I have a 14 year old mare and two other horses. I love my horses dearly and don't want to be in the situation that I am in now but here I am.

My horses have always had all of the shoeing and vet care they need. They have a good safe barn, good fences and good feed.

My problem is that this mare who is 14 is flat out running me out of money with all of her health problems. I have never had a horse who has had so many.

 Here is a sampling:

She has terrible allergies and has required antihistamines, special shampoos and allergy shots.

She escaped the pasture only once and in the 20 minutes she was out she dislocated her navicular bone in one hoof and requires very expenesive shoeing. (i feel a hostage to her shoeing bills).

She has that head tossing thing which is either light sensitivity or allergies no vet can tell me which.

She has melonomas all over her. They are on her lips making eating her pellets harder for her and they are a little ulcerated. They are under her tail, on her udder on her face. She has one in her right eye. They began at age 3.

Now she either  has a granuloma on her ovary or a hormone imbalance causing her to be aggressive even though her nature is to be a sweet cuddly mare.

If she has the granuloma on her ovary it will cost $1500 to remove and if I don't remove it she may become more aggressive perhaps even to myself (right now it is just geldings). I have owned this mare since she was 3 and her heats were always unnoticable but now she is in heat all of the time.

Apart from all of this she is glossy and eats well.

I am going to have to get financially creative and sell some personal items to finance this operation should I choose to do so but what will be the next thing? (ebay here I come)

I already asked the vet college for answers about the spread of these melanomas and they had nothing for me. I tried cymedine and every other quack remedy that said it would help and they are accellerating. Nothing works.

I could end up hurting myself financially and have this horse drop dead they next week of an internal tumor no one could see which is growing internally. A friend of mine had a very nice 10 year old mare drop dead in the field with no warning and a necropsy found an internal tumor in her chest wall which had chaffed through an artery. This mare had no external signs of anything wrong before her death.

My vet and my horse shoer keep telling me that they see horses all of the time with more melanomas than mine and that I shouldn't worry. What they don't realize is that I have to worry about paying for all of this. I have a job which used to pay people a lot of money but my job doesn't pay that much anymore. I am single and I have two other horses to support. The unfortunate truth in the matter is that money is what keeps things going and the whole deck of cards may come down if I am not careful and then I will have no horses.

The horse barn owners and trainers understand my issues here. I don't understand why the veternarians all want to make this such a difficult choice. My heart tells me that it is better to humanly euthanize before the horse is layed low in a terrible condition. I watched my father die of cancer and it was a terrible thing to see. I also know that I need to be able to pay my other bills too.

Suggestions? Comments?

 

 

horseservant:

My vet and my horse shoer keep telling me that they see horses all of the time with more melanomas than mine and that I shouldn't worry. What they don't realize is that I have to worry about paying for all of this. I have a job which used to pay people a lot of money but my job doesn't pay that much anymore. I am single and I have two other horses to support. The unfortunate truth in the matter is that money is what keeps things going and the whole deck of cards may come down if I am not careful and then I will have no horses.

horseservant:

My heart tells me that it is better to humanly euthanize before the horse is layed low in a terrible condition. I watched my father die of cancer and it was a terrible thing to see. I also know that I need to be able to pay my other bills too.

 

 I agree with this --- you have given her a lovely life and loads of special treatment.  But you are right, conditions will only degenerate and strap you financially, which you should NOT do.  Horses do not have any expectations or anticipation for the future, they do not mourn life they might "miss out" on (in a human perceived way).  Humane euthanasia means she lives a great life and then passes peacefully and with love.  The rest of us can only hope for so much luck!

Solaris:

I agree with this --- you have given her a lovely life and loads of special treatment.  But you are right, conditions will only degenerate and strap you financially, which you should NOT do.  Horses do not have any expectations or anticipation for the future, they do not mourn life they might "miss out" on (in a human perceived way).  Humane euthanasia means she lives a great life and then passes peacefully and with love.  The rest of us can only hope for so much luck!

