09/03/2025
Talking to a horse owner about euthanasia is like trying to catch a fish with your bare hands. Nature is against you. They avoid the consideration of suffering, the discussion of quality of life, the logistics of what that decision would look like.
We don't want to even think of the end of life, especially in this culture. We are not well prepared to consider life and death. Some of us have already had to face death in one way or another - and it is devastating to our soul.
For many of us, the death of our animal signifies something like a failure....somehow it means that we stopped trying and we gave up.
And *how* could you ask someone to give up on their beloved companion?
However understandable that perspective is (and as an animal owner I feel this way too!), I would argue this is not the best way to look at it for our horses sake.
Horses do not die naturally. Out of all the horses my clients have lost (usually 10-12/year from my schedule) over the past 10 years, only two passed without being euthanized.
If you were to ask how many of them needlessly suffered for weeks, months, years before finally being put to rest? Well.... that is a hard question to answer depending on who you ask, but more than one.
Horses are fragile in some of their systems. Their digestive system can rebel. They must be weight bearing to survive so something like a broken leg that could be healed in other species can be catastrophic for them. They are prey animals, something that even anxious fearful humans have a hard time comprehending as we are predators at the tippy top of the food chain. They are biologically engineered for survival which means they will do their best to hide their pain. In this sense, they are not fragile at all. They will persist despite great cost.
How can we best serve our horse as they age?
What does aging with dignity look like for them?
How would we like their death to be?
What will their death look and feel like?
How can we miss them and honor them?
These are the questions that we can ask ourselves.
Hold space for death in your life. It will not kill you. We see the ending, the transition of something all our lives. The seasons change, trees fall, relationships wane, our feelings, ideas, and needs ebb and flow.
Do you think your horse is afraid to die?
Or is it us who are afraid to "play God," to have that conversation with a friend or vet, to face the inevitable end that we all will have one day?
Is it you who is not ready?
Choosing to help your horse in the end, because they will be truly dependent on you by then, is an honor. It is an offering of respect, an acknowledgement of your role as their friend and guardian and advocate in both life and death.
✨️
To my clients who have been brave enough to face death, I'm here with you.
✨️
I have 15 and 14 year old kitties and an 11 year old dog who is graying around her muzzle and face. I love them deeply and it feels like a lightning strike to my gut to imagine life without them here next to me.
I am not writing this from an academic perspective. The facts usually don't matter anyway in these times until we can get ahold of our own feelings. Or until we are forced to deal in numbers, dollars, and days.
My hope is that as a collective who loves animals, we can pursue understanding life and death so that we're ready for when we are called upon to make tough decisions for the animals in our lives.
❤️🩹 - Corrie
Edited to add: I didn't not anticipate this post having such a big reach! Clearly this is a topic that we all need to talk about. I hope being a part of this conversation has relieved some of your guilt or stress over losing animals in the past or preparing for the future. See the comments for part 2 and 3.
