This sounds horrible but why do?

Question

Vets shoot horses to put them to sleep ? do drugs take longer ?

Answer 1

This is a very personal "hot topic" question. I can only answer with my own experiences as a vet tech. We have used both methods of euthanasia based on customers preferences. I am trained in both methods and have euthanized more animals over the years, than I care to truly acknowledge. I used to do some volunteer work for a local animal shelter that had confiscated some emaciated horses that were beyond rehab. One of which had been tangled in barbed wire and been down for 48 hours. He was mercifully shot, but not before he nickered a faint thank you. It was one of the eeriest experiences of my life. Like he knew it was coming and he was grateful.
One mare we tried to rehabilitate and we had spent a lot of time and groceries on her, but she developed an impaction and gas colic. We knew she would never survive surgery, so it was decided to euth her by injection. It was horrible, she thrashed and crashed around. She would scramble to her feet and fall to her knees. In the end, she did not go easy.
I know that everyone has had their own experiences with this, but I prefer a well placed bullet.

Answer 2

Vets use a sedative and then a barbituate to put horses down generally. Some vets do not use the sedative and that can make for a horrible death. If you ever have to do drugs, make sure the horse is sedated first-that way, they feel nothing and usually go to sleep within 45 seconds to 2 minutes but its calm.

I will tell you if a vet refuses to sedate your horse and you can find someone else, do so because in my mind that is cruel and dangerous.

Some vets (not many) use a captive bolt system which is similar to a gunshot. Placed properly, its quick and painless but its take a good aim and practice so I prefer drugs. My husband is an equine vet and I have gone with him many, many times to put horses to sleep and not once has it been as horrible as some portray. He makes sure he overdoses them with sedative and then gives them the final drug that euthanizes them.

Also, to biscuit- any equine vet that refuses to come out to help an animal is a waste of your time and I would find someone else to do your work. Now if they had many emergencies and couldn't get out there quickly-that's one thing but otherwise its their job, its what they get paid to do and its for the benefit of the horse.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

If you know what you're doing, you've a cool hand and the proper caliber pistol - shooting is by far preferable.
I've been raising horses all my life.
More times than I like to remember I've had to put a horse down.
Once, and only once I used a vet for this (for my own animal).
The horse was insured and the insurance company required a vet to euthanize the horse.
After this horrible episode, I had to assist a vet (for a friend) to euthanize a mare using drugs.
There will not be a third time.
Never, ever, ever again.
Both times were just horrific.
I wont go into detail - I'm not here to gross anyone out or sound like a headline from a tabloid.
Since that time, I've put my own horses down when needed - using a pistol. (357 magnum with hollow points).
When done right, they're *gone* before they hit the ground.
Never EVER try this without proper handgun training, and experience.
PS - Added note. To euthanize a large animal with drugs is not at all the same as smaller animals.
I’ve held my cats/dogs when they’ve passed on via *the needle* and it’s a lovely experience... Meaning, they do just *go to sleep* - as far as can be detected by the handler and vet.

Answer 4

It truly does depend on the situation. If the horse is in extreme pain and you don't want it to suffer while you wait for the vet, shoot it. It sounds cruel, but your faithful equine friend will appreciate you for making the pain go away. However, if a vet is there quickly or you yourself are a vet, administer the shot. Just be by your horse's side the whole time. It may break your heart, but think about it. Would you want to die alone or with your friend by your side so that you know you are loved?

Perspective, or more specifically, situations are strange and can always have grey areas, so it depends.

Answer 5

Drugs do take longer.

They are BIG animals, 600 / 700 kilos

I had to have my beautiful, much loved Thoroughbred mare destroyed, three years ago on Saturday. She was terribly needle shy and hated vets, with a passion.

It sounds weird to say this, because I paid this man to shoot my horse, but he was kind. She had her head down, eating from her bucket. I had her rope in one had and the bucket in the other, he stroked her face and then pulled the trigger.

She was dead before she hit the ground. She had no stress, no fear, no fighting an injection - some do fight it and I couldn't bare to see that as I'd seen her fight sedation when she'd needed treatment. Lurching around, terrified - all horses are different.

It was such a shocking thing for me. She was my first horse and I loved her so much - I am crying now. But for her, it was so quick and painless.

It is a hard thing to stand and hold your horse while someone pulls a trigger, but it was the last, kind and good thing I could do for my mare - I felt I owed her that. She gave me so much in the years we were together, I couldn't quail at the end, so I did what was right for her, not what was easiest for me.

By the way, I am in the UK.

Also, it doesn't "blow their brains out", there was a little trickle of blood - period.