I couldn't agree more. I'd just like to add it's not the questions that are hard. It's the answer we don't want to arrive at that is. We can only fulfill the responsibilities we have to our animals to the best of our ability in order to be faithful to the trust they place in us. Knowing when we have reached that point is not something a vet or farrier can determine on our behalf. There are too many issues suggesting a painful terminal outcome for this mare to recriminate yourself for not doing more than you have already done. And trying to do more at additional expense risks your ability to care for or save another horse should an emergency arise with one of them.

All of us who love and keep animals must ultimately face these very lonely decisions. But you are not alone in the the loss you will surely feel. Those of us who have been there before will share that with you. ~FH

I understand where you are coming from.  My horse with DSLD Riskey has pasterns sitting almost on the ground in the back and getting lower in the front and he is starting to go blind from the disease.  But he still gets out and runs and plays with the other horses.  I have discussed my options and basically the vet is on call for my decision.  On the one hand he is not in pain right now but on the other hand he is loosing his sight and that is makeing him unpredictable and very jumpy.  I have people who would support me if I made the choice to put him down and people who have told me I shouldn't.  Ultimatly I have found peace in knowing that he will tell me when it is time and when he does I will not let other peoples opinions sway me.  I will hold his head in my arms and let him know he is loved and it is OK to rest.  Quality of life is more important than quantity.

I'm sorry that you are having such problems with this mare and are trying to do what is best for her.  Here is a suggestion.  If they would take her, would you consider donating her to a vet school?  The students would have a chance to see what several different conditions look like and have an chance to try different or new treatments on her, and get hands on equine handling experence at the same time.  Then when it is determined that nothing more can be done and she is suffering, she could be put down and continue to be a study subject that way also.  This way she may be able to help other horses that have similar problems.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Spotted Pony

Bless you Amber.  I hope I have the strength to do the same when Annapolis' time comes.

I agree with the "quality not quantity of life" statement. Sometimes you have to put a limitation on what you are willing to spend. If you have had her since she was 3, and she is now 14, trying to give her away or sell her would be too traumatic. Many horses are not fortunate enough to have this mare's quality of life for 14 years. Set yourself a limit for what you can spend without depleting your ability to care for yourself and your other animals. All pet owners suffer with this same conflict, and it is a tremendous emotional hardship. Best of luck with your decision, and, I'm sure everyone will support whatever you decide to do.

The closest vet school is an 8 hour drive away. They saw her once in 2004 and looked at her cancer as it was then and her navicular bone problem. At that point I thought I could still salvage my mare and paid for an mri of her hooves. Her picture was actually in Equus magazine with her hooves in the machine. They told me to take her home there was nothing they could do. Oh, an don't forget to pay this $2,600 bill. She is also a home farm dwelling family pet. She is very loving and bonded with us. When I used to take her to horse shows I'd rent a stall and when would go out of sight for more than 5 minutes she would call me non stop and scour from the stress. She has lived on this farm for more than 11 years now and she will die here. It is her home and she loves it here.

I feel for you. I"m where you are now. Actually, your situation is worse then mine. DO NOT let anybody make you feel guilty for putting this mare down if that's what you so choose. I am putting 3 horses down in the next week. One has cancer, one has cushings and the other is getting up there in years. I"ve been told I should do all sorts of things with the two sick ones. By people other then my vet. Thankfully, my vet is the kind that believes death is not the worst thing out there. You do need to sit down with your budget and see what it tells you. Your budget is cold hard facts, no emotion involved. IF you can come up with the money for her surgery and she does indeed make it though and gets better. How long can you realistically afford her up keep? What happens if you keep her going and then something happens to one of the other horses? After putting more money into her for surgery that may or may not help, can you build your savings back up with out selling your soul to the devil? Are you saving money towards your retirement? I know, more questions then answers, but in the long run, only you can answer this question. Look at the facts of your money, with out emotion, then when you have your money answers, you in the long run have your answers. SInce I didn't offer much more then more for you to think about I will offer ((((((HUGS)))))) for you and what you are going through.

