I'm in middle of a very bad cheesy Disney movie!
We have a very sick horse that needs to be put down. I think she accidentally ate something poisonous and her body is not able to process food. She's a horse out in the remote corner of the family farms- and we only check on her and her buddy once or twice a month.. They're living as nature intended- free to roam the big hay pastures.. being horses. The land is easily big enough to sustain the two.
Her buddy's happily FAT, but this old old mare is not. She's always been just a horse on the farm- some cowboy broke her shoulder and she could never be ridden again when she was still just a young horse. So she's always been the horse that kept others company for the past 20 years or so.
Anyway, she's very very sick. She is a bag of bones.. I've seen horses in bad shape. but never this bad. She's also very old.. so it's time for her to go.. humanely. I found the poor horse in this shape last Sunday.
BTW it's not my horse actually, but my Dad's... My Dad pretty much.. washes his hands clean of the whole horse biz since Mom passed away.... He didn't want to call the Vet.. instead, he wanted my brother to go shoot the horse. Ugh. This horse's sentimental to us.. the first horse Mom got for the farm...
At first, my brother was willing to... So, I was still at home Monday morning, and he was onsite at a clients.. and oh, we're in middle of a big ice storm- the roads are solid strips of ice... Not pretty at all. We talked online, and arranged for me to stop by his house and pick up his rifle from his wife... so I go slip-sliding out there, get the gun and continue to my office.
While at the office, I spend my whole time there googling how to humanely shoot a horse.. I kept seeing horror stories about people shooting the horse, and the horse thrashes around, in much pain, and an axe being needed to finish the job cause they've run out of bullets.. Terrible stories like this... I didn't say anything to Art about it... Instead I finally found a government literature from Australia on how to shoot feral horses.. and it went in depth on the details necessary for a quick and humane death.
Then Arthur contacts me, and tells me that he's changed his mind.. He doesn't want to do it... He has never done it before, and doesn't want to mess up... I throughly agreed... I didn't want either of us to be party to something gruesome. So we decided to call the vet and then have him come over and give the horse a shot and put her down or something like that.. and then gang up on Dad and stick him with the bill.
So, we agree, and then contact the vet... snag. Dang, the vet can't come until 10:30 the next morning (tuesday)... Ok...
I still have the rifle in my jeep... I have the PDF Austrialian official documents... I decide to leave the office early and go to check on the horse again... since it was a good 50 degrees colder than it was the day before and completely iced over. I figured she can't be doing well.
And I mentally prepared myself that if I saw her.. and she seemed to be suffering, there is no way I could live with myself if I left without shooting her.
I don't hunt... I've never killed anything (well I did run over a dog and a cat over the years with the car :P but thats different)... and I really didn't want to start. But I also felt that if she was suffering, that its the right thing to do.
Well guess what.. She's standing there eating the hay I gave her... fussing at her buddy, kicking her buddy out of the way, being fiesty as ever. I couldn't believe it. That she was still very strong, and didnt seem to be hurting. So I coudn't do it.
So I went home. Gave the gun back to Arthur. Slammed back a couple shots of Tequila to settle my nerves.. I was totally ready to shoot the horse and all....
The next day:
(12:15:57 PM) Jallen: So, vet couldn't do it until today at 10:30am... and he said he'll just shoot the horse.. cheaper and he knows how, but needs me to take him to her.. So.. I leave early at 10 to go get the horse..
(12:16:03 PM) Jallen: And guess what, the horse's gone
(12:16:35 PM) Jallen: I searched and searched for the damn horse for 30 minutes, and then the vet comes... "Where is she?" "I cant find her.. one sec..."
(12:16:48 PM) Jallen: "Ok, call me when you find her" and he just turned around and left
(12:16:55 PM) Jallen: RIGHT THEN, there's the horse
(12:20:34 PM) jallen:: not one minute after he left :P
(12:20:46 PM) jallen: so I scramble and drive as fast as I can to a high hill where I have cel phone signal to text merche to call him right now
(12:18:34 PM) Jallen: and I wait 30 minutes there.. nothing
(12:18:56 PM) Jallen: give up.. and now I'm here at the office and I just sit down with my lunch, Merche calls and the vet's there waiting for me
(12:19:07 PM) Jallen: in the wrong part of the farm
(12:22:54 PM) jallen: Someone please come and shoot the damn horse !!
(12:23:03 PM) jallen: I guess she's not in such pain at the moment
(12:23:12 PM) jallen: if she's able to go hide from us
(12:22:04 PM) Jallen: I feel like I'm in a really bad cheesy Disney movie
(12:22:34 PM) Jallen: Like I'm the big bad & awful human trying to kill the horse, and the horse makes friends with a rabbit and they hide in a rabbit hole until the vet leaves
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2 comments:
OMG Tim, are you ok? You poor thing.
It is so hard to put down any sort of animal.
I am really bummed for ya.
Not sure if it is too late but here is my suggestion:
If you can get a tranq. gun to be able to get the animal down and relaxed. Then you can get it somewhere more convenient, such as the trailer or a field and humanely euthanize it.
I wouldn't and couldn't shoot it, it is sudden and without peace, and messy I am sure.
I wish you well my dear.
Ok so what are your plans AFTER you shoot the horse? Do you have a back hoe to dig a hole and bury it? I'm just curious how to dispose of something that large.
I think that horse is just fine, she just has the stomach flu. She'll be ok in a few days. Give her some chicken soup.
This is like a Disney movie. Don't shoot the horse, it's Christmas. Be the hero and save the day Tim!
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