Views and advice needed

Hi All, my heart is breaking with this............. and i want your views, My Bailey is having to be put to sleep on Tues, he is ill and is dropping weight at an incredible speed and due to steroids is not growing his winter coat this year............. anyway i have been advised to take bella with me (Bailey will be put to sleep and buried at Joans for which i will be forever grateful) and i have looked on the internet and a lot of people seem to let the other horse watch and then be with the body for a while.... this is one of the hardest things i have ever done, all my pets have died paecefully.... this hurts so much.... but i am doing it for him ......

C4B's I am sorry hear that you are going through this. I had to remind myself that as a pet owner that I have to sometimes make hard decisions. I had to put down my mare almost two years ago and it was horrible. My heart goes out to you. I too had a good friend with a farm that let me bury my mare there, I planted a bush over her.


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Oh C4B, I am sooo sorry to hear this news. I cannot even begin to imagine what you are going through. My heart goes out to you. God Bless JJ for providing a final home where Bailey can be put to rest. My thoughts will be with you. You are a wonderful friend to Bailey to be able to make the decision for him so he doesn't have to suffer. As you say goodbye let the tears flow and know in your heart that you are giving Bailey the best gift of all - peace.

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My heart is breaking for you....Having made this decision ourselves this year with Century....OK...here comes the tears....Its been 7 months since we ut her to rest and I am still not at the point of mentioning her without tears.....

Whatever decision you make is yours....I personally would fear trama to Bella....But that is just my thought at this very moment...It could change in 5 minutes.....

HUGS...i know your pain....I regret not being with Century when she was put to rest but I couldn't do it at the time....And given the day again I would probably still make the same decision....Its not easy to do what is right by your beloved beast....

We went through a similar situation in February with my sister in law's mare at the age of 36. She had been in declining health for some time, but my SIL was hoping to get her to spring and maybe one more summer, but it was not to be. She was inside, and had been down all night and was still down at 9 the next morning and making no attempt to get up.We made the difficult decision to ease her passing. Her pasture mate was waiting outside the door for her to come out, and wouldn't leave so we took him inside (he is a small pony) to see her. She didn't even lift her head to greet him; he sniffed her and gave a funny squeal and then seemed ready to leave. He was turned out and then went to join the rest of the horses.....I believe he knew. He wasn't present when the vet arrived; I think he had said his goodbye.

I think it will depend on your horses and what you think is the right thing to do; you know them best. I'm very sorry you are faced with this decision~ I wish you and your horses peace.

*hugs* I'm so sorry you and Bella have to go through this. It is never an easy decision but you have obviously made the best decision for Bailey.

I can definitely see the logic behind letting them come to the realization that they're gone.

I am so sorry! Without a doubt, it's the hardest things we do as horse lovers. I still miss my Abby soooo much - but I will never regret ending her pain. You have to do what you think is best - not only for Bailey and Bella, but for you.....when we had my mare Abby put to sleep - Worthy was separated from her, but he could see them in the pasture, once she was buried hubby let him out, Worthy went to the grave, stood quietly, and started to graze beside her. Just like that. He knew she was there, and he was not concerned, which was totally out of character, to say the least! Horses are much more resilient, and accepting of death then we are. I could not face being home that day - hubby said it was very difficult for the 3 men that were there, they sure were glad I wasn't there too, or all of us would have been bawling......The same thing happened with our neighbours, when they had their old horse put down, they left him above ground under a tarp in the pasture for a short while, when he was buried on the site his pasture mate was not alarmed at all.

I will be thinking of you - I know you will do the best thing for both your horses.....Joan, you really are something else......

oh Carol, I'm so sorry this has to happen. I will be thinking of you all on this day. Joan will be there to help you through it as well.. she's a good soul. My heart goes out to you as this is a very hard thing to do. ((HUGS))

Thank you too you all, it helps knowing you all feel for us, Bailey is such a good horse, so kind and gentle it is a great shame, but he needs this !! he is going down hill quickly now, i took him for a nice walk earlier today and let him eat grass in a field whilst i just stood and listened to him munching and occasionally spoke to him or stood stroking him, and the sun came out and shone on us and we were really warm, we had a nice afternoon...............

So sorry you have to go through this with Bailey. It is such a difficult time and will take some time
to get over. My heart goes out to you. Just remember you are doing the right thing for the horse.
I often have thought other horses know when another is sick and failing. I think Bella will know. You
will have alot on your plate that day, but follow your heart. You could take Bella to smell the grave
at a later date, if you thought it was necessary. He was lucky to have you take such good owner to
take care of him.

