02/08/2026
Itās hard not to think about what happens to a horse when it can no longer do something for us. When itās no longer an athlete. No longer a broodmare. No longer useful in the ways that pay the bills.
For many, it comes down to money. A lucky few can afford to keep old, unsound horses grazing quietly in big fields, asking nothing of them. Others are barely holding things together. I understand that reality. But even then, I believe we still owe those horses more than the cruelty of an auction ring and whatever waits at the other end.
At the very least, they deserve dignity. A peaceful end. Not uncertainty.
Too often, instead of facing that decision, people choose the easier option emotionally, rehoming. The horse is advertised as a field ornament, a companion, a soft sell that shifts responsibility elsewhere. And far too often, that horse ends up on a lorry. Shipped across borders. Across oceans. To places we pretend not to know about Europe, Canada, Mexico until the trail ends where no one wants to look.
Thatās not hypothetical. I learned it the hard way.
When I was 17, I sold my non ridden horse a companion horse, I thought I was doing right and I wanted a horse to ride, they promised to stay in touch.Months passed with no contact. Something didnāt sit right, so I contacted HSI to check whether his passport details had been changed. Thatās how I found out. He had been slaughtered in Thomastown, Kilkenny. Passport still in my name. I had no idea. I still have the email. It doesnāt fade with time.
That experience shaped every decision Iāve made since.
I have always chosen to put down my field ornaments rather than risk them falling into the wrong hands. Itās not an easy choice. It never is. But I would rather carry that pain myself than gamble with their ending.
Euthanasia is brutal to face. People avoid it, delay it, dress around it, because saying goodbye feels unbearable. But death is not optional only the manner of it is. And in trying to spare ourselves that moment, we sometimes leave the door open to something far worse.
Anyone who has truly loved a horse knows this isnāt a decision taken lightly. It sits heavy. It stays with you. But compassion isnāt always the softer path. Sometimes itās the hardest one.
And for me, that means ensuring horses leave this world safely, quietly, and loved not lost in a system that doesnāt care. Which is why I continue to talk about this subject, I lived through this experience!!
My current field ornament, Sunny and Missyāļø
