Hugs to you. I'm 65 years old and have had to say good-bye to many throughout my lifetime of great horses. It's never easy.  Please know that there are folks out here who totally understand your feelings. 

I had to put my 16 year old Cocker Spaniel to sleep in December.  A lady vet I had heard about has a service where she comes to your home and with kindness and sympathy puts your dog down in his own surroundings.  Patch died in his very own reclining chair that he slept in every night.  It was a costly service but well worth it.  I told the folks at work about this veterinary and since then two have used her services for their dog buddies.

My 28 year last-I-had or will ever have in the way of horse had to be put down.  He was in agony and I called several vet clinics who refused to come out because they were too "busy."  Finally I found one who understood and was on the road immediately.  Then there was the task of finding a way to bury him.  Again expensive all the way around but you do what you have to do.  It just hurts.

Over the years I have been involved in rescue especially of special needs animals and I have had to face this decision so many times when their time came.  My vet who has always been amazing always gave me this to go by.  Think beyond your heart, when there is no longer quality of life it is time.  Your beloved horse lived his best years with you, HUGS!

Is it just me or is anyone else sobbing reading this thread? It just brings up so many memories of losing our furry loved ones. Even though it's the kindest and humane thing to do for our friends. Having a great vet that shows compassion and empathy lessens the blow for sure. My vet and her assistant were nothing short of amazing when she came to lay chuy to rest. Her assistant comforted my daughter and told her how lucky chuy was to be loved by a little girl and she snipped off a large portion of his tail and braided it for her and hugged her while he went down. He went down text book and it was quick and painless.  They were so sweet and send us a sympathy card in the mail. In fact she didn't even charge me to do it when I finally went back to the vets office to square up. She's now my number 1 go to vet for everything. We are fortunate to be able to bury our pets on our property and we have a backhoe. We had our Dobie cremated and they put it in a beautiful wood box for us with her paw print and sent a packet of wildflowers to plant and a lovely poem about the rainbow Bridge. I keep it on our entertainment center. 

Just wanted to say I am so sorry. Have had to make that decision to many times  :(    Prayers for you & your horse.

I haven't had to put one down yet thank God, but I do have a 28 year old with cushings myself so I know what you go through with yours. Mine luckily has been mild stage for 10 years and does jsut fine most days. But I do know that day is coming and it's like ok how do I make the right call when it does. There's days he struggles with laminitis and then 5 days later he's spinning, running, & bucking in his paddock. So I'm always like well if he can do that obviously he's fine. Some days he can't lay down to roll & others he's covered in mud. So every time he has a bad spell I'm like, ok are we close, is this it? And then he's back to his normal lunatic self. So I feel you on where you're at, its such an up and down disease so often. You never know when the up is going to be the last up. You know your horse, if you feel its time then its time. You know what you're willing to keep putting them through or not. They don't always tell you with their soul, but their body will often tell you before their heart does. Sending prayers your way to get you through it 

As a former vet tech I would just say that the MOST heartbreaking thing is to see an owner realize that they waited too long.  A humane end is the kindest thing we can give our furry friends. 

I always say that euthanasia is the last gift we can give them. The worst part is the time leading up to it, whether it takes you a week to do it or you mull it over for a few weeks. It's absolute agony. But you have to be strong for your friend. You can do this hon. You have all our shoulders to lean on. We understand. 

My old man was laid to rest last week. Thank you for all the kind and supportive comments, it definitely helped me find peace about the decision.

things went very well and he was surrounded by his small "herd" and my husband and myself. It was terribly sad but I couldnt have asked for it to go better than it did. 

   I'm sorry for your loss,and your broken heart,its never easy,but you set him free.

We had to put down our little yorkie 2 weeks ago. 1 day after we had him for 15 years. Rescued him from a puppy mill. He was supposedly 1 year old when we got him. The vets thought he was older. So he was at least 16 years old. He pretty much died in March. We were ready to pull the plug after 4 days of IV and lifelessness but somehow he pulled thru that. He had been deaf for a couple years. Blind for about a year. He had to wear a diaper the last 6 months but he seemed so happy. All of a sudden he took a bad turn for the worse. Wandered in circles and then would get in his bed and just howl. The vet said it was dementia. It was hard to put him down even though it was right thing. And it's the responsible thing for us to do. We take that oath when we get them. 

But it's still devatating. We are comforted by the wonderful life he had for 15 years after getting out of that cage at the puppy mill. 

Now I'm faced with the same deciision for my great horse Easy. He is 31 now. Hard to keep weight on even though he eats more now than when we competed. Last two times he was trimmed the shoer said he's getting stiffer and stiffer. He seems fine but now when he lays down he has a terrible time getting up. If in his stall he falls agains the wall and fights and fights to get up. Now I've seen the same thing out in the field. And he's a horse that's always laid down a lot. Now he doesn't lie down much. I'm sure it's from fear of not being able to get up. 

The problem for me now is that once he's up he seems fine. He moves around well and he eats good. I'm more concerned about waiting too long. I did that last year when we had to put my wife's horse down. Probably went 6 weeks too long on him. He was dropping weight so fast that you coluld almost see him lose weight. I don't want to make that mistake again. But I also don't want to make the decision too soon.

Again, it is our responsibly and our covenant to do right by the animals we have sworn to take care of. Still mourning the little dog and completely torn on what to do about my horse.

It seems we are all from the same force when it comes to loving animals and having one heck of a time letting go.