05/02/2026
When considering end of life decisions I want people to be realistic.
I often hear of people being guilt tripped by their own vets and other people when it comes to end of life decisions. Keep in mind that’s part of a vets job is to keep the horse alive…..the options for drugs and interventions are becoming more every year. A death is often seen as a failure and I think that’s something that needs to change. We are all on the planet for a blip of time, when you feel this weight…..zoom out to the bigger picture. We are born from Star dust and we will return to star dust. Horses don’t count their day in quantity but rather quality….Hell horses don’t count days at all! What I do know is that they are built to mask pain being a prey animal. I have seen horses whose kidneys are necrotic mush who died with a full stomach and mouthful of food…..that’s how strong their survival instincts are. I have seen black, yes black intestines in horses who died in pain because their human wanted to see another year.
Wild/feral horses average life span is 15 to 20 years, some populations are even younger depending on weather conditions and predators. The minute the horse slows down, it’s on the menu.
Domestic life has advantages for the horse but I feel in many ways it actually has less because of what we do the horse to suits our needs, not theirs. We segregate the horses in small stalls and label it luxury yet in humans we call this a prison cell. Movement is medicine yet we have convinced ourselves that stables are caring. Let me tell you, one time after a long haul flight and being restricted to my seat for a 17 hour flight I decided to go to the gym the following day. I got 15 mins into my work out before my hamstrings got the worst cramp I’ve ever experienced and I was in immense pain for two weeks after. Where are race horses always tight? Hamstrings. I had allot of sympathy for stabled performance horses after that. Movement is medicine, not just for one hour of the day.
There are so many fractures in equestrianism that are seeing daylight now and people are divided. Balance needs to be restored.
Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
Two things I have noticed when horses are struggling, they either remove themselves from the herd or they attach themselves to another horse neurotically. Macular(eye) degeneration in older horses is very real and I see it allot, these horses also become spooky. If they lose weight over winter, it’s a sign their bodies not processing nutrients effectively. If they can’t stand to have their feet done comfortably. If they spend long periods of time in the paddock with their head down. If they can’t rest effectively, to fully rest they need a good stay apparatus or to lay down fully. These are all reasons to call time.
The horses I struggle to dissect the most are the ones who suffered silently, not the young horses who were put down humanely put down never to be forced to comply with human expectations. End of life choices are for the owner, the owners sees the slow decline.
******for the people triggered by my comments about vets at the beginning, it’s not ALL vets! This is not an ALL vets problem. I say it because it does happen, I hear about it often on my dissections. I say the same thing to them as I am saying here, find a realistic vet. Being a vet is hard, they are just people too with their own opinions and beliefs. This is not a vet bashing post, being a vet is a hard gig and I’m so grateful to vets.
