When should you put your senior horse to sleep and what to do with it when they have passed?

Question

I have a mare who just turned thirty and she is family to me. In the past year her arthritis has become more apparent and we have tried to keep her comfortable with Bute. We are now dealing with euthanizing her and are curious on what to do with her. We have thought about burying her in the pasture but dont plan on living on this farm much longer. We have also thought of creamating her but the cost is around 2 to 3 grand. We dont want to send her to the renderers as she is our family. Also we have thought about keeping her hide as a memorablia of her.
Any opinions would be most helpful at this time. We wish we could keep her forever but dont want her to be in pain. Thanks.

Thanks for all the answers. We wouldnt euthanize her if we didnt have to but we live in MN and the snow concerns us for her walking. She is out 24/7 and is brought in just for feedings. We have also noticed lately that her pasture mates have begun to seperate her out. We are worried that she could slip and fall and we wouldnt find her till feeding time.

Thanks for all the answers. We wouldnt euthanize her if we didnt have to but we live in MN and the snow concerns us for her walking. She is out 24/7 and is brought in just for feedings. We have also noticed lately that her pasture mates have begun to seperate her out. We are worried that she could slip and fall and we wouldnt find her till feeding time.

Thanks for all the answers. We wouldnt euthanize her if we didnt have to but we live in MN and the snow concerns us for her walking. She is out 24/7 and is brought in just for feedings. We have also noticed lately that her pasture mates have begun to seperate her out. We are worried that she could slip and fall and we wouldnt find her till feeding time. This is so difficult, we just put down our schnauzer we had for 19 years and my grandma passed over christmas. Its just so hard to watch her walk in the pasture, especially when the other three come galloping in at feeding time and it takes her 5 minutes to get to us. I think we will end up burying her and hoping we wont sell the land for a while.
Thanks again for the opinions.

Answer 1

I know it is a hard thing to go through, and I am glad you are considering Euthanasia- I have worked at a vet and seen a lot of people that will let their animals suffer in pain and keep them alive by machines or daily vet visits because they are afraid to let go. It is a hard choice with a lot of tears, but I have never regretted it.
As for what to do afterwards- it is all on what you want and your thoughts on the matter. Truthfully, with all of our horses we called the "big red truck".
The way I look at it- by the time you call them, it is just a body, the spirit or essence is gone. I am perfectly fine with being carted away the same way when I die-there is nothing left in the body but tissue.
I know someone that kept their horse's skull and hide as a rememberance, and it really helped her move on and she loved it. Personally, I think it is kind of creepy- I have cow and deer hides everywhere, but none of them were a pet. What I keep is a big chunk of tail hair or mane.

Answer 2

Hi, I can understand your pain of having a horse you know is just going to suffer, but it sounds like you are on the right track. The people I know have buried their horses, however, remember this requires a very large hole and you may have to worry about animals trying to dig her up depending on where you live if the hole is not deep enough. http://www.azcentral.com/community/gilbert/articles/0203gr-horseburial0203Z12.html This site talks about some options. I personally would go for burying her in your backyard. Then you can have somewhere to help you remember her by, and you won't have to worry about her. To me keeping her hide would be weird, but if you feel that it would comfort you go for it. I would cut some of the mane and braid it. I've also heard that though keeping her stuff around might be nice, donating it to a rescue organization is better because you don't have the constant reminder and you'll know someone else is accomplishing good because of her. Maybe keep a special halter or bridle around. I hope it all works out okay, euthanasia is really hard.

Answer 3

Well I'd only euthanize her if she is in obvious pain. Give her 24/7 turnout time, and let her live out her life. But you also mentioned that you aren't going to stay on the farm much longer, so I'm guessing you can't take her with you where ever you are going, so at her age and condition, euthanazia would be best, cause someone else would just send her to the glue factory. Don't keep the hide, that is creepy to me, plus, you want her to have her hide when she arrives in heaven don't you? (and what would people think if they saw your grandmothers skin over the sofa, if she is family, that would just be weird) What we do is cut a piece of the mane or tail (whichever is longer) and braid it, then tack it to a picture frame, with the horses picture in it. Bury her at home, it might be cheaper, but you will have to rent a backhoe, and make it about 10 foot deep hole.

Answer 4

I was just recently in a similar situation with my 25 year old Holsteiner. He was arthritic and started falling frequently under saddle, then out in the pasture as well. If I lived anywhere other than Michigan, I would have nursed him through, but at 17.2 hh, he was too much horse to keep falling and not hurt himself badly, especially in the ice and snow we usually get in the winter. To the answerer who said arthritis is a part of life, it is different in animals. Part of the responsibility of animal ownership is know when to end their suffering, and if she is being ostrasized by the herd, and is in constant pain, her quality of life does not justify her pain. Anyone who tells you different has not had an arthritic animal, specifically a horse. You are making the right decision.

