Q: I’d like some advice about horse euthanasia. We have a 32-year-old who is in slowly declining health; nothing is majorly wrong but he is noticeably stiffer and slower moving around, is quite deaf and spends less time grazing and a lot more time just dozing. I wonder about the ethics of putting him through another winter. People say, ‘You’ll know when the time is right’ but I just don’t know, and I don’t know what signs to look for to tell me that it’s time.
Sabrina, Marlborough
Vet Dave replies
The main areas that concern most people with regards to their older horses are weight loss and orthopaedic pain. This weight loss typically comes from teeth wearing out with age.
The main reason for horses being euthanased for weight loss or weight-related reasons is the belief that they are going to struggle to make it through winter, and so are euthanased at the end of summer or in early autumn. These horses are unable to maintain a positive or neutral energy balance, so are loosing weight as they break down their remaining body reserves. Once in a negative energy balance, weight loss tends to be relatively rapid.
The exact moment is usually determined by the owner, and will be different between various owners based on their own ethics and life experiences. The point at which a vet will step in is when there is a specific welfare issue and the horse has already got to a dangerously low weight, ie. at the bottom of the cliff.
For most owners, this would be considered too late – they will ‘call time’ closer to the top of the cliff, or part way down when the end result is obviously coming, and they don’t wish to put their horse through any unnecessary suffering.
From an orthopaedic perspective, it can be more tricky to decide on the exact time.
Key points to look for are if your horse is still able to get up and down to rest and roll, and if he is still doing things like cantering up the paddock for feed. Other indicators that they are enjoying life include having the odd canter around the paddock or rearing up in play, kicking out for joy and so on.
These indicators are usually specific to individual horses (ie. the quirks and nuances that make your horse, YOUR horse) and the owner is often best placed to spot these behaviours being present or absent.
If your horse struggles to get up, this is certainly a red flag that you may have impending problems.
The main thing you would want to avoid is your horse being down and unable to rise for a prolonged period, especially if this happens out of sight and your horse ends up in a fence after sliding or rolling down a hill.
Seasonality plays a part here – an unsteady horse can obviously cope much better when the ground is firm in summer than in wet, muddy winter conditions.
If your horse used to canter up the paddock for his feed, and now slowly meanders his way with minimal enthusiasm, even though he used to enjoy his food, then you also have problems.
Most people are relatively good at recognising what degree of joint wear and tear their horse is able to cope with. As pain increases from joint disease, most horses will have a degree of personality change, including being more grumpy and/or aggressive, or simply withdrawing and being less responsive to external stimuli.
I try to have a conversation with my clients prior to reaching the point of euthanasia. I find it best that they not only have this discussion with me, as their vet, but also with someone who they trust who knows the horse.
Ideally, you will be able to sit down and work out exactly where the hard line is that you are not willing to cross. For example, you might not be able to accept your horse having two bad days in a row, or you might decide it will be time when your horse stops cantering to you for his feed.
For others, it might be when the horse is too sore to hold his legs up for the farrier.
By drawing these lines early, prior to your horse reaching an unacceptable quality of life, then you can make these decisions relatively free of the emotion that may make things more difficult at the point of euthanasia. With an early decision on what is and is not acceptable as a quality of life, once you reach the point you have decided upon then you don’t have any hard choices to make, only the process to go through. This allows you to be there for your horse while knowing that you have put plenty of thought into the decision.
It is also helpful to think of how your future self will view the decisions you are making in the present. I tend to use a 10:10:10 approach. What will I think about this decision in 10 day’s time? What will I think about this decision in 10 months time? What will I think about this decision in 10 years time?
In general terms, most people would rather be a few days or weeks too early in euthanising their horse than too late, and then feel that they kept their horse alive unnecessarily while they were suffering.