My heart is breaking for you!! I went through the same thing ...sheesh it's been almost 4 years ago now with Lightning...time flies! Dylan went into such a severe depression after she was gone that I had to find a pasture mate for him. I'm not sure if it would have helped if he had been with her when she went or not. My thoughts and prayers are with you and know that you are making the right decision for you and your Bailey. :36_1_67[1].gif

Aww crap Carol, I feel so bad for you. No matter what the reason is, it just plain sucks. Major went downhill very fast too and I always thought it would be a tough decision for me but when it's time there is no question in your mind. You're doing what's best for him especially with winter coming on.

When Major passed he was in the barn while Dex and Prince were outside. I was going to let them sniff his body but when the time came to bury Maj I was not thinking and just wanted to get it finished with. They did watch him being taken from the barn to the field and later they sniffed his grave. They still stop and sniff around there every once in a while so they know.

Even though at one time Maj and Dex were best buddies, and even Maj and Prince towards the end, they had begun to shun him from the herd and were pretty hard on him. It was sad to watch but they were only following their instinct (get rid of the weakest). Bella may be a little more upset by it since it was only her and Bailey.

Enjoy this last bit of time with him. :hugs2.gif:

OMG i am so sorry for You..... Bailey i think i might know this horse, My friend sold a horse named Bailey to A lady out by Joan... Not sure if its the same horse or not but he to was very kind and gentle.
Its a hard thing to do, but if he is going down hill that quick you are doing the best thing for him.
Again SOOO Sorry!!!!

Whats up doc, yes he is the same horse, they brought him in the Feb i think and i brought him off them in june, so i have had him for 18mths, not long enough he is a nice horse. having trouble keeping it together today !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I feel so sorry for you>>>>I had to put down my mare 10 years ago and it seems like yesterday...She was my first horse and won me many champions and for my brother too.....

She was colicing and she was in so much pain, she started to shiver and shake...The vet worked on her forever and we had to put her down....When we put her down the other 3 horses were inside and we were out....

But here is the thing.....This horse and my other mare were best friends...They hated the other 2...And when we put Princess down it left Berry alone....She was very depressed and still hated the other horses....She lost a lot of weight and she would stand beside the fence..(Princess was buried on the other side)....She eventually came around but she did lose quite a bit of weight in the process...

I don't know if she would of seen Princess's body it would of given her closure....I guess at the time I wasen't thinking about how Berry would cope...

Well my thoughs are with you....You are doing the right thing.....At least you get to say goodbye and be there for him...If he passes in the middle of the night you may not get the chance....He won't pass alone he will have his friend beside him....HUGS!!!!!

I am sure that you have weighed every option before coming to this point and that this difficult decision has been reached through compassion and caring. Bless Joan for her support and friendship. I hope you can find solace in knowing that you have done all that you can and in the knowledge that friends are with you in thoughts and prayers.

Just to let you know we are thinking of you and Bailey....(((hugs))))

I would take the mare and after it was done turn her out for a moment or 2.. that should be enough so she doesn't call for him or run the fence line at home looking for him... when our pony died he was in the pasture with 3 other horses... they never called to him or looked for him... not even the one who he had been with for years

I just wanted to offer my sincere sympathies. It is a decision I will be undertaking very soon, and I give you credit for making it.

I'm not sure about your other horse, sorry.

c4b your doing the right thing even thought it's hard to do. good luck

Kudos to you for being able to make this difficult decision. It is rarely a comfort to your own grieving to think "I am doing the right thing", but in time, that is what will eventually help you through.

If you just have the two horses, it is possibly a good idea to bring the second one along. I can't see any harm in it - but do make sure the second horse is out of the way and does not interfere.

We made a quick decision today to put down our 25 year old broodmare. In a freak accident, she severed both of her back tendons and was bleeding out quickly. Her herd of 6+ years (give or take a few horses) watched from their pasture and she looked over her shoulder and "spoke" to them. They are a sober group tonight but they will pull through.

My heart goes out to you I am so sorry!!! :hug.gif:

I Am really Sorry He is a really nice horse OLD Faithfull!!!! Take Care.
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Thinking of you during this difficult time...it's hurts the heart but in the same token, we do it because we love our animals.