Horses Euthanize or Bullet.Depends on situation?

Question

I think this is a very interesting question.I'm curious to know what other people think.I grew up in WV (insert hillbilly joke) and whenever someones animal was sick they just shot it.I don't know anyone who ever called the vet to euthanize.What do you think?Does it depend on the situation?We had a old dog when I was younger who got very sick on Thanksgiving,she acted normal all day then around 10 pm she got very sick.There were no 24 hour vets around where we lived so my dad had to shoot her.Do you think that wrong? Here's another example of a bullet possibly being better than euthanasia..My uncle had a horse who was well kinda nuts.He put her in a stall and she jumped out and landed on a metal t-post.It went straight threw her stomach.She was still alive but it would have taken the vet to long to have arrived so he shot her.Do you agree with that?

do you a well placed bullet is better than euthanasia? I have heard some pretty bad things about the vet coming to put the horse down.So what do you think is better?

Answer 1

If I thought that my girl was in to much pain, and the vet would be a while, I would want her suffering to stop quickly, but I've had two horses euthanized, and would prefer that.  I pray that I never have to pull the trigger but would if needed.  This is a sad question, but hey that's what I would do.  

Answer 2

Speaking from my own experience!

I have never been in a situation where I had to make a decision to shoot an animal.

I have witnessed and assisted in a few cases where a horse had to be euthanized. All of them, with one exception, were sick and weak and went down quietly and peacefully. The other case was a one day old deformed foal that also died quietly in my arms.

The same goes for the dogs that I had to have put down.

I have heard of some horrible cases where horses were injured on the race track and went into a tantrum after the injection, I think it might be adrenalin(sp?) causing that kind of reaction.

I have also seen several pigs being shot with a bolt into the forehead for slaughter on a farm in Germany, they all went down very quickly.

Answer 3

I would say it would be a matter of situation. If the animal was suffering and there was not real chance of the vet getting there in a "reasonable" amount of time then shooting the animal would be prefereable.

I also think that if the person doesn't know how to use the gun and has a chance of actually not killing the animal then it is probably best to wait for the vet. You don't need them to suffer from a gunshot wound on top of whatever their intial problem was.  

Answer 4

Yes.

Answer 5

I would be horrified to shoot one of my animals but I think its more about me being afraid of it then the animal. I think they are both humane options when done correctly its just that using a gun is so much more traumatic to the human. I'm not sure what the animal feels when its euthanized, I hope it's nothing terrible, but the idea of the animal slowly drifting off to sleep is much more comforting to a human than shooting it where blood and all that scary stuff is involved. I too have heard horror stories about euthanasia, heard stories about using a bullet too, but the animals that I have had to put down went quietly with the least amount of distress from what I could tell. In my experience they are both humane options and there are certain situations where one may be preferred over another.

Answer 6

it depends.... if they are suffering and like the vet wont come soon i say put them out of their misery but it some cases euthenizing them is way better and more humane

Answer 7

I would've said euthanization right away but then I read about your uncles horse. In the case that the animal is in pain and the vet can't get their quickly. I think it is allright. I would never be able to shoot an animal though. It does depend on the situation but at the moment I'm leaning towards the bullet... But I think anything and everything should be done to try and save the animal first.

Answer 8

I think that you should have let the dog go to the vet to get checked out, it could have just been a stomach ache. If the horse has a long term illness or is not in serious pain, euthanasia is better. If the horse is in serious pain (as in impaling itself on a T-post) or cannot wait for the vet, a bullet is better.

Answer 9

If the animal is in a great deal of pain and needs to be put down. If the quickest thing to put it down with is a bullet, then that is the best thing you can do. I hate to see animals suffer. I hate it when owners of horses wait for a vet to come to put down the animal (sometimes waiting hours while suffering) when there is a gun at hand. It is just cruel. If I was in a bad way and going to die (like impaling myself on a steak) I would hope that someone could put me out of my misery with a gun instead of waiting for a vet.

