wow with that much hostility you may not need a gun.

and as ive mentioned before i drive a truck.

so what exactly pissed you off more? the fact i would end the horses suffering myself, or you thinking im trying to screw the vet? let me guess you have a realtive in the vet business? i was only referencing the drug, not the service call or removal of the body, a man has to make a living.  and no i dont know what a bottle of the "juice" costs, but i do know what a bottle of 3-way costs and what i am charged for a "dose".  yes with drugs the animal goes down quick but it still takes time to stop the heart and then the brain.

as for "Have you ever experienced a horse being humanely euthanized"....yes. have you seen one put down with a gun?

and "What happens when you get a bad shot and you have a frickin' bloody mess and your horse is thrashing around?" i wouldnt know....ive never missed.  but im guessing it wouldnt be chasing him down and beating him to death with the shovel.

 i can certainly understand how you see my "mindset" as unbelievable, but remember yours is just as foreign to me. like i said most people are not mentally or physcially capable, this does not change what is right for me and mine.

Scared from CHILDHOOD!  My father took my horse to the canners on Christmas Eve to save the $.  The horse was born on the property and should have died on the property, not driven 30 miles away and shot between the eyes with a gun.  I also don't think she should have been shot with a gun on the property.  I'm sure my thinking is not unique to California, at least I hope not.

As far as the traffic accident question, I hope it never happens but I'll cross that bridge when and if I come to it.

Verushka.. Chadsalt may be a bit inflammatory sometimes... Don't take the bait and respond with more heat. 

The original subject of a horse confined 23/7 was emotion ladden enough to people that sacrifice greatly to have horses. 

A further explanation in my case:  The reason for using a gun to euthanize my horse was two fold.  It was required by his declining health AND my education.   Drugs were not in my experiance, the best or only solution.  Also, only a vet has access to the drugs needed for euthanasia.  I'm a trail rider.  Many times we're in places far from vet help and support.  Learning to do something as difficult as putting a beloved horse down requires the best of conditions.  It was far from easy.  Doing the final act the first time in an emergency situation is a path to poor results, as some posters have alluded to.  (we had a vet with us on a trail ride in the mountains a while before.  The conditions on one stretch of trail were so hazardous. such that around the campfire later, the vet confided he worried about how he would put down a severly injured horse without his medical kit.  I didn't like his solutions at all)  With a gun, I am better prepared, thanks to my first horse.  I am thankful for all that he taught me.

So... while many people couldn't actually pull the trigger, it's useful to have someone around that can.  We're all different and all should be glad of it, not spiteful about it.

well said.

Well said hoss! I was going to respond with something like this. There are times were are 15 miles from a phone out on the trail. Forget cell phones, they don't work where I live. Do you know how long it would take me to walk back to a phone to call a vet because my horse was down? Then the time it would take for a vet to get out there, my horse would be suffering for a very long time. IMO, that is not humane. All it would take is a simple slip, or stepping into a hole. I have never done it, but when it came down to it, do I really have a choice? When the time comes to have my horse put down, I will call the vet to do it. But if I'm out in the middle of no where and have no choice, a gun will have to do it.

The whole "bullet to the horse's head" issue can go two ways. Shoot the horse in an emergency, such as on  a mountaintop trail and the horse is injured with a bad prognosis, or hit by a car or in a trailering accident and in the hands of a police officer. These are situations I have no problems with what so ever. The situation I do have a problem with is shooting a horse that is on your own property and it is "time" to end its life instead of  a  veterinarian euthanizing the horse for the owner. Whether it is to save money or what have you but I just found it quite odd that someone didn't think they should pay a veterinarian to euthanize their animal. Uneducated in the medical world or non-trusting to doctors, I'm not sure.  Call me a softy, or someone who just has a little more respect towards my 4-legged friends. I would choose  the injection method when the time arises.

 Euthanasia is never an easy argument with anyone and it is not an easy subject to talk about because there are so many feelings and emotions involved. I know this, as I recently helped my husband  put his dog of 14 1/2 years to rest. Bullet in this dog's head? NEVER! Lethal injection was the only choice for this dog which held the upmost dignity in any animal I have ever known. Did she pass on peacefull? Absolutely, but not without many tears on our parts!

i notice you didnt answer my questions. perhaps you have also had an unfavorable experience with a gun that is causing a bias?

anyhow i have no problem trusting my vet, nor did i say the needle is inhumane or ineffective. and i have  not come out and raised hell about the way you choose to do things. to me it is not about the money, or mistrust of the medical world. its about MY responsability to the animal, i chose him, i feed him, i cared for him, and when the time comes I will end his suffering.  i tend to think of it from the animals point of view,  just the horse and a guy that brings the (final) meals or treats, not that annoying guy in a white coat with that thing hes been jabbing in my neck for 20 years.

to each his own.

