Mane Chance Sanctuary and Jenny Seagrove have issued the following statement: Deciding to let our four old horses go is probably the hardest decision we have ever taken and has not been made lightly. It has come as a result of 6 months of observations and actually having four independent vets come and look at each of them. All four vets are very experienced and we trust their expert opinions. Blaze has ruptured her rear ligaments and the only thing keeping her upright are the ligaments normally used for locomotion and not support. Her ligaments could snap at any moment and then she would have to be put down in agony. She also has IBS problems and neck issues. Her hips and spine are in trouble because of the ligament issue she finds it very hard to walk, even standing up causes her pain. She is on high levels of painkiller to keep her going with a reasonable quality of life. Bandit her inseparable friend has terrible arthritis – particularly novicular and in his pasterns. He has painkiller to give him quality of life as walking is hard for him and would be literally heartbroken if Blaze went and he didn’t. Amadeus is an ex jumper who has shocking front knee trauma where he may well have had a fracture back in the day. He has had bone re-growth but he can’t put proper weight on it and whilst we have managed to find a way of trimming his hooves, it is putting a lot of pressure on his right leg and the danger there is laminitis, which if it did come means he would be put down in agony. He also has problems with his hips and spine as he is not walking properly because he cannot put weight on the front left knee. He has lost a shocking amount of weight in the last few weeks even though all four horses have hard food and hay to supplement their grass. If any of the other horses went he would have a nervous breakdown. He has high levels of pain killer to give him quality of life but we can’t give him too much as he can damage himself. Heather has COPD – an upper airways breathing issue so whenever it is dusty or there is pollen, she has problems breathing. She has ruptured the round ligament in her hip joint which means the joint is partially dislocated and has developed arthritis. This has put pressure on her other hip, her spine and her front legs and if her hip were to completely dislocate she would be put down in agony. She also has high levels of pain killer. Basically all four horses are in their thirties and are a very close herd group. One of them, Amadeus, would not cope well if any one of the others was to go, and Bandit and Blaze are inseparable. The kindest and most loving action to take for these very special horses is to let them all go together and that is the decision we have come to. They are having reiki and homeopathy to prepare them and will be very heavily sedated and given lethal injection. They will also be held as they go, by people who they love and who love them. The alternative for them is pain and suffering, which they don’t deserve. I don’t know what else to say. This is the hardest thing any of us have had to do.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Jul 2013 11:39:04 +0000
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