Disposing of a Horse's Carcass

[happyappygirl]

OK on our mountain horse list, there is a big discussion on what to do with a horse when you realize the prognosis is bad, and you have to make a sad decision.

One lady donated her horse to a wildlife sanctuary as meat. The horse was taken to a "kill center" who shot it in the head, processed it and used the meat. Her vet had told her it was the most humane way to put an animal down, quick and easy.

A recent magazine recommended you put them under your manure pile to speed up decomp, and keep them with you that way.

I know i couldn't have allowed predators to eat my precious Cheyenne. No way no how. However, over the years, i have had a few horses I'd have GLADLY fed to a cougar.

Any opinions?

 

[Pasofever]

Some of those are against the law..like the manure pile theory..Most want you to haul off for disposal. Unless you are lucky enough to have a big private farm and not get caught.

 

[huntr1]

Bury it in Pixie's backyard.

 

[cattitude]

OK on our mountain horse list, there is a big discussion on what to do with a horse when you realize the prognosis is bad, and you have to make a sad decision.

One lady donated her horse to a wildlife sanctuary as meat. The horse was taken to a "kill center" who shot it in the head, processed it and used the meat. Her vet had told her it was the most humane way to put an animal down, quick and easy.

A recent magazine recommended you put them under your manure pile to speed up decomp, and keep them with you that way.

I know i couldn't have allowed predators to eat my precious Cheyenne. No way no how. However, over the years, i have had a few horses I'd have GLADLY fed to a cougar.

Any opinions?

Well, dealing with an animal the size of a horse certainly makes the situation more difficult. But I'm with you, I guess it depends on how you feel about the animal.

All of my beloved creatures (which include a ewe and a lamb) are resting in my yard. We even had to bury a doe...a large one...who was dead on our property. We called EVERYONE...they said "on your property, she's yours." I thought digging that grave would kill poor Otter.

 

[forever jewel]

We have had several horses pass away on our farm (including heavy-weight Belgians). With all the horses that pass, we have dug a hole and buried them in a place with low traffic. But it does require large equipment to dig the hole...

 

[appendixqh]

OK on our mountain horse list, there is a big discussion on what to do with a horse when you realize the prognosis is bad, and you have to make a sad decision.

One lady donated her horse to a wildlife sanctuary as meat. The horse was taken to a "kill center" who shot it in the head, processed it and used the meat. Her vet had told her it was the most humane way to put an animal down, quick and easy.

A recent magazine recommended you put them under your manure pile to speed up decomp, and keep them with you that way.

I know i couldn't have allowed predators to eat my precious Cheyenne. No way no how. However, over the years, i have had a few horses I'd have GLADLY fed to a cougar.

Any opinions?

Our last full size horse had to be picked up after being euthanized. The people that do the pickup are at Valley Protein....hate to give you the number, but you will never forget it 1-800-DEAD COW If you don't want a vet to do it, they will come shoot the animal for you and then take it away. If you are in rural area and your animal is not ear shy, this is very humane....but I still prefer a vet.

 

[SouthernMdRocks]

OK on our mountain horse list, there is a big discussion on what to do with a horse when you realize the prognosis is bad, and you have to make a sad decision.

One lady donated her horse to a wildlife sanctuary as meat. The horse was taken to a "kill center" who shot it in the head, processed it and used the meat. Her vet had told her it was the most humane way to put an animal down, quick and easy.

A recent magazine recommended you put them under your manure pile to speed up decomp, and keep them with you that way.

I know i couldn't have allowed predators to eat my precious Cheyenne. No way no how. However, over the years, i have had a few horses I'd have GLADLY fed to a cougar.

Any opinions?

Wow I never have heard of such a thing as donating the meat. I couldn't do that either. When we lost Belle, we buried her at home to keep her close as possible.
Now there are some horses on certain days I could make that threat to under my breath!!!

 

[jetmonkey]

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[BS Gal]

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[dems4me]

I was just discussing this with a coworker a few weeks ago who has horses. She said basically you did a huge hole with a bull dozer or something and lay the horse next to it and keep it close by the hole and then when it passes you put it in the hole, that way you're not forced into having to drag a dead horse across a field or whatever (as its not a pretty sight) and then you cover the horse with dirt. :shrug:

 

[teverheart2002]

I was just discussing this with a coworker a few weeks ago who has horses. She said basically you did a huge hole with a bull dozer or something and lay the horse next to it and keep it close by the hole and then when it passes you put it in the hole, that way you're not forced into having to drag a dead horse across a field or whatever (as its not a pretty sight) and then you cover the horse with dirt. :shrug:

This brings back memories. I grew up on a horse farm. I would say a lot of the time, the vet would put them down, just like your other pets and they would be hauled off. I never watched these procedings. This is what we did in Oklahoma after losing a great mare to colic. The vet gave us a recommendation I believe. My mom's absolute favorite gelding passed away in Iowa were we lived on farm on the edge of town. The vet put him down, my dad dug a hole with the tractor, hooked the gelding up to the tractor with chains and dragged him to the hole. I will never ever forget that site. Mind you I was only 10 at the time...maybe. Anyway, I would say that I could never shoot my horses, only have a vet put them down.