Bless your heart. We are all here for you.  I live in constant fear one of my guys will need to have a hard decision made.  Good luck, follow your heart, you know her more than anyone else.

journeygirl:

one has cushings

I have to ask, how long has he/she had cushings, and what makes the situation to the point of putting down?  I have an elderly rescue with Cushings, so please don't think I am judging or prying, I feel like I need to have all of the personal stories I can to be prepared for him.

Truthfully, I'm actually not sure she has cushings.  This last two years have been horribe financially for my family.  Horses have got minimal at best care.  It's been in the last 8 months that things have started to swing back up.  I've talked with the vet over the phone about her issues.  She said that it sounds like cushings.  She (the vet), said to me that treatment for cushings is expensive.  She said that if I don't give her the meds to make sure I keep her body clipped in warm weather.  I just say she has cushings because it's easier then explaining that I was a bad horse mom for awhile.  Once money started getting better I again spoke to the vet and told her what was going on with the pony now.  She said considering her age, best we can tell she's early 30's, I should consider putting her down in the near future.  This was early spring.   Well after finding out in June that my son's little mare had cancer I decided then that I would just put the pony down when I had to put the other mare down.  The third horse, She's older, perfectly healthy.  Not a thing wrong with her physically.  She's just not re-homeable.  She had a VERY bad start before I got her.  Horrible.  She has *issues*, *quirps*, what ever you want to call it.  I vowed when I bought this mare 15 years ago that if the day came when I couldn't keep her or didn't want her anymore that I would put her down before I'd ever let her go back to the situation she was in before.

To the OP, DO NOT let anybody make you feel bad for putting down your horse.  Your horse has a ton if issues.  I have been told I"m a horrible person for putting my mare down (the healthy one).  Literly, in those words.  I was told I should give her to ANYBODY that would breed her.  Because to put down a perfectly healthy horse is just wrong.  IMO, I"m doing what's best for this mare.  I can't risk her going through what she went through before I got her.  Nor can I risk her hurting someone because they don't know how to read her. 

Thank you JG, and please do not feel like I was judging you for your decisions,  just like with the original poster, you know this horse better than anyone else, and I agree with you on your old mare that it is better to put her down happy than risk her going to a bad home.  Cushings can be hard, however, treatment is not necessarily that expensive.  I use Chaste berry with my guy, some horses it has great progress in, and others it doesn't. I wish you all the best with your hard decisions.

OP, again, you know your horse, and if you cannot afford proper care, and/or her quality of life is not good, everyone willl understand, and if they don't, who cares what they say!  Good luck, and do what you know is best for your situation. 

No one should be making either of you feel guilty. People are selling perfectly healthy young horses to slaughter. You guys are caring for your horses as long as you can to the best of your ability and then doing the most humane, responsible thing for your animals. Every time we have a colic, my stepmom says, "Look, I dont want you to get upset, but I'm not going through colic surgery with this horse (15 yo gelding with major colic issues), so if he's not better by morning, we're putting him down." Every pet owner has to face this possibility, and the responsible thing to do is usually the hardest. My heart goes out to both of you, and I hope those around you will be supportive of your very tough decisions!

Journey girl, I cannot believe that someone whould have the gall to tell you that you should give your mare to anyone who would breed her. Did you tell that person that this country exported 58,000 horses to slaughter in 2008? Holy cow!

 There are so many 'breeding operations' that are just horrible places. If you have had the mare for 15 years even if she was a foal when you got her there is a good chance she might not even take if she was bred.

I have been riding for 39 years and have seen so many abuses of horses. There you are doing your best to do the right thing. You are going to spend the money to have the mare euthanized untramautically at your own home and other people are squeezing a dollar out of their friends by traumatizing them in a slaughter situation.

Whoever that was has to be an idiot. Tell him or her to go to a horse rescue and see how many abused starving horses there are there and count how many are 'brood mares'. Then he or she should be required to look at how many congential defects that those mares have that have been indiscriminately bred into the next generation of horses so someone could make a dollar. in fact all that person has to do is go to a horse rescue web site.