Answer 6

It is a matter of preference. In emergency situations, when there is no vet available it is sometimes the only option. I had a 33 year old appy mare slip on the ice one sunday morning and she absolutely shattered her front legs, she made the most horrible gut wrenching sounds and was in un believeable pain, it was sunday and the on call vet was on a colic call....meaning he would not be here soon so I did what I had to do and my neighbor (an experienced gun owner/hunter) put peaches out of her agony. I do not think inexperienced handlers should handle guns and I hope I am never in the position where i have to shoot my own horse, but if I ever had to watch them suffer I would have to muster up the courage. I agree with mulereiner, I have seen drugs not work, when I was 13 (many years ago ;) my pony named duncan who was 40 something had finally reached the end, he had heaves, arthritus, moon blindness and was developing kidney failure, my parents told me it was time to let duncan go. I had them call Dr. Eunice and she only brought one syringe out to the pasture with her. I was not allowed to go out there and my dad was holding duncan, but I was watching upstairs from my bedroom window becaue I still could not beleive that this was happening, and I guess the vet did not take duncan's weight into consideration because he did not lay right down and go to sleep as she had promised he would....he began convulsing, fell to his knees and appeared to be siezing (he was in cardiac arrest and was conscience). I was so upset that my mother ran out with the rifle and told my dad what to do. It was the single most horrifying moment of my life....the bottom line is sometimes things go wrong! If you have an old horse and you decide that it is time to end their suffering and you have time to make the decision rather than an emergency situation, and your vet is kowledgeable then that may be the decision for you. But when an accident happens and a vet is not available it has been proven that a bullet (of the right calibur) is just as fast and painless and humane, but it is harder for some people to accept.

Answer 7

This may ruffle some feathers, but I choose a well placed shot over an injection any day.

It's quick , clean and painless when done correctly. If you ever need to humanely end the suffering of a horse in the back country or for whatever emergency situation that may befall you. This is what you need to know.

Draw a line from the edge of the ear to the corner of the eye on both sides of the forehead. Where the X meets is your target. The horse will go down immediately and there will be virtually no mess. One thing to remember is not to stand at a distance or you will botch the whole thing.

And for those of you who are wondering, yes I have had to do this myself. No, its not pleasant, but I could never let a horse suffer and sometimes you just need to do the right thing.

Hopefully you will never need to, but knowledge of the subject is always a good thing to have in the event of emergency.

Also a 22 is insufficient firepower for a horse. Use a 35 or larger caliber.

Additionally, a shot, properly administered will not "blow their brains out" as some have suggested. It is a surprisingly blood free procedure.

Answer 8

I suppose it would depend on the situation, and the intended future use of the carcass. If the body is going to be "recycled" by being donated to a carnivore rescue, then it can not be chemically euthanized. Other than that, the only time I know of that my vet had one shot was when she went to euthanize an ancient down pony. Poor little guy's heart was so shot that he couldn't even move the drugs around in his system. I guess you can't hit them directly in the heart like you can with a dog with a collapsed circulatory system. After putting enough drugs in him to kill a half dozen horses, and he was still laying there taking an occasional gasping breath, the old man went inside, came back out with a gun, and shot the poor thing. In the case of one of our old geldings, a gun shot definitely would have been quicker. He suffered some sort of heart attack (he was somewhere in the 40+ age range) but he still seemed "OK....kinda sort of". Vet treated him, did blood work, and put him on some medication but advised that we probably needed to make a decision relatively soon and make preparations. We had her out a few days later to euthanize him....you'd never guess that he was dying....he looked great. Black, slick, shiny....but anyway, we took him up to his grave, gave him the first injection, then a few minutes later gave him the shot to euthanize him. He stood there. Calm...content...and stood there. And stood there....yawned a few times. She gave him another shot. By this time about 3-5 minutes had passed. (and yes, she definitely got it in the vein...I've seen enough of them done that I know it was done right) We were talking about how his circulatory system wasn't very good, and it was just taking time....she was beginning to get a little desperate and saying "C'mon boy....let's just lay down and go to sleep....PLEASE lay down....." But after another couple of minutes he did go ahead and go down and was gone soon thereafter. But definitely not what I would consider "fast". Did he suffer? No....I really don't think so...there was no sign of distress at all. He seemed totally calm. But (not that I wanted that for him) a bullet definitely would've been faster in his case.

Answer 9

It may sound horrible, but someone who knows how to do it can easily put down a sick horse with one shot, with absolutely no pain or thoughts of "what is happening to me???" On the horse's part, it is quick, painless, and often the best thing to do.

I grew up on a ranch and the nearest vet was hours away and on a busy schedule. My father had to shoot many of our animals through the forty plus years he was ranching in Nebraska. I remember our dog got caught in a sickle mower during hay season. He was badly injured, and Dad quickly put him down. One of our horses got tangled in a wire fence, and though we did everything to save him, he had to be put down. Dad told me that shooting a horse at close range is basically fool-proof. You can't mess it up. The horse just is immediately dead, and feels nothing.

So don't feel bad when you hear this. Death is sad, but it is something that happens. It is wrong to keep an animal alive when it is suffering and the damage is irreparable. Better to quickly give it relief and an end. I'll always remember the animals as they were when they were happy and healthy. It would have broken my heart to see them suffer and slowly die from their injuries. I'm sure that before long, it will become illegal to humanely put down your own injured animal, since PETA and other animal rights activists go over-board on these issues. But my dad would never have hurt an animal needlessly....he knew he was doing them a favor by shooting them, and he knew how to do it properly so they didn't feel a thing.

Answer 10

First off I would like to say that I am a newbie to Yahoo answers, but not new to horses. This is an emotional topic and this is a great way for people to share their knowledge and experiences. Isn't that the whole point?
I feel it is inappropriate for posters to berate or belittle those who have taken the time to post their experiences especially those who have had to deal with the unpleasant situation of having to euthanize a horse. Aren't we here to support each other? So in my humble opinion:
Grow up or go back to your sand box.