Horse being PTS

[mustdash]

My girlfrieds 13 year old horse is due to be PTS on Wednesday. He has been quite ill with a laminitus-esq illness for the last few years (lots of abscess' in his hooves). The other half has tried everything from mainstream treatments to more obscure stuff - diet changes, supplements etc - some of these have worked for short periods, but the last 6 months or so nothing has worked and he has been dosed up on pain killers. She made the decision last week that she had done all she could for him, and instead of keeping him in pain / on pain killers, would prefer to end his suffering. Needless to say, she is distraught.

I want to be able to help and support her, but to be honest, I am at a bit of a loss as to what will actually happen on the day, and don't really want to ask her, for obvious reasons. I presume that when smaller animals are PTS they are carried off by the vet to be cremated etc - what is likely to happen with a horse though - will the vet arrange removal of the body, or is that something else that my other half will have to think about? The vet wants to conduct an autopsy on him due to the very extreme nature of his problems, so I am presuming that they will arrange / deal with everything (the vets asked if they could as they want to figure out if there is anything else they could have done etc).

As an aside, in my 33 years, I've been very lucky with not having any close relatives pass away (even my grand mother is still hanging on in there, despite everyone thinking it will be her last Xmas, every year!), so am a bit useless when it comes to dealing with grief (my own, or other peoples). Any tips on how I can help my other half without putting my foot in it and making it worse.....

[discodeek]

from what i have seen at our yard, i think they come prepared with a horse lorry/trailer. i think they are put in the back then given the drugs -very peaceful. Its not a bolt gun or a shot gun so don't panic.

sorry for your loss, we have 2 horses- one last year had a fractured knee, it was close to that decision. i also have a border collie going through chemo at the moment - they are just like family.

hope its goes ok

[jagracer]

If they want to do an autopsy then maybe they'll take it away first but will they be charging for the autopsy? My wife says they can take it away and have it cremated, expensive, or the knacker man will take it but it has to be shot. Don't have it pts in a stable and although your girlfriend will want to be there at the time its best to get her away when they collect it.
Why not phone the vets on Monday and discuss it with them then you are prepared for what will happen. With one of ours we took it down to a corner of the field and the vet did it there, all very peaceful but all the same it'll be devastating for your gf and pretty hard for you.
Best wishes to you both.

[mustdash]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Well yesterday came and went - unfortunately I was unable to get the day off work so my other half had to be there with the people from the yard.

Unfortunately the horse had a bit of an aversion to vets / sedative etc so despite 4 lots of sedative he was still aware and was fighting to stay awake / stressing himself, so the vet decided that instead of stressing him out even more by keep trying to administer more sedative etc the kindest thing would be to use a gun. Ideally he would have gone quietly, but my other half agreed that she didn't want his last moments to be stressful or panicky so she said her goodbyes and left him with the vet and man-with-gun.

To say that she is devastated is an understatement, although she seemed much more at ease last night than she has been all week - I guess that because he is no longer in pain is a weight lifted. We had a little toast of champagne to toast his life and the joy he gave her etc.

As I said in my first post, I've never had to put a pet down / never lost anyone close to me (I know those days will come), and although he wasn't mine and I had little to do with him, I've found it very hard. I think it is safe to say that when I get to the day of having to have one of the dogs put down I will be a dribbling, snotty, blubbering mess!

[Granville]

I've had to go through three of my horses being put down due to old age or illness difficulties.

I have only been present to one and that was my last horse. When I had my previous horse put to sleep at the ripe old age of 30+ due to having a degenerative nerve disease I found out a few months later that the yard who had arranged it for me didn't do as I wished and she was taken away alive by the knackers man who sold her to a riding school .

I always vouched that any pet of mine who needed to be PTS from then on I would be present. It's not easy and I held the lead rope and stayed with my last horse until the body was put in a wagon and taken away. I remember throwing up once I got home. I miss her dreadfully still 7 yrs on and wish I could have done more for her.