I never thought of it from that point of view.  Chadsalt, you're right.  The animals are definitely on alert when the vet or farrier is coming up to them.  The reaction is very different than just a stranger.   Dog, cat or horse.  Even the people that they see every 8 weeks of so.  My farrier requires the owner hold the horse while he's working on them for that very reason. 

When I cross the rainbow bridge, I want someone loved to see me across, not just a bunch of medical personnel. 

i believe youre missing my point. i have no problem with my vet, and if i was unable to perform the action myself i would not hesitate to call him.

 Most vets for small animals will not allow owners to stay around till the end.

My vet asked if I wanted to stay when I had my dog put down this spring.  I couldn't do it.  I was in tears before I ever left the house to take him to the vet. 

I may be guilty of putting human emotions to a dog's reaction (anthropomorphic behavior) so be it...

When we took our old dog to the vet for euthanasia, we left him.  In the parking lot, we changed our mind and went back.  Deacon was so happy to see us and was calm for the injection.  He accepted the injection discomfort as he always accepted our various ministrations, without fighting us or the drug.

ditto.

ditto again.... I too have had to see a few beloved pets over the rainbow bridge and I was there each and very time to help them over and as hard as it is I can't imagine it any other way.

Hosspuller,

As a horse owner for 50 years, I have had 7 horses euthanized, and buried on the farm. I was with each and every one as the vet administered the drugs. Only one horse, who was high spirited, reared slightly. The rest peacefully laid down. The first injection is for lying down, then the final injection is to stop the heart. Bullets are not always the quick easy way. My research indicates the bullet ideally goes in the middle of the face, slightly above the area between the eyes. One move by the horse or person with the gun can cause things to quickly become ugly. At a ride in Wyoming in the summer of '04, a horse broke it's leg in a hole. The local police where called to shoot the horse. The policeman could not bring themselves to shoot the horse, so an retired military person on the ride shot the horse.It was not pretty. I prefer the vet and a needle. As for small animals, I have also held my dogs for euthanization. One time it was difficult because the vein for the needle in a very elderly, ill dog could not be found. But again, when necessary, I will not hesitate to end my beloved animals lives with a familiar vet, and me there to comfort them in their last minutes on earth. If I did not have the money to end their lives in a peaceful fashion, I would not own them.

Brenda

i realize this was not addressed to me, but would you explain "not pretty"? did the guy botch the shot?

and why does everybody think the gun method is cheaper?  i suspect a vet would put down a few horses for the price of a quality handgun and box of ammo.

The horse was part of a remuda being driven to another location. The leg went through a rotten cover of an old mine shaft while on the drive. Lots of other loose horses around, open high plains country.You have a horse with a leg literally dangling, and have to restrain the horse, who already has the adrenalin pumping. Trying to get the horse tied in such a fashion that an accurate shot could be fired, and not risking anyone's well being, or the other horses, was not pretty. How much better it would have been, although circumstances did not allow, for someone to be able to gently calm the horse, and a lethal injection given.

Brenda

Hi Brenda ... I don't understand the point of your post addressed to me. 

I chose to use a firearm.  The main purpose was to learn.  I researched the technique and had the advice of my vet and several other sources.  The vet was a personal friend. He was going to be there as a favor, while I did it, but was called away.  It was emotionally difficult but I had time to prepare myself. 

I don't think police or military training addresses euthanasia of a horse. I can't imagine their training even allows practice of it(anybody know?).  I can understand the cause of your bad experiance.   The first time for anything is fraught with high potential for bad results.  (That's why brain surgery and medical procedures are called practice... LOL ) While a vet with lots of experiance using a firearm on horses can have a bad result, the potential is low. 

If I have to do it again, thanks to my first horse, I will have had some experiance. The potential to do it with good results is higher than without practice.

Anybody want a discussion on how to use a firearm to euthanize a horse?  Without the emotion, it's just a skill.  It's just like how to teach a horse to load on a trailer for back-country trail riders.