Within the last 2 years we lost a beloved stallion, but he was already at the vet hospital, so we didn't have to take care of disposing of the body. I would think though, that we probably would have buried him on the farm if he had been at the house instead of the vet hospital. That was a darned good horse.

 

[Robin]

Closure

I had mine euthanized in the horse trailer by the vet, and had a collection time at College park Vet school Labs and He was cremated and UPSD back to me 4 weeks later. I paid for individual cremation at the time $400.00 I am looking at the fees and it is still that price just need to call ahead. Ft Washington towing will haul it to the lab for you if you cant handle it. Or a good friend. They charge $100. more for out of state horses using the facility. I am sure if they call their state neocropsy lab they will provide the same service for them. It is state funded and part of veternary colleges. I was not allowed to bury the horse on the property 3ft above sea level but I could bury the ashes/remains Everyone has their own way of dealing with this issue almost like politics.

 

[Larry Gude]

If you shoot it...

to a "kill center" who shot it in the head, processed it and used the meat. Her vet had told her it was the most humane way to put an animal down, quick and easy.

...absolutely shoot it in the head. From the side. Through the head. I helped a guy years ago with his horse that had snapped a front leg. I held his daughter (her horse) around the corner and he shot it in the heart like it was a freaking deer. What happened next made it worse for the kid, not to mention the animal.



Then call the protein truck. And don't look inside it. As Wildfire gets dragged up and in.

 

[Tazgirl]

I have had two horses die in my life time, both were buried on the farms where they died. I could never send my animals to someone else for disposal.

 

[flarenuphope]

All of ours was burried on are farm. my dad would dig a big 8ft deep hole, then take the bobcat(skidloader) and he would put chains around the feet, left the bucket so they wouldnt be dragged, then you drop them in, put lime on them( so after a few weeks they wont stink) then you refill it. Never watched this happen, other than the making of the hole. Neither have i seen the horses dead. We had a horse have a stroke during a ice storm and we couldnt get a vet out so we had to call a friend to shoot the horse... i was like 7, my mom wouldnt let us out side untill the horse was burried. Now i have lots of experience with dead goats... put them in a gullie(sp?) put lime on them, and lots of dirt anr your done.also know some one that does the manure thing... after a few years they dig up the bones, they have nice pretty horse skulls on there well house.
Also knew this crazy lady that had 2 dead donkeys, and they had a donkey bombfire... i bet their nabors loved that smell!

 

[appendixqh]

I grew up on a well known and huge farm for a couple of years in my teens...they had a several deep pits in on of their canyons, as horses would die, they would dump them in the first pit, and when that was full, they would cover it and move to the next one. This other farm I was at would do the "dig a hole and push" thing. I hated seeing that, the horse isn't quite dead by the time it hits the bottom of the hole, so the legs would go for a few seconds before expiring, I hated that method.

 

[abbey]

I had mine euthanized in the horse trailer by the vet, and had a collection time at College park Vet school Labs and He was cremated and UPSD back to me 4 weeks later. I paid for individual cremation at the time $400.00 I am looking at the fees and it is still that price just need to call ahead. Ft Washington towing will haul it to the lab for you if you cant handle it. Or a good friend. They charge $100. more for out of state horses using the facility. I am sure if they call their state neocropsy lab they will provide the same service for them. It is state funded and part of veternary colleges. I was not allowed to bury the horse on the property 3ft above sea level but I could bury the ashes/remains Everyone has their own way of dealing with this issue almost like politics.

we used Valley protein to pick up our euthanized pony, the college mentioned here is a little cheaper than valley protein, plus I did not watch them load up my pony, and I was warned by a buddy of mine to never look in the back of the valley protein truck.

 

[mingiz]

The only horse I lost was buried on the farm next to the big oak tree she loved standing under. Was a day I'll never forget....I thought more of that horse than anything else. And still do....

 

[abbey]

The only horse I lost was buried on the farm next to the big oak tree she loved standing under. Was a day I'll never forget....I thought more of that horse than anything else. And still do....

 

[fredsaid2]

So does anyone know if you can lawfully bury a large animal on your property? I've known many who do but their places are large and tucked away, no one to really see what's being done. Maybe it's a question of amount of land available, whether it's considered ag? Wondering about the legalities, specifically for St. Mary's. tks!