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RE: [RC] old age/emergency euthanasia - Susan E. Garlinghouse, D.V.M.The vet involved put the horse under and then bled him out. She said it was really horrible, because as he bled out, the anesthesia wore off, Why not just re-sedate? and he really did thrash and get panicky. But it didn't take him long to die after that, and he was up on a remote mountaintop with a shattered leg, so other options were far less humane than what she did. I had to hike in to attend a badly colicking mule on a mountain top last winter that needed to be put down. I had euthanasia solution with me, but because we had no way to dispose of the body or keep away scavengers, that wasn't an option. I put the mule pretty far under with normal sedation, then cut the dorsal aorta internally with a scalpel. No external bleeding, apparently no pain as the mule never even twitched when I cut him, he just lay down, stayed down and died peacefully a few minutes later. Not as neat as barbiturates, but still worked very well, without risk to local wildlife. I don't mind an animal being knocked unconscious if your aim is perfect, but miss by a few inches and you'll just cave in the frontal sinuses, which would be *very* painful. Granted, cutting the dorsal aorta requires some sedation, and some basic knowledge of anatomy (although it's not difficult), but much better than cutting their throat. If I didn't have sedation and a scalpel available, I think a bullet would be my preference, though I wouldn't want anything less than a .357 or a 9 mm. I don't carry a gun or euthanasia solution with me when I ride in remote areas, but I do carry a small amount of sedation and a scalpel. JMO. Susan Garlinghouse, DVM, MS =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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