I have known of horses dying in such horriffic pain, the owner gets the vet out, and it takes the owner hours before they decide to put it down. With a gun you would not wait im sure.

Well thats my opinoin on the matter, cheers Jane.

Answer 10

I think it does depend in the situation.

If you have a horse that is impaled on a t-post and in pain and the vet can not get to you shooting the horse is the kindest thing you oculd do. You are ending the suffering and pain of the animal.

And I am sure it would be harder on the person than the horse.

Shooting involves messy body fluids and such depending on the caliber of bullet used so I think people tend to feel that an injection is less traumatic. I know it is less traumatic fort he person.

I would not want to have to shoot my own horse but if he was hurt and in pain I feel I could. It is one of the things I thought about before getting horses. The possibility exists when you live out in the middle of nowhere.

Answer 11

I absolutely agree that there are times that a bullet is better.  There is a reason that it is an approved legal way to humanely euthanize an animal.  

As a vet tech and a horse owner I've seen several instances where shooting is a much better option than euthanasia.  Many of them are exactly like your story of the t-post.  Why would you torture your animal more to wait on a vet?  Or worse I knew a woman (I won't call her a friend) who had a horse break it's leg in the field one day.  Litteraly this horses leg was hanging on by the muscle.  A friend of mine and I were there and ready to shoot this horse for her, but instead she decideds to load the horse on a trailer drive it through the rough pasture and down the highway about 10 miles to the farm she worked at to have it 'humanely' euthanized there.  All that did was add an hour of torture to that horses life.

Another instance I've had where a bullet would have been a better option was at a small animal clinic I used to work at.  We had a very very sick doberman come in at the end of the day.  The people basically just dropped him off and asked us to euthanize him.  Well he was so sick and so dehydrated that we were having a very hard time getting a vein to hold to euthanize him.  We tried and tried for almost an hour.  Unfortunatly our clinic was in the city limits and next door to a fire station, and since it's illegal to fire a gun in the city limits we were stuck.  Luckly we finally got a vein to hold to lay the animal to rest, but it's hard to watch an animal suffer knowing you could stop it's pain quicker if you had the means.

I'm sure there are lots of horror stories about horse being put down.  I see it all to often in my line of work, and it's never pretty.  But most of the 'bad' things you see are a physiological reaction.  The horse's spirt/soul is gone, they're not really alive, it's just the body's natural dying process.

I think all horse owners should have a means to euthanize their own horse (even if it's a friend who'll do it for you), and know how to do it properly.  For a horse the legal/approved method is to have an immaginary line from the ears to the opposite eyes and where those lines intersect is the target point.  Recomended gun is a .22 cal.  If something happens to your horse it is your responsibility to do the best thing for them, and sometimes that is letting them go.  They're not like a dog or cat that you can scoop up in your arms and run to a vet.

I'm sorry to anyone that this offends or disgusts, but it true facts of life.  And everyone should accept these terms before entering into horse (or any animal) ownership.

Answer 12

I also prefer a bullet for horses.  Much faster.

I pray I don't get put into the situation with my old mare.  But if I did...I DO love her enough to stop her suffering.  If I struggle to actually do it...

I also have friends that would do it for me.  Same as I could do theirs.

We have a 'network' in the country that doesn't exist in a city.  Our way of thinking is different.  We know what REALLY will stop an animal's pain the fastest.  And we will do it.  We help each other with horrible jobs that need done when it comes to horses.  One of those jobs is putting another's loved one to rest...and then helping them 'dipose' [for lack of a better word] of the carcass.

We [in rural areas] are many times FAR from emergency vet care for traumatic injury.  There are no vets out in the mountains.  You'd better at least THINK about what you would do if your horse broke a leg miles from the nearest road.  I carry a large caliber pistol everytime I leave 'civilization'.  Mostly for protection from cougar and bear.  But it's always in the back of my head...that it might be for my horse.

I think the thought of shooting a loved one...just appalls most people.  There is blood, a loud noise...and the fear that the animal won't drop dead...because you missed hitting the right spot.  The needle 'appears' less invasive and you don't 'see' what is happening.

