Does anyone else find this horrifying????

Pale Moon

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Mar 31, 2007
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I've just been on another forum and someone has put a lengthy post up about a horse that she has had for eighteen months, who is a confirmed bolter and a dangerous one, at that. She has had numerous injuries including a broken collar bone and the latest being a broken back. I really do feel for her as she is obviously now frightned of the horse - she has tried more or less everything to overcome the problem without success - apparently he can be fine for weeks and she thinks that she's cracked it but then out of the blue he bolts off again and is unstoppable.

Whilst I really do feel for her predicament, I am shocked and horrified to read that nearly all the posts replying to her thread have advised her to have the horse PTS. He appears otherwise happy and healthy..... and I just can't get my head around this.

Okay - I know that she would extremely reluctant to sell him on, as he is obviously dangerous to be ridden and I certainly wouldn't want to be in the position of selling him to someone as a ridden horse and putting their safety at risk.... but having him destroyed???? Surely he has a right to life???

If nothing else he could be given away as a companion, never to be ridden again, but could happily live out the rest of his days ambling around a field, eating grass and being a horse?

I'm pretty sickened to be honest, that so many people have the opinion of "its dangerous to be ridden so put it down..." For a website containing so many horse lovers, I fail to see how they could even think this was a possibility???

Am I being silly here or does anyone feel the same??:confused:
 
I think the only reason a horse should be PTS is if it hasn't got a good quality of life. A horse doesn't care whether it's being worked 5 x a week or sat in a field munching on grass, in fact I'd much rather do the latter!
I think a big problem is that there isn't a market for 'companions'. I know a lot of people that would rather spend their money on a rideable horse than one that isn't. Sad, I know, but the truth.
 
This sort of thing is never as straightforward as it seems..

Everyone advised me to have TheG PTS when he put me in hospital having shattered several of my vertebrae, broken my jaw and a few other things when he reared and feel over on me. He was a confirmed rearer. I chose to give him a chance. And it worked out. He was my horse of a lifetime.

A previous horse bolted with me (properly running blind) several times culminating on him running blindly off a heath into the path of oncoming traffic on an A road.. He had a brain tumour.

If a horse is truly damaged mentally or physically sometimes, if a home cannot be found to cater for the issues, a dignified end is sometimes better.

Human life always comes first in my book.
 
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tbh i feel the same- something that dangerous needs to be removed asap before it causes more injuries.

it isnt gaining (or losing) anything been out in the field apart from costing money (unless you have acre upon acre of your own land, and what happens about basic care if it is so volatile?

i personally wouldnt trust a horse that 'has a screw loose' on anyone apart from myself and considering the fact i arent a vet, farrier or dentist thats going to be pretty hard.

hes not healthy if his behaviour is this unpredictable- their could be underlying brain problems which IMO arent worth finding out about anyway because its more than he is worth.

why keep a horse alive for the sake of it?

i would rather see a horse put down too soon than left to suffer or forgotten about in a field.
 
dont shoot me, but sometimes i think it can be an answer (not THE answer) when the horse is dangerous to such an extreme and no pemenant retirement home is available.
im not saying dont try your best to help the horse, but if it comes down to a human life or an equine life being destroyed, i know which one i would chose...
 
Dangerous to RIDE...then NO, horsey can live as a companion.

Dangerous to HANDLE...Then depending on the circumstances, I would not condemn someone for having a horse PTS.

I've been there. I hated doing what I did, but the mare in question was so aggressive, vicious and downright nasty, I couldn't pass her on to anyone, she had attacked everyone here, mullered the horses...she nearly put me 'six feet under' I can tell you.

There are no rescue centres here. I was not prepared to risk everyone's lives handling this mare daily, and she couldn't even live out in the field as she just attacked everything, and demolished post and rail fencing to get to something to attack if she was on her own.

It was very sad, but for this mare, I truly think that this was the right decision for her. So many people would have beaten her up for the things she did. She would have fallen into the hands of some of the 'rougher' types of people here, and she would have been tortured, mentally, and probably physically, bless her. We tried so hard, but we had to admit that we failed with her, for our safety and that of our other horses. We had to think ahead for her future. Sadly she didn't realistically have one.

If a horse is just a problem to ride, as in bolting in this case, then there are a) reasons, b) routes to explore as to why, and c) potential solutions!

If the horse is healthy and well mannered to handle, then I'm sure a loan-home as a companion could be found.
 
The problem is that once you let go of a horse like this as a companion you may not always be able to guarantee 100% what will happen, and there's always the possibility that someone unscrupulous could sell them on again as a riding horse. The whole thing might be repeated and the horse end in a downward spiral of distress and neglect, in which case PTS might be the kinder option, not to mention any harm to humans along the way. It's not always possible to find suitable companion homes for some horses, and those that are out there are going to be increasingly at a premium as horse owners lose their jobs or have to make economies.
 
In an ideal world, yes, but at a time when charities are being inundated with requests to take on horses people can no longer afford, there's sadly going to be too many horses for too few homes very soon (just as in the dog world).

I feel the same about aggressive dogs - so many people on a forum I go on are adamant all dogs should be saved, but when thousands of dogs are killed every year just because there aren't enough homes for them , it makes sense to me to fight for the ones who don't have behavioural problems.

Not nice, but pts is a responsible choice, it's wrong to pass on a dangerous horse, someone could be severely injured or killed by it, and the poor horse, if sold on, could go to a life of God knows what. I'm not saying I could do it, but wouldn't slate someone else for making that decision, as I wouldn't want to take it on and not everyone wants to keep an expensive horse they can't ride (again, I would, but understand why others would take this decision).
 
