What the Horse World Needs Now Is...

...a new equine euthanasia drug that's not just effective for terminating a horse's life quickly and painlessly, but that's also safe for the environment. Added to the wish list: A drug that's affordable, and in unlimited supply, would be good to have as well.

It's become quite clear that "putting him to sleep" (a euphemism, if I ever heard one) is just about the only form of equine euthanasia that most people find acceptable these days. So be it.

But I have to come right out and say that the thought of escalating this practice, with the drugs now most commonly used to take the life of a horse, scares the environmental bejesus out of me. In fact, if I can help it, and until that desired new drug comes along, I won't be burying any more chemically euthanized horses on my property.

Here's why. Have a read of the reply I received from a practicing equine veterinarian when I asked her about the toxicity of horses made dead by lethal injection:


TOXICITY OF EUTHANIZED HORSES
"Most euthanasia solutions on the market are a combination of very potent anesthetic solutions called barbituates. Most are considered controlled substances, and have to be ordered and logged as such into the controlled-substance logs within a practice.

"The one I happen to use the most is a combination of phenobarbital, pentobarbital and phenytoin in a highly concentrated solution. The administration rate to cause death is approximately 1 cc per 10 lb of animal, so I use one entire 100 cc bottle per 1000 lb horse.

"I do not pre-sedate most horses unless they are very fractious, as I have found that it takes them longer to actually die and that they are often more violent when they fall to the ground. Again, more chemicals in the body to be concerned with.

"Now, when I put 100 cc of this highly concentrated death-inducing solution by IV injection into a horse, it kills by rendering the horse completely unconscious by overanesthetizing the brain, which then stops the heart quickly. Usually within 2 minutes a horse is truly dead.

"However, 2 minutes is not long enough for the body to break down the chemical at all. So now we have a 1000 lb dead horse with 100 cc of potent death inducing chemical in the bloodstream. If the horse is buried, the chemical will leak out into the environment unaffected as the body decomposes.

"Phenobarbital, pentobarbital and phenytoin are not species specific. If injected or ingested in enough quanity, they will kill ANY animal. Wild, pet, or human.

"I have heard incidental reports of wildlife and pets dying because they drank water that was contaminated by euthanasia solution. This often occurs because the horse was not buried deep enough in the soil and, as the body decomposes and settles into the dirt, a sinkhole over the body results. This is a place for rainwater or runoff to collect and, as such, may mix with the leeching chemicals and blood/muscle tissue from the dead animal. Oddly enough, the chemicals are really sweet tasting, and the combination can be irresitable for animals passing the burial site.

"It goes without saying that animals that are euthanized and then rendered are NOT put into the food chain at all. They are incinerated instead."


Well, let's HOPE they're all incinerated instead of rendered back into the food chain...but I'm not holding my breath. And I don't even want to think of how many lethally-injected horses have ended up, and will end up, in landfills around the country; we know darn well that all owners who have this procedure done don't have the means or the land to get their animals safely buried.

Like I said: What the horse world needs now is a different kind of chemical for killing horses by needle.

Until then, I'll be opting for gunshot.