> Subject: RE: [RC] Carcass Removal - heidi/carrie > Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:02:32 -0800 > From: carrie.kitley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > > God, you guys are killin me here. I need a hanky. *sniff* > Heidi, I totally understand what you had to do and why. I'm so thrilled > you gave him that one last ride to the mountain. What a perfect way for > a horse to go. > ~C > > > You're right, Barbara, pulling the trigger is not easy. But as one who > has had to put down my own both by injection and by bullet, it isn't any > easier to do it by lethal injection--in fact, I think it's more > difficult, simply because it takes longer. > > My Dad wrote a poignant poem about putting down an old horse, in which > he talks about praying that the tears won't spoil his aim. I wrote a > similar poem when I had to put down my old foundation stallion > Surrabu--back in the days when we could still leave carcasses out on > public lands and when we didn't realize the toxicity of barbiturates to > the native wildlife. <sigh> I rode him up his favorite mountain > bareback with the euthanasia drugs in a fanny pack (he had bone cancer > in his jaw, and was wasting away, and had no quality of life left--but > he sure perked up going back out on the trail that one last time), and > one of the saddest times in my life was walking back down that mountain > with his bridle in my hand. It has been almost 20 years since then, and > I still tear up just thinking about it. > > For those of you who are not vets, you have someone else push the > plunger anyway--and I don't blame folks for asking someone else to pull > the trigger. But I have to agree that a well-placed bullet is > consistently quicker and less traumatic for the horse. > > > Heidi > > > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- > 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!! > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