I'm not sure where you got the quote for the cremation, but I would look around some more. I am close to a major veterinary college (Michigan State), but their cost was only $450 for euthanasia and cremation. I ended up burying my old man at my friend's farm where he had been boarded for the last year of his life. If you are near the veterinary school in MN it should be cheaper than the 2 to 3 grand you were quoted. I found MSU to be very helpful and informative in all of my dealings with them. While I elected not to go this route, they also offered the option of bringing Manny (my old man) there just to be cremated. I work for a vet, so I was going to have my vet help me haul him to the college and euthanize him there so I only had to pay the cremation fee ($100). I understand the pain you are going through, and how difficult of a decision this is. I debated for a good portion of the summer before I made my decision, and i was helped immensely by my friend who allowed me to bury him at her home. She was also a great support the day we had him put down. I hope you can find a peaceful, respectful way to end her suffering.

Answer 5

I had a palomino QH die peacefully at age 30. I kept his tail (cut the hair off below the bone) and bound it together with a ball of wax.
I'd put her down now if she is in pain and the others are avoiding/pushing her away. That is a sign that she will likely die soon anyway. This way you can make sure she is pain free and peaceful, and can be with her at the last.
I'd bury her - what is going to stay with you is her memory, not the place where her body is buried. A house was built on top of my old gelding's grave... but that is just his body. His soul is with God and his spirit will always be with me - and I have his t ail hair to remind me of his beauty and lovability.
A stone marker could protect her grave and hopefully whoever buys the farm will respect it.
Good luck. I feel for you - it's been 12 years since my Champ died and I still miss him. But life does go on, and I have horses now - though none like Champ!

Answer 6

37 is pretty old for a horse and it sounds like he may be slowly dying. have your vet come out and see what he/she thinks. they will be able to give you a better opinion since they can observe your horse's behavior. Try to make everything as comfortable as possible and make sure your mares aren't ganging up on him. since he's not shedding his winter coat, why don't you clip him? that would make him a lot more comfortable. also, since he doesn't have any teeth, you might want to try adding some water to his grain to make it softer and easier to chew/digest. try filling a bucket with soaked hay cubes and make them really soft. i have a 19 year old mare that's having trouble keeping weight on and she loves the soft hay cubes. EDIT: I wish you and your horse the best and i can only imagine how you feel right now. i sold my horse about 2 years ago and now i have no idea where she is. i'm sure your horse had an awesome life in the time that he lived with you. good luck and i hope everything works out! give him a kiss for me =]

Answer 7

I know how you feel. I have a mare that is 16 I have had her for the last 14 years I know that I will keep her as long as she lives and when she goes or needs to go I would have her put down. No matter what I would have her buried. If your mare is suffering its in her best interst to be euthanized. Even if you move from the farm you will always remember your horse and Im sure you would be able to go back to visit her grave. I know I have tons of pictures of my mare and thats the way I would want to remember her.

Answer 8

you could burn her but tha would be pretty stinky. whan my horses got loose we had an arabian that ran into a parked car and broke his leg in three places and had to put hi down we just burried him in the back yard. the hole keeping his fur is kinda weird if you think about it...... try you vet and see if they have any ideas. also the people that clean dead animals of the roads may be able to help figure out what to do with them

my neighbor had a horse about 35 yrs old and he has arthritis really bad in the front legs and a tumor under his chin. and he is still very health they also have a littl e girl that rides him about 2-3 times a week ,,,, maybe you should reconsider having her put to sleep

Answer 9

Euthanize her if her quality of life is suffering. If you're using Bute daily to comfort her from arthritis, she's not leading a very quality life. Bury her. You may not be staying at your place for much longer but you'll carry her with you for the rest of your life. I don't believe in keeping reminders(such as a skin) of a beloved horse. If you love her half as much as you say, you don't need a reminder of her, it would only bring pain in the future. Beside, would you skin you husband or father when they passed away?

Answer 10

you are doing the right thing by putting her to sleep & i am truly sorry. i hope everything turns out ok. oh & about your question, i would either have her cremated or a skin. im not sure if you can stuff horses but you could also do that.i would only bury her if i didnt want to lose her completely & not have anything from her. you could also bury her & keep a piece a of her tail or mane.
im sorry for your loss.