Ridecamp: [RC] need help with daughter re:horse

 Its  sad and it seems she's blaming herself and 
> saying that because she decided to euthanize Ras she nowfeels she >
killed her.

Kathie,

Your daughter is soooo wrong.  Tell her I admire her putting her OWN
feelings aside to do what was right for the horse.  I have seen so many
people let an animal suffer because they are selfish. They are thinking
about how *they*will suffer when the horse is gone and they miss it. 
Horses have no sense of past or present. They live in the now.  A horse
who is in pain does not have the luxury we have of reminiscing about
better times, or hoping for things to improve. They don't have goals,
such as wanting to see their grandchildren. They simply hurt.

Your daughter is hurting, because she accepted the pain FOR her horse. 
Choosing between  herself or the horse as to which would suffer, she
chose to take on the load and let the horse go into a peaceful sleep and
be free of pain.  Yes, it is hurting her, but she has proven that she was
worthy of the horse's friendship and is a person who is worthy of being a
selfless horseman who has put her horse's welfare ahead of her own.

There are people who shun the responsibility they have been given by
refusing to make the tough decisions.  They are selfish, self absorbed
beings who tell themselves that they are "Kind" or "softhearted".  They
are actually cruel whether they truly intend to be or not.  I have horses
that I love that I would hate to have to turn their fate over to someone
else.  If I had to choose, I would choose someone like your daughter who
proved she put the horse's feelings above her own over  someone who was
willing to spend every penny they had to prolong some poor animal's
death. 

 In the wild, predators saved horses from dying slow lingering deaths. 
Once they reached a certain point, a predator ended their suffering
swiftly.  We have eliminated the predators and with it the quick ending
of a painfully fatal condition.  With that I believe we must accept the
responsibility to end their pain swiftly.

There are so many horses out there in the world right now who are owned
by uncaring, ignorant or abusive people.  They are there, and they need
someone like your daughter instead of whoever owns them now.  Think of
all the times your horse was well cared for, doctored, brought in from
the rain.  Would she have trusted anyone else to take care of that horse
if she'd sold her?   Somewhere, just the right horse  is out there
waiting for her. Is anyone taking care of it?  Is it hungry? Cold?  

I'm sure that your mare had your love right up to the end.  What better
way to make the transition between this world and the next?

P.S.  Horses are  mentioned in heaven. :-)

Angie

________________________________________________________________
Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today
Only $9.95 per month!
Visit www.juno.com

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
 Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
 Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
 Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

 Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=