Planning for the Final Goodbye

In an ideal world, horse owners prefer the thought of their aged senior dying a peaceful, natural death. Unfortunately, many owners are faced with the difficult decision of having to put down their beloved equine due to humane or medical reasons. While planning ahead for the inevitable might be somewhat painful, understanding the process and knowing ahead of time who to turn to for help will make the decision easier, especially when our minds are clear and free of emotion.

Throughout the eight years that Bronwynne Wilton owned Pepper, a lively gray pony with a personality, he gave her family all that he had, and more. Saved from a trip to the slaughter house by his previous owner, where she paid the equivalent of meat price for him, Wilton never knew Pepper's true age, but estimated that he was likely in his teens. Unfortunately, upon closer inspection, his feet were already showing the telltale signs of some metabolic issues occurring within the hoof capsule.

"After bringing him home to a friend's farm, we discovered he was much more nervous around humans than we originally thought, and his feet were quite a mess, as they were long and laminitic," says Wilton, who is on staff with the Office of Research at the University of Guelph in Ontario. "We worked on his feet gradually and also on his confidence around us, and both improved quite quickly. We kept him off grass, and his feet were quite good for about five years with us, and all three of my children learned how to ride on him. He had a lot of character and was a funny little pony to get along with. There was quite a bit of bonding with him and our family over the years."

Source: TheHorse