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Re: [RC] putting down a horse - Heidi SmithI've only seen one horse put down, but it went very differently. The vet asked me to step back, he administered the shot (which he told me was a massive tranquilizer overdose) and the horse fell to the ground dead instantly. Don't they use that method anymore? As Mary Dudley said, this IS an overdose of barbiturate. And unfortunately, not all horses just fall dead when it is given alone. If they are at all excited or upset prior to administration, they can go through a really vigorous "excitement" phase before they die--which, if the entire dose has been administered, they likely don't feel, but it is still very unpleasant and hard on both the owner and the personnel administering the euthanasia, both emotionally and physically. (A 1000 lb. animal thrashing is nothing to take lightly.) Also, with a massive and abrupt dose of barbiturates, some horses will flip over backward when they die, which isn't very nice either, and is usually prevented by prior sedation. So most veterinarians DO tranquilize horses prior to euthanasia, to prevent this sort of scenario. The dose of barbiturates is quite large, and takes several seconds to get entirely injected, so unless one can count on the horse remaining calm throughout the entire process, a sedative or tranquilizer is a wise precaution. Many veterinarians actually render the horse entirely unconscious first, with a general anesthetic that has a more predictable "drop" response. This isn't as much of an issue with small animals, where the dose of euthanasia solution is much smaller and the calming effect of the owner nearby is more likely to be sufficient. That said--one still has to go back to the issue of administering barbiturates at all, if there is ANY possibility of neigborhood pets, wildlife, or birds getting to the carcass prior to its disposal. Where I used to practice in central Oregon, the common disposal method was a local rendering company, which made the rounds only on particular days (unless you lived very close to it), so a carcass could be left out for a day or two before being picked up. Granted, one could schedule an "elective" euthanasia (old horse just fading away, so tomorrow is as good as today) so that it was done just prior to pickup, but the majority of equine euthanasias tend to be in acute situations where something needs to be done "right now." Think major colics, devastating injuries, etc. When a horse has ruptured or severely twisted a gut and is banging its head on the ground in uncontrollable pain, or is standing there with shattered bones, one euthanizes first, and worries about the rendering company schedule (or the backhoe, or whatever) after. And these are the sorts of circumstances that endanger other animals that can get access to the body when barbiturates are used. Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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