Euthanasia in Emergency

Euthanasia in an emergency is when the horse is in such a situation where it must be put down on welfare grounds. Typical circumstances where this would be the case include:

• Fractured leg (complete fracture of a long bone)
• Road traffic accident
• Uncontrollable pain (e.g. colic is non-responsive to pain relief)
• Racecourse or Event injury

The decision to advise an owner to put their horse down on humane grounds must be the professional responsibility of the attending veterinary surgeon, based on his or her assessment of the clinical signs at the time of examination - regardless of whether or not the horse is insured. The veterinary surgeon’s primary responsibility is always prioritise the welfare of the horse.

At our practice, we only offer euthanasia by injection. The option of having the animal shot may be preferable in certain situations (for example severe blood loss or where circulating adrenaline is extremely high). In those situations our practice can advise on a trained person to attend and shoot the animal as soon as possible. 

For more information, please visit our page on Euthanasia and Equine Bereavement.