We're keeping my sister's horse for a while because my sis and her husband were evicted from their rental place when it was sold. The horse is quite old (33) and has a problem with lying down and not being able to get up again. So we have to put the halter on her, tie a rope from the halter to a sturdy post, and whip her until she gets up. It's really hard because I'm not used to whipping animals. :cry: But if she stays down eventually she'll just completely stop trying to get up and will have to be euthanised. I had to do this today alone while my husband was away helping a friend.

This isn't so much asking for advice as just sharing a difficult animal issue...

aaah, poor horse & poor Ludi.
I know nothing about horses. Hopefully some equine expert may be able to help or suggest an alternative method.
Good luck...

Ok.. I have had, and dealt with horses for years (nice, cute, evil, devils, huge and small, healthy and ill).

1. Call a vet.
2. Have the horse put out of its misery.

imho, whipping an animal until it is so scared and in pain that it moves is not acceptable. Would you beat a child who was ill just so they would move?

This is the kind of post I expect from trolls.
Please, if you even give a slight damn about this animal, let her go. Leaving her in such a state is cruel. I am amazed that it could even get to this point.

I don't want to sound mean or rude but I really think that putting her down is the only human option.

Having worked around horses quite a bit, let me say that if the horse needs to be beaten to stand up, perhaps euthanasia is the best option.
What is eventually going to happen? Will the horse have to be beaten continuously & watched around the clock?
I really think euthanasia is a gift sometimes.
I have lost 2 chinchillas in the past couple of years, & when any animal can't enjoy life, it's time to go unless there is a remedy.
Beating is not a remedy.

Well said.

This isn't my horse.

She's not mine to kill.

If you have been left in control of her care then you HAVE to call the vet. Let the vet give you all the info/options, and then tell your sister.

But if it was my horse I would rather it not suffer than someone wait for my permission.

The horse has to come first, and if you have taken over her care (for whatever reason) then her health and wellbeing become your responsibility.

You could bring it up gently to your sister.
Continuous beating is no way to treat any animal.
I'd be on the phone to the HUmane Society if I witnessed someone whipping an elderly horse who clearly just wants to lie down.

Ludi, I know next to nothing about horses. But just reading about what she has to go through makes me want to cry. Horses are such beautiful and elegant creatures and no horse should have to endure this.

Regardless of who "owns" the horse, please seek out a large animal vet and just ask him about the situation. At the very least, you need to be well informed since you're taking care of the horse. I feel like you're a caring person, so please do what's right.

We hate the whipping. Hate it.

My husband is a very clever guy, and he's trying to think of a system of block and tackle that we can use to pull her up. He also thinks working with another stimulus such as a police whistle to encourage her to get up.

She's clearly relieved once she gets up, and trots around happily. She's really very healthy except has weakness in one of her rear quarters.

Tomorrow I'll take a pic and post it, she's a beautiful old girl. I've known her most of my life, she's sort of one of the family, and we've all been through a lot together.

She certainly doesn't deserve to die.

We're going to talk to our large animal vet (husband of our small animal vet) and see if he has any suggestions, also.

I should have explained that my sister told us to use the whip to get her up. We tried just clapping hands, offering treats, whipping the ground, waving arms, jumping up and down, etc, but this wasn't enough to get her moving. She just gets so tired from trying to get up on her own.

Well, I hope your vet can offer some alternatives. Keep us posted.

I hesitate to do so, Schoska, after your "troll" comment. Not exactly helpful or supportive there.

I said I didn't mean to be rude. I will admit that my wording was probably inappropriate.
But, in cases like this, I feel that it isn't my job to be supportive per se to the poster. My main concern is the horse not the feelings of anyone else.
As far as being helpful, I said what I thought..and if it was my horse (I understand you are in a hard position as you don't have *full* say) I'd have her put down, and I would question anyone who suggested I inflcit pain just to get her up.
The fact is I am really concerned that things were left to get this bad and sadly I think the chances of the vet having any workable alternatives are very slim.
However, if your vet DOES have an alternative I would like to hear. Sadly treatment for equines still lags behind that of other animals in many cases so workable options are always good news.

Hmm, ok. Well, just so you know it wasn't helpful in any way at all, and was really very hurtful.

When people have physical therapy, or major surgery, they are made to get up in spite of excruciating pain. It's true they are told why, but in the case of little children, they may not understand why.

I took the horse for a walk this evening, which she seemed to enjoy, and she was definitely enjoying her alfalfa hay. It would be a shame to curtail this enjoyment forever because of 5 minutes of pain.

I have been around horses all my life. It sounds like to me the horse is not ready to be put down but may benefit from some medication. Please call the vet, it may be as simple as some injections in the effected area.

Do you know what is causing her difficulty specifically? (e.g arthritis ) or does it seem to be just 'old age'?

Has your sister tried supplements for arthritic horses in the feed?
(not sure where you are but if it is an option try http://www.horsesupplementsdirect.co.uk/ N.B they're not a company I have used myself as I sourced any supplements I used from my local vet directly)

p/m'd ya re: shiatsu for horses

For this breed of horse (Connemara Pony) she isn't especially old, they can actually live to age 50 though this is rare. So, I should say, she's "somewhat old" but she has had some major health problems including major surgery (twisted gut). She got trapped in a fence a couple years ago and was down for many hours, which damaged one of her rear quarters (left, I think). I think it is nerve damage but I don't know for certain.

She gets "Equine Senior" food.

I feel for you Ludi, that must be a very awful way to start each day. While I know very little about horses, haven't Ii heard that they can sleep standing up? Does she have to go down every night?

I know it isn't your horse but I would seriously suggest looking into a number of possiblities. Massage, chiropractic work, joint supplements, pain relievers, magnetic therapy. If the horse is sound and able to get around once she is up then she is having specific pain somewhere that is making the act of getting up dificult. This needs to be addressed asap. Get a good vet out and discuss your options. What is she laying on? Hard ground, sand, bedding? It could be hips, hocks, back that are the problem. A vet may be able to help you narrow it down so you know what you need to treat. I would be careful messing around with levers and pullys and what not because a horse can very very easily get tangled up in things and end up seriously injured. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Wow.

I feel ill reading this.

To me, beating an animal is abuse, period. Whether you hate doing it or not. If I knew you IRL, I would be calling every animal aid organization out there to report you.

And I really don't care if you find that hurtful, frankly. I'm certainly not going to sugarcoat it.

I feel for you Ludi, that must be a very awful way to start each day. While I know very little about horses, haven't Ii heard that they can sleep standing up? Does she have to go down every night?


No, so far she's only been down twice since we got her a week ago. She was down yesterday because it rained and she wanted to roll in the mud, but she forgot she couldn't get back up. My sister warned us to expect that.

Horses can sleep quite well standing, and she has a shed she can go into and lean on the wall if she wants.

MollyGoat, do you have any suggestions on what to do to get her up? I guess you'd rather report me than actually help.

So in order for the horse to be motivated to deal with the pain of standing up you have to hurt her more than standing up hurts. Hmm. Why are you doing this? It doesn't sound like you even want to. Tell you sister that this is a PROBLEM. Something needs to change, because that's just not right.

The horse doesn't want to stand up for a reason. Blame the cause, not the effect.