putting a horse down

byhookorbycrook

I see on various websites where people have old horses that they sell as companions or hacks. I wonder if we as horse-owners sometimes tend to keep an old horse alive for our own sakes rather than theirs?

My own chap was 21 this yr and shattered his fetlock, so the decision was taken from me, but I know if I retired him to a field that he would have died anyhow. Opinions?

Kens

Sorry to hear about your horse

if an older horse is still fit & happy in their retirement then i dont see a problem keeping them as a companion but when they lose their quality of life thats a different story, I had my 24yo mare put down 18 months ago after a sudden illness, she had been lightly hacked two to three times a week in the last two years & was last ridden a few days before being put down ~ had the vet out multiple times over a bank holiday weekend and then hardest decision I ever had to make but she had lost her quality of life disinterested in her companions not to mention her food ~ still miss her every single day but there was no choice to make IMO is was a last act of kindness ~

byhookorbycrook

thanks Kens, I agree that putting a horse down when their time is done is the last kindness we can do for them,nothing worse than an old sick horse out in a field in a hard winter .

We put ours down when we think the winter will be too harsh for them or if they develop something that will cause them pain.

Not fun doing it, but if their quality of life will suffer then its the nicest thing to do for them.

PrideandLuna

The thought of it scares me but as my mare is 20 this coming year it is a reality I will have to face in the near future I think when the time comes she will let me know... At the momment she is fit and healthy and still loves being ridden
I do wonder sometimes if I will be strong enough to be at her side when the time comes or if I will have to ask a friend.

Fiddichs

I have a 27 yr old mare that is going fine and as long as she is happy I will keep her going

I also have an 18yr old gelding who I bred and he is still fit as anything, on A&R but apart from that he is acting like a 7yr old thing. With him I am keeping him going for as long as possible and again when the time comes I will retire him to the field for as long as he seems happy. He was showjumping at an affialiated level until he was 16 1/2 yrs old and would have kept going but I wanted to retire him before he got serious wear so he could have many years just hacking out.

I don't think you can give an age and I know some people riding horses well into 20yrs plus..