Do you think a euthanized horse is treated with respect?

Question

I am referring mainly to the horses on the Race Tracks of America who are put-down due to injuries. If you have never seen how this process works, then please specify in your answer. Have you seen what happens after they are dead? Yes/No.

Answer 1

Yes, Barbaro's remains were certainly treated with respect- he was creamated, something that is normally only reserved for people.  This normally doesn't happen with most race horses though, unless they happen to be famous or big money winners. Usually, a carcass is taken to the nearest rendering plant to be turned into horsemeat or glue. That is sad, I know, but it's the truth.  A note to Margie: Barbaro's owners, the Jacksons, decided to try to save their horse because they LOVED him, NOT because of stud fees or money. Gretchen Jackson made it clear from the begining that their efforts to save the colt were about LOVE, not money !!! They never even knew if he was potent- he died of laminitis before they could find out. I have to wonder what planet you have been on over the past year- it certainly wasn't planet Earth, if you can make such a biased, ignorant statement about such a great horse and the incredibly brave people who tried to help him.

Barbaro didn't die in vain- millions of dollars have now been raised to for research into the disease that killed him- and this is money that will one day benefit ALL horses, no matter what their walk of life. New treatments and a cure will be possible one day- and those of us in the racing world actually owe the Jacksons and Barbaro's vet, Dr. Richardson, a huge thank you. We also have a surgeon who can perform complicated, life-saving operations on horses with a reasonable chance of success, and where Dr. Richardson leads, others- perhaps many others- will eventually follow. One day we will have thousands of vets who are able to do these things.

Instead of criticizing the Jacksons, you should be focusing instead on the real reason WHY Barbaro and other horses like him keep breaking down, and why we keep seeing these tragedies over and over. THESE HORSES ARE RACING AT FAR TOO YOUNG AN AGE. Their bones are just NOT strong enough to take the stress of the demands put on them, and the inbreeding and overbreeding on the farms has only made the problem worse, because the gene pool is shrinking. That's why this keeps happening over and over and over again. These horses ARE sending us a message- but we aren't listening very well, and we may never get around to listening until more innocent animals die. One of these days there will be a major accident during a race like the Derby, in which BOTH horses and their riders DIE. When that happens, there will undoubtedly be a public outcry over it- and we will finally see some changes in the sport of racing that will clean it up and make it safer for everyone involved.  Until then, however- we will see the status quo. Just my thoughts.

Answer 2

to answer your question, yes, i have seen what happens to a horse after it has been euthanized and i don't think there is anything "disrespectful" about what goes on... it's a DEAD HORSE, what does IT care about what goes on after it dies..

Answer 3

Serryn, my own horse had to be euthanized following a bout of laminitis last year, although he was not a racehorse.  Let me say this about euthanizing a horse:

Euthanasia is usually the result of a catastrophic and sudden injury or illness that is causing considerable pain to the horse.  I have indeed seen how this process works, and let me tell you, it is not something that you get over seeing.  If the horse is standing on its feet at the time the euthanasia is administered, it falls within seconds of the administration of the lethal drug.  Seeing a 1,000-pound horse that you've loved hit the ground like a 1,000 pound sack of cement, eyes sightless and suddenly dead, is not something you get over easily, if at all.

On the track, when a horse has suffered a catastrophic injury, the track vets and others involved try to be as respectful as they can be.  At most tracks a canvas screen is put up around the horse to shield the public from the sight.  If it is at all possible, the vets prefer to van the horse off the track and administer the euthanasia to the horse in the stable area, but that isn't always possible.

Once the decision to euthanize is made, the vet or vets act as quickly as possible to reduce the amount of time the horse is in pain.

Disposal of the body after the horse is dead is something that has to be dealt with-- sometimes in advance of the euthanasia decision.  My horse, at the time of his death, was boarded in a stable facility where the dead animal disposal van couldn't access his body.  So he had to be taken to the front yard of the home where he was boarded and euthanized there, so his body could be taken away.

Most people do not have access to places where a horse can be buried, and most municipalities have laws regarding the burial of large animals, so for most horse owners burial is not an option.  This is true of racehorses that are euthanized on the track.  Exceptional animals, like Ruffian and Go For Wand, may be buried on the track.  Some may be transported to their owner's property for burial (in many cases, the burial is of token parts-- usually the head, heart and hooves, not the whole body).  But most are sent to an abattoir to be rendered.  

This is the choice I made for my own horse.  It was not an easy decision to make.  But the alternatives were simply not doable.  I could have had him buried at an animal cemetary, but the cost for that would have exceeded $10,000 by the time we were through;  that was more than I could afford.  I could have had him cremated for about $2,000, but again that was money I couldn't come up with.

I don't know what the intent of your question is.  Do you think all horses should be buried or cremated?  Do you understand that the decision to euthanize a horse is usually made under the worst possible conditions, with little or no time to think or plan?  Do you understand that focus has to be on putting the horse out of its suffering as quickly as humanly and humanely possible?

I won't say there is dignity in euthanizing a horse, because it's an awful decision and done under excruciating circumstances.  But I will say that it is my experience, and this includes observation of euthansias performed on the racetrack, that the vets and officials do everything they can to see to it that what has to be done is done as humanely and with as much dignity as possible.

Answer 4

I'd think they'd be euthanized with the same stuff they use on cats and dogs, but just a greater amount.  I was there when my cat had to be put down and it was instantaneous.  They gave her a shot and she was dead.  Painless and quick.  I think it was harder on me than on her.  

As to how they're treated afterwards that's up to the owner and the doctor doing the euthanizing I'd think.

Answer 5

That depends. If a horse has a devastating injury, it is best to  put it down. Since most horses on the track that suffer injury are young, an injury to a leg or joint can pose problematic for the rest of its life. Race horse owners and farms are not going to keep a horse that will end up costing money to rehabilitate unless they think they can get a return profit on it.

Racing can be a somewhat disposable sport in that it goes through many, many horses.

More often horses are sold to slaughter due to their inability to win money.

If a horse has been euthanized, the carcass is going to be destroyed because it can't be used for food purposes (pet food, etc.) because of the agent used to put the animal to sleep.

For example: Barbaro. That horse should have been euthanized when he had his injury. He was a young horse who had a devastating injruy to his legs and his prognosis was VERY poor. However, the owners (despite what they claim) probably thought they could sew him back together and make a buck or two in stud fees.

His demise was totally predicable and they kept that horse in misery for too long, only to have to put him down anyways.

Answer 6

What they do is give them a shot of chemicals (i don't know exactly what) that stops their heart within seconds of giving it to them. Here in CA they ship their bodies to U.C. Davis for medical study.

If the horse is able to get in the ambulance they do it off track. If the injury is to bad they do it right there on the racetrack.

As unfortunate as it is, it is in the best interest of the horse. Just look what happened to Barbaro.