Posts Tagged ‘euthanasia’
An answer for everything and then some!
Horse Slaughter is Cruel and Bute in the Meat Kills Humans
Sometimes this is a happy ending
In rescue, sometimes we have a little different idea of what makes a happy ending than the rest of the world. Remember Beau?
Beau didn’t make it – years of hoof neglect had taken their toll and too much damage had been done, but he had a wonderful last few months with Karen and it made the news the other night.
I can really relate to this as I lost one this week that I took only to make sure she had a wonderful retirement. She was not going to be rideable or usable in any way. I took her in because I liked her and wanted to make sure she never wanted for a single thing for however much time she had left, which turned out to be a year and a half.  This is the kind of thing that only another animal lover understands – that sometimes all you can do for them is make sure the last part of their life is as ideal as you can possibly make it. So, kudos today to everybody who takes on a rescue knowing they won’t be “saving” it – it won’t be returning to riding use, not ever, and you’re going to have the expenses associated with the end of its life, but you don’t mind and it’s enough for you to know that you are giving them the life they deserve, sometimes for the very first time in twenty or thirty years.
If you do have some space for a new horse this Christmas, think about adopting this Cat! At least he will not climb up the Christmas tree and break your ornaments.
Do you believe in the tooth fairy, too?
Horrible Fox News story about rescued ex-racehorse
Before and after pics of the horse on the Second Race blog.
“Brill said she “started rehabbing him” but his injuries were too daunting. Then, she said, a man whose name she didn’t know bought him for $500.
“They loaded him on a trailer and left,” she said.”
And gosh golly gee, he went to a bad situation! A broken-legged racehorse that you sold after YOU realized his injuries were “too daunting.” Marian, you are just a flaming pile of you-know-what. You had a moral responsibility to euth this horse if you couldn’t get him sound or find him a checked-out companion home and you failed miserably. Of course so did his owner, Herman Heinlein, who should have known better than to believe trainer Jose Pinchin’s story that Brill would find the horse a good home. (And for god’s sake, it’s a Claiborne Farm bred. The Hancocks have rescued their ex-horses on numerous occasions, most notably Gato Del Sol, who was brought back from overseas at great expense to enjoy a safe retirement here. Why didn’t you call them?)
Marian is described as a “44 year veteran of the racing industry.” Great, another little old lady who’s a money-grubbing jerk with no ethics. Marian, maybe you and MeSue Babcock can have coffee sometime – you ought to get along great!
As someone posted on the Pedigreequery forum, “I know Ms. Brill and she knew exactly where the horse was going. People at the track give her horses all the time for her to find a “good” home for.” Yeah, no kidding. I’m sorry, but not a one of you in the racing industry can plead ignorance in these cases. That excuse has gotten all the mileage it’s ever going to get. You ALL know about slaughter. You ALL know where your broken down racehorse is most likely going when you give it to someone at the track who says they will find it a “good home.” Here’s the reality: There are almost NO good homes for broken down geldings and colts not good enough to be stallions, or unaccomplished, un-spectacularly bred fillies. Good homes for horses like these simply do not exist. If you believe they are easy enough to find, I have a bridge to sell you. On sale today only, and I do accept paypal!
We have a local situation here at Emerald Downs with the wife of a jockey who plays sweet, promises good homes and then runs them straight to the Enumclaw Auction. I am sure there is a person like that at every racetrack in the world. And the truth is that very often, the owners don’t want to know…they just want horsie to disappear and they want to be able to delude themselves that it “got a good home.”  Â
The facts are out there and it’s way too late for owners, trainers, jockeys or anyone else to plead innocence in a case like this. You might find a decent broodmare home for a mare if she’s well bred and accomplished, but the low end fillies and the geldings and the colts not good enough to make stallions out of? The only way they’re going to have a good retirement for sure is if you keep them in your pasture on your hay/farrier/vet tab! If you won’t do that, do the decent thing and put them to sleep. It’s a piddly little amount of money compared to what you spent racing them, and it is the right thing to do. Buck up, grow a damn spine and call the vet out when you have a broken down racehorse that you know will not return to soundness and that you are unwilling to keep and retire yourself. We all know you can afford euthanasia, and if you can’t handle it emotionally, get out of racing – you’re in the wrong industry.
RIP – Finally! – Two Socks
I just love this article, check out the title and what the focus is on…certainly not on the horse!
Horse Rescue Director Threatened
Definitely, we should focus on the fact that this woman heard from one internet wacko…not the fact that anybody trying to keep this horse alive IS a wacko. No, it’s not like losing a fingernail. When you lose a fingernail, you don’t have exposed bone. And you don’t WALK on that raw place, and you don’t weigh 800 pounds.
Ah well. I’m just glad the horse got put to sleep. Rest in peace, you poor old boy…thank heavens they stopped trying to “help” you. The whole thing reminded me of Terri Schiavo except that Schiavo, unlike Two Socks, was mercifully unconscious!
Drawing the line…
Serious subject today. I think most of you saw the Two Socks nightmare before they pulled the page (hoof fell OFF, I mean the whole hoof is gone) and the rescue is trying to keep the horse alive.
ETA: We have pictures. I am VERY upset to see that the horse was in GOOD condition when he arrived at the rescue. He showed up looking like this:
And then of course…he deteriorated and HIS HOOF FELL OFF.
I doubt any of you will be surprised to hear my opinion that this is not the right thing to do. EDITED TO ADD: OK SERIOUSLY HAVE YOU LOST YOUR EVER-LOVING MINDS? PUT IT TO SLEEP!!!
This is an extreme case and I can only think that those involved are too close to the situation emotionally to think clearly, including the vet. But it does bring up a good topic:
Most of us agree that euthanasia is often the right thing to do. But where do you draw the line? How bad is too bad? When do you euth?
I’ve had a number of horses put to sleep in the past two years – more than at any time in my life prior to that, but this is what happens when you get involved with rescues and old horses. The reasons have ranged from blind and panicky to plain old age-related leg weakness. In some cases they were horses who could have been kept alive – there are people that will argue all day that blindness is not a reason to euth, but I had to consider that I am gone from home a lot and just can’t babysit that much. This kind of thing is a factor when a horse starts to have problems getting up or loses his vision. How much are you home? How much can you babysit? What is reasonable for you?
Then there’s: how much will this cost? I don’t fault anyone for euthanizing because they cannot afford expensive care. Honestly, if it were legal, I would be the first one to sign off and say that loads of money should not be spent to keep me alive when I am old and deteriorating. If you are looking at a horse who can be made more comfortable but will never be 100% again, euthanasia may be the better choice.
So let’s discuss it: What made you draw the line and say, it’s over? Feel free to post pictures – HTML will work in your comments now. I’m particularly interested in what your guidelines are if you are a rescuer. There is this perception that rescuers can NEVER draw the line and that is simply not true. I know many that make the tough call regularly – usually a call that should have been made by someone else who wimped out.