I do see where you're all coming from.... and completely agree....

I just feel so sorry that an otherwise healthy animal's life is maybe at an end.... probably being far to sentimental for my own good.:rolleyes:

But I suppose unless you are actually in the position of having an animal such as this, you can't really judge - and I wasn't judging, it just makes me feel really sad.
 
Dangerous to RIDE...then NO, horsey can live as a companion.

Dangerous to HANDLE...Then depending on the circumstances, I would not condemn someone for having a horse PTS.

I agree, if a horse is dangerous to ride and you can't find the problem then dno't ride it. That's not a reason to have it PTS.(In my opinion)

If they can't find a trigger for this horses bolting then that should be deemed un-safe and be kept as a companion. Nothing worse than an un-predictable horse.

If a horse is dangerous when being handled then i could see why PTS would be an answer as this is dangerous.
 
I just feel so sorry that an otherwise healthy animal's life is maybe at an end.... probably being far to sentimental for my own good.:rolleyes:
.

But is it healthy ? in all ways ? There isn't just physical health to consider.. mental health too.. horses which display such extreme behaviours have got some kind of problem.
 
I agree, if a horse is dangerous to ride and you can't find the problem then dno't ride it. .

But not everyone, and especially in these uneasy economic times, can afford to keep (or wants to keep) a horse they can't ride.. Sad but true. :(
 
But not everyone, and especially in these uneasy economic times, can afford to keep (or wants to keep) a horse they can't ride.. Sad but true. :(

exactly, unless you have acres upon acres of your own land then it is virtually impossible and unfair on other people and their horses if you keep it at a public yard
 
I've just read this thread & I can understand why people are advising PTS. It certainly isn't something his owner seems to be jumping into without a lot of thought.

It sounds as thought the owner is very experienced & has tried hard to sort this but the horse has bolted many times, in different enviroments, run through things & there's no common trigger.

The owner is unwilling to offer the horse as a companion because he's very spooky & also they're worried that someone would try to ride him again.

I think unless the owner can keep him as a pasture pet then PTS is something they have to consider. It sounds awful but I know that there are worse outlooks for a horse than to be peacefully PTS in familiar surroundings with an owner who cares for him. To be honest it's the owner that I feel really sorry for.
 
Yeah i can see paying for a field ornimant a bit of problem. I just couldn't see myself doing it at all.

Specially if it was one of my two, i just couldn't do it :eek: mind you if either of them turn mad that we are considering that then somethings gone terribly wrong!
 
It is sad, but life's like that :(

I had my aggressive rescue dog pts earlier this year, after 3.5 years of trying really hard with him, spending £100's on behaviourists etc. He had bitten me, OH and 2 friends, but we loved him and couldn't part with him (rescue I had him from said they wouldn't be able to rehome him, and I had their permission). I had booked the appointment but couldn't go through with it.

Finally, he managed to get out the front door past my 77 year old Mum, injuring her in the process, and bit a 73 year old Avon lady (I know! :rolleyes:) who was on our drive. She wanted him put down, she said it could be a child next time, and she was right, I would never have forgiven myself if he'd done it again and bitten one of the little kids across the road (would have been throat/face height).

We loved that dog with all our hearts and tried so very hard to help him, but I did the responsible thing and was there with him at the end (I'm crying just typing this :eek:) so I know now that he can never hurt anybody else, but more importantly to me, nobody can ever hurt him and he is at peace.

Oh, and I never posted about it on the dog forum as I knew I would be judged - I bet none of those who are so pro-life would have offered to take him though, but they're quick enough to condemn you when they haven't experienced it :mad:
 
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But is it healthy ? in all ways ? There isn't just physical health to consider.. mental health too.. horses which display such extreme behaviours have got some kind of problem.


Well, according to her thread, he's healthy and normal apart from the bolting... she's said that whenever he goes off and one and she hits the deck, he gives himself a good shake and then starts grazing.... someone replied to say that he may have a back problem, hence the shaking, but I suppose that she is at the end of her tether...

As I said above, I really wasn't judging because I have no idea what I would do in that situation as I am lucky enough never to have been in it... I guess i'm thinking that in an ideal world someone would be glad to take him off her hands and let him live the rest of his life pootling round a field, but you're all right, in this economic climate, there are very few people with the resources to be able to do that...
 
It is sad, but life's like that :(

I had my aggressive rescue dog pts earlier this year, after 3.5 years of trying really hard with him, spending £100's on behaviourists etc. He had bitten me, OH and 2 friends, but we loved him and couldn't part with him (rescue I had him from said they wouldn't be able to rehome him, and I had their permission). I had booked the appointment but couldn't go through with it.

Finally, he managed to get out the front door past my 77 year old Mum, injuring her in the process, and bit a 73 year old Avon lady (I know! :rolleyes:) who was on our drive. She wanted him put down, she said it could be a child next time, and she was right, I would never have forgiven myself if he'd done it again and bitten one of the little kids across the road (would have been throat/face height).

We loved that dog with all our hearts and tried so very hard to help him, but I did the responsible thing and was there with him at the end (I'm crying just typing this :eek:) so I know now that he can never hurt anybody else, but more importantly to me, nobody can ever hurt him and he is at peace.


God, I'm so sorry - I filled up myself reading your post... it must have been so hard for you...

Thanks for all your replies - I'm being a sentimental idiot but now can see the other side of the story..
 
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