We Are Where We Are--So Let's Face It
It's never been my intention for this blog to turn into yet another place for people to argue their positions about horse slaughter. As a debate subject, it's never-ending, often disintegrates to name-calling and finger-pointing, and doesn't achieve its intended aim: No one from one side ever changes anyone's mind on the other side.
So instead of throwing more logs on the passion bonfire, let's face up to some facts instead. Here's where we are; let's just start dealing with it.
* There is little likelihood that any kind of factory-processing of live equines into useable byproducts will ever return to this country. South Dakota legislators added fresh evidence to that statement just last week, when they rejected a proposal--S.B. 170--to build an equine processing plant in that mostly rural state.
* Legal exportation of horses for this purpose is likely to come to halt as well. "The killers"--those who attend horse auctions, or who answer ads for free horses with intentions of shipping and selling the animals to meat processors--are about to be eliminated as a horse-market layer.
* This will leave horses without their traditional, by-the-liveweight livestock value--which is close to being gone already. This will create paradigm shifts with far-reaching consequences--some predictable, others not so predictable. But you know what? Humans are an adaptable species; we'll adjust, because we'll have to.
* As part of the adjustment, we'll each become more familiar with the ways and means of equine death and disposal--because the responsibility for it will rest with every individual horse owner.
* When all's said and done, this singular fact will remain: Every horse, with or without a loving home, will someday become a carcass that needs to be dealt with.
* So let's move on from slaughter as a subject, and open up a new one--that of individual disposal plans. You consider yourself a responsible horse owner, right? You're not one of those who'd just turn a horse loose to fend for itself, or dump it onto some unsuspecting person's property. You're not going to pretend that your horse will never die, or ever need to be put out of its misery. What are your plans? What method of euthanasia will you choose, and what will you do with each of the bodies?
posted by Juli Thorson @ 11:07 AM
13 comments
13 Comments:
Thank you for stating the obvious to people here on your blog. Being an owner of a few horses, one being 27 years old I am making plans on what to do when the time comes. I will humanely put him down by injection and bury him at the back of my property, unless of course my county passes some ordinance against it. As horse owners it is each of our responsiblities to care for our animals until the end even if it is expensive or inconvienent. Thanks for your straight talk. Love your blog!
I agree with TRC Juli- Thank you for being so straight forward and factual. You have been voicing concerns that a number of us have, but you are also giving us potential options to consider as well- unlike some other factions of the same old argument do.
Looking forward to your next post!
I have had my older mare for 25 years, today she is very healthy. When she passes or needs to be spared pain, she will recieve an injection from the vet who has cared for her all of her life and then be cremated. Todays cost for that care is around $1200.00 I have had my other well-loved horses, who passed on, taken away by a so called rendering truck. It always was so sad. I have had a lifetime of pleasure from my horses. I have 4, as of today, and have had all since their birth.
My 2 horses are 8 and 9 years old. When the time comes, if human intervention is needed to spare them pain, it will be by injection from my vet. I will either choose cremation, if I can afford it at the time, or will need to have the body removed. That's a sad thought, but I try to think that the horse's spirit will have gone on to where ever spirits go and it will only be a body being removed.
I unfortunately had a horse hit by lightning at age 6. She was instantly killed thank goodness. But because we were buddies I called an animal cemetary that cremated her and created a specail urn for her remains. She still lives with me in my home. Total cost was $850.00, mere pennies for the joy she gave me!!
My 26 y/o mare was put down by injection by my vet and buried at the boarding barn where she and I "lived". The owners sold the place 5 months later. I know I would have done it differently if I had known. The original plan was to have her put down there and then to have her cremated. My friend had her horse put down and buried on the property where she boarded her gelding, no problem.
Michigan has enacted new regulations for composting livestock, which may be an option if the time, place and everything else is right.
Wow, I never even realized that you COULD cremate your horse? I guess I live in a part of the country that has a lot of space, and burial isn't an issue.
I am fortunate enought that I have over 40 acres and live in a rural area, so I have a pet cemetary. I have my beloved gelding Moochie buried out there, my pet goat, a couple of dogs, some chickens and even a gold fish that was 7 inches long and too big to flush. Yikes!
I had mention on the previous subject about what I plan to do with my mare. At 26 a bit arthritic and cushoid, I know her time is short. She even seems to be getting a little senile in that life long habits are sometimes forgotten? At this point she still enjoys her life and does well on the pergolide.
While it's never easy to euthanize one, especially if your not sure if it's time or not, sometimes it's a no brainer. I remember the day that I had to let go of Moochie like it was yesterday. It started out after morning feeding with a colic. I called the on call vet as my regular vet was out of town. She came treated him and left.
Initally it looked like he was getting better but when the banamine started wearing off he detoriated rapidly. I called her out again, and she treated him hooked him up with I.V.s and never mentioned anything about a possible twist and said she would be back later to check him. By 2pm he was sweating profusely, having violent pain episodes, and his heart rate was near 90. I called her again. By now I KNOW he had twisted and due to his age and history of colic's he wasn't a candidate for surgery. She said she would be back out after she finished with a patient at the clinic. I'm getting real mad and frustrated at this point!