I've done it...and I don't like it.  The images stay with me.  But I know that it was the fastest and most humane thing to do at the time.

Answer 13

It depends.In the case of the dog,I think it should have been taken to a vet the next day,as she may have just not been feeling well.But the horse needed to be shot,as making it wait for a vet would have been terrible.But overall,I think that euthanasia with drugs is more humane than shooting an animal.

Edit: Hoofprints : I have had many animals euthanized,and none of them has ever "thrashed around", nor have their gums or tongues turned blue. I don't know what drugs your vet uses,but when my vet euthanizes an animal,it is dead in less than a minute,and it's very peaceful. I do keep speaking to them and stroking them for several minutes after,though,as I think there is probably brain activity even after the cessation of breathing and heartbeat,and hearing is the last sense to go.

Answer 14

Different strokes for different folks.

If I was in your shoes and out in the boonies ..where there was no vet to be called to the house and the horse was how yousaid  then I would do anyting  to put it out of pain. Guns yes work so much faster.

But Vets usually I have been told they always give more drugs to make sure the pet is died.

Answer 15

all animals deserve respect and mercy for their pain.i would rather put an animal out of misery myself in a timely manor than to wait an hour or more for a vet to come.a well placed bullet of appropriate size will instantly put an animal down and end the pain for it.i have had to put livestock down after severe injuries(broken legs,back or other injuries that would be more than the animal could endure to heal)dogs with extreme parvo or were kicked by livestock or hit by vehicles when i knew they wouldn't make it to a vet.i have lived on a ranch since i was born and that was the way it was and still is done.most people think ranchers and cowboys are heartless and unfeeling and some are but look at one who just had to put their dog or horse down and you will see a tear and hear a heart breaking.

Answer 16

I've personally seen way more bad things in the days when a "well placed bullet" was common.  Unless it is an emergency euthanasia, which is seldom the case, I believe in having the vet come out and perform the euthanasia.  When an animal impales itself, it goes into shock and the pain we think it is in is often absent.  However, in the situation you describe, if the horse can't be saved, then shooting it would be fine.  What is missing is the expert diagnosis as to whether the organs were likely to have been punctured.  And with the dog, same thing.  I've been very sick and recovered....how do you know the dog wouldn't have recovered?

When the vet performs euthanasia, you also get his/her professional opinion on whether or not euthanasia is the best course of action.

EDIt...to Juliane...that was not the proper way to euthanize a horse.  When done properly, the horse is tranquilized and then euthanized while standing in a stupor...it is dead when it goes down.

Also, I agree that in many instances a well placed bullet will do the job.  However, bullets don't always get through to the target as planned.  And when the screaming horse flips out when the first try fails, good luck getting a well placed shot in.  Unless you've seen that scenario, I think the bullet being more humane might be being romanticized.

ADD...I gave birth 3 times without drugs.  Yes, it was hours of incredible pain....but it didn't kill me and I'm glad nobody shot me to put me out of my misery.  A horse can endure pain for awhile...just like a human can.

EDIT...I have held my cats, dogs, and horses as they have been euthanized by injection on more occasions than I wish to recount.  The descriptions of euthanasia other posters describe have not been the experiences my beloved animals have experienced.  I can only guess that whoever administered the drugs to your animals was ill-trained to do it correctly.

Answer 17

I've seen horses killed both ways and I was surprised to find that the bullet was by far more humane.

When euthanized, a horse is NOT dead before it hits the ground.  It is given one shot, which isn't enough to kill it, just enough to make it go down.  So then it's on the ground, scared out of it's mind, and THEN they get the second shot that actually kills it.  It is so different from euthanizing a smaller animal like a dog or cat.  I've always been quite horrified at horses being euthanized.  I don't find it to be humane at all.

A bullet, however, is instantaneous.  The horse has no idea it's even happening.  It's over before the animal has time to react.

None of my horses will ever be euthanized.  A bullet is much more humane.

