i volunteer at a horse rescue. it's 45 minutes from my house so i usually only get out there one day a week... either saturday or sunday afternoons.

i got there today and there were a group of about 5 people standing around a mare who was laying down in the indoor arena. it wasn't one of our rescues but one of the boarder horses.

she was colicky and in SO much pain. no one could get a hold of her owner. messages were left at her house, with neighbors, etc. and she never showed up from 11am when the mare was found until 5pm when the decision was made to finally put her down.

the vet came out twice and after he did a rectal exam we thought she was going to pull thru but she just couldn't stand on her own anymore. her eyes glazed over and the vet was called out a third time. once again he listened for stomach sounds and there was nothing. he finally made the decision to put her down.

it took him a long time to find a vein. this was probably the most heart wrenching thing i've ever experienced. it took her so long to let go... at least 10 minutes... she fought until the bitter end.

i'm so happy she wasn't alone even if her owner wasn't there for her. we covered her with blankets and left the barn. and no one even knew her name.

That is really sad. We had to put a few of our horses down and it was very hard to do even tho we knew they would be better off. Sorry the owners couldn't be notified but sounds like there was nothing more that could be done.

That is so sad. I am so sorry that you had to witness that.

How sad. At least there were people with her who cared, no living creature should have to die alone.

My eyes are leaking badly ...I hate reading things like this poor poor critter....................

i am so sorry that you had to deal with that, i know its hard especially when you know their in soo much pain.. hugs to you my dear. ah but in fact she had a name it was angel because thats wha she is now..a beautiful angel who is running free through the fields in the sky..

im sorry that you didint get the owners in time.. but maybe it was for the best..that they werent there cuse most likely it would have been much harder.

When they are in pain, with no hope, it's the right thing to do. Always sad, but the right thing.

I don't know what your vet uses to put them down but the stuff ours uses will put them to sleep (as in asleep to have surgery or something) and then when they are asleep to the point that nothing will wake them, he gives them another shot that stops the heart. Very calm and easy on the animal.

We once had 77 horses, so it was nothing unusual to occasionally have a bout of colic. I can usually get them over it but not always the case. Sometimes when I can't, the vet can't either.

i don't know what the vet used. he gave a shot that was supposed to paralyze her and then he gave her another shot that was blue in color. but she was fighting it so paralyzing shot or not, her legs were still moving and she made the most God awful noise... twice. the vet gave her another dose of the blue stuff and she finally drifted off but it was the most agonizing 10 minutes but that wasn't as bad as watching her suffer for 6 hours.

i could have left as soon as i got there but i CHOSE to stay. yes, we do great work with these rescues but you can't hide from the sadness too. i used to not be able to walk into the SPCA without crying hysterically but i've kind of hardened my heart to get thru it. this was someting i couldn't pretend wasn't happening.

i didn't stay with the mare the whole time because i was there to work with the rescue horses and they needed to be groomed and fed but it didn't stop me from looking into the arena from time to time. and we all wanted to be with her when the time came.

i cried and my heart hurts but i know she is in a much better place now....

Ah Kris, I am so sorry. This had to be very painful for you to witness. Thank goodness this mare was surrounded by loving souls at the time of her departure.
HUGS

What a blessing for her that there were caring people around, even though no one knew her name. I am a horse owner with a 30 year old Appaloosa that is in Illinois (I am in Florida) so it really hit home with me. I know I probably won't be there when he dies, but he is boarded with friends who I trust. I think it makes it more peaceful for the animal to be surrounded by warmth and caring.

I'm sorry her owners couldn't be reached, and that you went through that, but at least she was surrounded by people that cared. Thank you for being there with her til the end.

So sorry! I have horses and I always check on them everyday night and morning to make sure nothing is wrong with them. Sorry you had to go through this, but I'm glad you were there for the horse!

Awww that IS sad. Weve had colicky horses
in the past and we did well with it...walking
and walking and walking them. Never ever allowing them to
lie down and Roll like they want to! The Intestine is then Irreparedly twisted. Im Thankful we never lost any horses to colic!

we tried our hardest getting the mare on her feet. it was almost like her back legs were paralyzed. she would walk two steps and literally drop with a hard thud.

we did get her to walk for about 15 minutes but it wore her out and she never got back up.

it was hard to witness but it was something that i had to see to be able to move past it. just like when i first started taking lessons. i was terrified of falling. i played it safe all the time and became obsessed of falling (or not falling). once i did fall i was able to move past it and get more comfortable.

I don't think there is anything like watching a horse going through colic. I'm sorry you had to witness it; but it is a fact of life. As you said, you've now seen it...lived through it and you have to move on. Hopefully, you and the others have learned valuable lessons today. Not only as the observer but as owner's as well.

Like others have said...at least she didn't die alone and there were people there to at least try to keep her calm.