Well this vet didn't come back out. Instead she sent her intern 4 HOURS LATER. All this time I'm thinking she is going to arrive at any minute. The intern checks him over, tries to put yet another tube up his nose, and he starts reacting violently to the pain from an already full cecum. I took the lead rope from her and told her to stop what she was doing. She looked at me kinda like a deer caught in the headlights. I took out my pocket knife and cut him free from the I.V.s and said "put him down"! She asked me if I was sure and I said YES, I am not going to let him suffer anymore, it should have been done hours ago, and I wasn't happy about them telling me they would be right out and we had to wait four hours!
I lead him out of the stall and she told me what would happen after each injection she gave him. I held his head in my arms and chest as she released him from his pain. As he lay on the ground I sat with him, petting him and kissing his soft muzzle, knowing it was going to be the last time I ever touched him.
The ex husband and his father had been there all afternoon with us. We have an amicable relationship and Moochie orginally had been his horse. The ex had called a neighbor trying to find someone with a backhoe. The neighbor girl whom rode with me nearly daily heard what was going on and she came over. She was sitting in my tack room balling her eyes out. When they saw the backhoe coming down the road, my ex and his father made me go in the house. They didn't want me to see my beloved boy buried. I kissed him one last time, took a lock of his mane and tail and went to the house with the neighbor girl where we both cried.
I was pretty angry about the way the on call vet handled the whole situation. She actually had the nerve to tell me I made the right decision because he wouldn't have made it through the night! All I could think of so why didn't she tell me this hours ago and spare him the pain! I figured she was making a bundle of money off of me and that is why she didn't! I told my regular vet about the whole incident when she got back. My regular vet told me she felt that due to my situation and others that called this vet out when she was gone, that the vet did not have enough horse savy to be her on call vet anymore. My regular was ticked off at the way she handled it, and as a result she had my bill reduced by like $800.
The days afterwards where hard. To see an empty stall, halter and feed bucket and one less nicker at feeding time. I didn't mean to write a whole chapter here, but I guess that is why we blog, to get it out.
My childhood horse was 27 and had emphazema. My vet told me that he didn't think she would make it through the winter if she didn't have instensive care. He also told me that UC Davis would take her they were experimenting with a new drug lasixs that could help her. So donated her. When I dropped her off they told me I could never come see her or call to find out what happened to her. When I left her in a stall and she was calling and calling me pacing back and forth, I burst into tears but kept walking feeling like I betrayed her trying to tell myself they were going to make her better. My sister and I cried the whole 150 miles home and I vowed NEVER do that again.
There is a lady that braids your horses hair into nice bracelets. you can have silver pieces added in memoram. You can find her on the web at blackhorsedesign. They're nice and cost about $90. I was going to have Moochies hair made into a braclet but I decided to have pieces of all my horses made into one. She needs lengths of 16 inches or longer and about 100 hairs.
I had to deal with this situation in real life just about 1 year ago. However, like you mentioned I'd already made a plan what to do.
I live and board my horses in the suburbs so burying an animal on my or my barn's property is NOT an option so I'd already researched and decided on an equine cemetary that also picks up. And because we are not wealthy and sometimes money is tight...I researched cost and set that money aside so there'd be no problems in paying for it.
As for ending a horse's life...I totally believe in humane euthanasia.
My arab mare that died just about a year ago was 30 at the time of her death. She was sound up until the day she died and the only reason we had to put her down was a very severe leg break suffered while galloping in the pasture with her herd mates. I just did not feel at 30 that even if surgery was an option that it was fair to put her through it...she'd served me faithfully and it was time to let her go.
With my two younger mares I have now it will be a case by case decision. If they find themselves with an injury or illness that is bad enough that they can not recover with a good quality of life I will then make the decision for euthanasia.
I've made a lifetime committment to both my mares and take that very seriously.
Thanks for taking on these topics which while not easy to talk about are important to do so.
Many people are "facing" it by going deep into the woods with their horses, tying them to a tree and leaving them there to starve...our other scenario involves taking their horses to a ranchers property, opening a gate and turning them loose...
I'd really like to think most horse owners are responsible people and are making plans for "what to do, when"...however, there are many people who'd abandon them in the woods or on someone else's property.....
I too, as many are, a responsibile pet owner. I will do what needs to be done when it needs to be done. The vet will be called they will humanely be put down and I am hoping they can be burried on my property. I may be optomistic but I believe there are more responsibile pet owners than not and most will be doing the right thing when the need arrives.
I understand your position and as i said in one of your other blogs, the inhumane videos circulating throughout the internet are the cause of strong anti-slaughter support. An enforced humane transportation, humane slaughter, and identification of slaughter agents would quell that support.
As to your question, I have a few useless horses that would only be a candidate for slaughter. I will never sell them or give them away. When the time comes, I will have my vet put them down if necessary. I will bury them in the place the spent most of their lives. I will endure any hardship they present for I am their steward and the one responsible for them. The least I can do for the joy each and every one put in my life.
I faced this situation a couple of years ago with my kids 20 something pony. She was dying and in pain, the vet was hours away, so my husband shot her. He is a very good marksman and it was over quickly. Luckily, we had access to a backhoe and were able to bury her on our property. After reading about the long term hazards of euthanisia, I don't feel so bad about having to shoot her.
You're absolutely right, Juli, on many accounts. I fully plan to humanely euthanize my horses---but you've reminded me that I need to find a crematory service because I know I won't live where I am forever and I'd rather 'take them with me'. (not to mention the runoff and other issues already mentioned) We euthanized one of our 'family cows' two summers ago, and I was the only one home. It truly was a peaceful, fast, humane way to go, and when it's time, it's time.
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