Answer 18

I would choose a bullet every time.  But the "Big Brothers" doesn't think the same......  The shot the Vet gives doesn't always have a "peaceful" ending.  It can be awful, too.  With the bullet you know it is fast.

Answer 19

1 clean shot is my preference.

I have seen horses put down both ways. A well placed bullet is instantaneous. Euthanasia by injection is not. Have you witnessed euthanasia by injection in either a dog or a horse? If you knew what was really going on, you would be horrified. It stops the heart, but not the brain. Blood fails to circulate. Look at the animals gums. They're turning blue from lack of circulation and slowly the whole system fails. While this is happening, the animal in its confusion is often fighting for its life, thrashing around etc. Additionally, there are many instances where a bullet is the only practical and humane option. It seems unnecessarily cruel to have an animal suffer while the vet is sometimes hours away or completely inaccessible.

So, in my opinion...a bullet is the way to go.

Answer 20

I have had to use the bullet on many occasions.  I would much rather have the vet do it but there are times when there is no way to move the animal a bullet is the kindest thing.  I know where the bullet goes and being trained by the Us Military and qualified expert helps.  Its the after wards i have a problem with...I am human.  

Answer 21

If the horse is in so  much pain, like the horse you described, yes, shooting it would be better than waiting for a vet, because that would be kind of mean if you didn't.  Sometimes, I think, it is better when a vet euthanizes them, it just makes it seem less "hectic".  It's like those movies where a guy is near death, but he's not dead, so he asks his buddy to end it for him, because there is no saving him.  That's how I look at shooting.  If a horse were to be in a type of pain where you could wait a bit, then I'd call the vet.  Another problem with shooting, not everyone has guns and don't know how to handle them, so their only option is to call the vet.  I think I'll stick with the vet right now, I don't have any horse getting stuck on T-posts, but if I did, then I'd be in trouble because the horse would have to wait through it all for the vet to come.  It all depends on the situation at hand, you just have to go with your gut and do the best thing for the horse or dog, whatever it is.

Answer 22

depends.

where i live, the bullet is preferred because people don't believe in spending money on euth when a $.50 bullet will do the trick.

but i know a woman who heard one of her horses scream in the middle of the night. when she ran to see what was wrong , she found her horse laying in the creek witha badly broken leg. she had her husband shoot him.

i know another person that found one of her horses hobbling around in the pasture with a broken leg. she called the vet out for euth.

Answer 23

Provided the bullet is perfectly placed, it is as instantaneous as the lethal injection. However, when a vet "shoots" a horse, it is not a bullet but a captive bolt. The bolt enters the skulls between the eyes and goes into the brain. It then "tears" the spinal nerves, rendering the horse dead. It is instant and humane, but a bit messy and it can be distressing to see. I find people prefer the injection because it is not as distressing to see, the horse simply falls to ground and is dead before it hits the ground. Also, I think it is "nicer" for an owner to think that the horse knew nothing of it, perhaps thinking it was routine vaccination rather than the horse wondering why on earth someone was pointing a gun at its head.

For my own animals, I vote injection all the way. I simply couldn't see my beautiful horses killed in that way. I have held horses to be shot by the vet, and I have held horses to be injected; it is always more distressing when the horse is shot.

However, I think shooting with a rifle etc. has its place in extreme circumstances. Having seen first hand, a horse with a broken back desparately trying to drag itself along whilst screaming in agony having been hit by a car, then you will appreciate that a well aimed bullet from a shotgun is less distressing to see than to watch the horse in such pain. However, some horses can have what appear to be horrific injuries, and recover. I knew a horse who got away from its owner whilst being lead through a field, it bolted and got trapped between a stationary (unmanned) tractor and a post and rail fence. It's side was torn apart and it had huge gaping flesh wounds. Within 3 months you'd never have known anything had happened. It made a full recovery and went on to continue it's BSJA career.

ADD: I have just read Juliane's answer. I am surprised - perhaps things are different wherever you are. I have held many horses to be euthanized by lethal injection and they get one jab and it's game over. The method described using two shots sounds awful, I've never witnessed it.