting horses to sleep when they can't afford to keep them anymore?

My view would be if it is an older horse that couldn't be ridden (like in the example of a recent thread here), and I was concerned for its welfare, that I would prefer to put it to sleep than risk putting it into a home where I would not know where/how it would end up being treated.

A younger (or even older) horse that is healthy and can be ridden or at least is not in any sort of pain should certainly be able to be rehomed in some way.

I would at the very least exhaust every single possible method of rehoming, grass livery can be just €25 a week, and plenty places need companion animals. Alternatively riding schools will often take horses or ponies on loan if they can pay their way.

I just think that people with healthy animals see putting an animal down as an easy way out and don't even consider all that the poor animal has given them. As a lovely boardsie said to me once - they owe us nothing!

This is by no means a target at any other threads here on boards, I agree with putting down older animals who are in pain or unrideable, it's just to open up a discussion on how the recession has affected how we as a society care for our equine friends.

MDFM

Ah_Yeah wrote: »

Just off the back of other threads, and a conversation a friend and I had the other day, what are people's views on putting horses to sleep when they can't afford to keep them anymore?

My view would be if it is an older horse that couldn't be ridden (like in the example of a recent thread here), and I was concerned for its welfare, that I would prefer to put it to sleep than risk putting it into a home where I would not know where/how it would end up being treated.

A younger (or even older) horse that is healthy and can be ridden or at least is not in any sort of pain should certainly be able to be rehomed in some way.

I would at the very least exhaust every single possible method of rehoming, grass livery can be just €25 a week, and plenty places need companion animals. Alternatively riding schools will often take horses or ponies on loan if they can pay their way.

I just think that people with healthy animals see putting an animal down as an easy way out and don't even consider all that the poor animal has given them. As a lovely boardsie said to me once - they owe us nothing!

This is by no means a target at any other threads here on boards, I agree with putting down older animals who are in pain or unrideable, it's just to open up a discussion on how the recession has affected how we as a society care for our equine friends.

A very broad statement - you need to take into consideration people's individual circumstances..If I had got to breaking point, where I could not only no longer support my family financially or put food on the table , I would obviously choose to put the horse to sleep (having exhausted all other options within reason)..Healthy horses are being abandoned everyday, only one such beside me at the weekend - small horse left tied to a tree a long the road. Horse itself was in good condition & had obviously being well minded. It was a sad sight to see, but not knowing the owners circumstances, who am I to judge. Putting a healthy horse to sleep, imo, beats passing it on through several different hands, not knowing eventually where it'll end up or if it well ever receive proper care or attention.

Ah_Yeah

MDFM wrote: »

A very broad statement - you need to take into consideration people's individual circumstances..If I had got to breaking point, where I could not only no longer support my family financially or put food on the table , I would obviously choose to put the horse to sleep (having exhausted all other options within reason)..Healthy horses are being abandoned everyday, only one such beside me at the weekend - small horse left tied to a tree a long the road. Horse itself was in good condition & had obviously being well minded. It was a sad sight to see, but not knowing the owners circumstances, who am I to judge. Putting a healthy horse to sleep, imo, beats passing it on through several different hands, not knowing eventually where it'll end up or if it well ever receive proper care or attention.

I 100% agree with you on this one. On a second reading it does come across as a sweeping statement, so I'll rephrase.

There are some people out there who see putting a healthy horse (who can work) down as a first/only option because they can't afford to keep them, and don't attempt to rehome them or exhaust every other avenue - often because they just don't know how.

Animal shelters constantly provide information to small animal owners such as dogs or cats, but what information is broadcast to horse owners about struggling in the recession, ways to get by, or what to do when you just simply cannot put food on the table for yourself, not to mind your horse? Information is put out there, but often secondary to dogs or cats. I just personally think that there is not enough awareness created about options for people other than putting their horse to sleep.

Borderfox

Depends on situation, for me I have one horse and I would do everything in my power to repay him for all he has given me but if you have a lot of Horses then it might be different.
I couldnt understand how somebody could abandon their horse at the side of the road..

Ah_Yeah

You're right Borderfox. When you look at it that way, putting a horse to sleep is a kinder way than abandoning them to fend for themselves.

I would rather know a horse was free from any suffering rather than starve or be in any kind of pain.

fits

My opinion is that it is your duty as much as you can to make sure your horse has a good life until the end.

Passing on an older horse which has no value to someone when there is no guarantee they will look after the horse properly is not an option for me. I have three horses, two of them are valuable and if it came to it, I could sell them. The third though, my old mare, is with me until the end of her days, no two ways about it. If I passed her on, how would I know her teeth would be done, or that her owners wouldn't let her get too fat (she's laminitic) or that they would get her feet trimmed. She has no value so few people would look after her imo. It is my responsibility to ensure that she is cared for well and that I know where she ends up. Passing her on as a companion animal... is just not an option.

mystika121

To be fair, there aren't a lot of options for people if they can't afford their horses anymore. Rescue groups are out the door with horses they have saved and it's difficult to find suitable foster homes when the horse is back in full health.

Horse rescue groups do amazing work to help horses that are victims of neglect but maybe they could look at ways of preventing the horses from being in that situation to start with.

I don't have any figures but it must cost a fortune to save a horse that has been seriously neglected. Transportation to a rescue centre, specialist veterinary care, worming, farrier attention, months of feeding and then the ongoing cost of care for the horse until he finds a suitable new home.

What if rescue centres tried to circumvent the above by helping owners before this happened? If they were able to provide subsidised hay to owners or perhaps have a centre where owners could buy a couple of bales at a time as it's extremely difficult to buy single bales of hay. If trainee farriers could free a day a month to trim feet for a nominal sum. If unused / old rugs were donated and then made available to thin skinned horses for free.

It's not a solution for all cases but if it could help owners that want to do the best for the horses but have financial difficulties then it would free up resources the could be put to other use.