How much phenobarbital does it take to put a 1200 lb horse

[kalyantirumamidi]

My moms got 2 1/4 horses and the one has got to b put down soon. There r other options of putting her down but of the 3, phenobarbital is the route she wants to go. It is clean and the least suffering. Horse falls aslleep. Me personally recommend gun shot, the horse is like family to her. We have plenty of the drug. We r afraid to give it too little. If u ever owned and loved ur horse u would understand how she feels. Again the horse weighs 1200 lbs. Any suggestions would b appreciated

[gasso77]

Why don't you call a vet to do it so something doesn't end up being screwed up and the horse suffers because of it.

[postingnut2005]

Hi,
Please listen to what I have to say to you. DO NOT put this horse down yourself. There are too many things that can go wrong and you can end up making that horse suffer a horrible death. I have known of people that tried to do it them selves and ended up taking two hours for the horse to go down, suffering horribly. A gunshot is risky and violent. Surely your Mother would not want this horse she loves to suffer this way. I have three of them and had to put one down a few years ago. I also had a six month old filly that got spooked by something in the woods and tried to jump the fence. She broke her neck and I found her dead in my back yard. It has been ten years now, and it still haunts me to this day. When you put an animal down you have to know what you are doing. First you have to tranqualize the animal before giving the fatal injection. Please let a qualified vet do this, there are too many things that can go wrong, and once you start and you see that you have not done it correctly, the horse suffers a horrible death. PLEASE call a vet to do this.

[Laura A]

Why can't your mom have her VET come and put the horse down, instead of doing it herself, when clearly she has no experience or training in such matters? Or, for that matter, if she really WANTS to do this herself, why doesn't your mom get the vet to give her a prescription for and a bottle of euthanasia solution ( which contains a barbituate like pheno or pentobarbital mixed with an anesthetic, with additional ingredients to stop the heart and breathing and paralyze the muscles) and show her HOW TO ADMINISTER IT correctly? Every equine vet I've ever known or worked with in my life ( and I have been in the horse business for over 22 years,so I've seen and known quite a few of them) routinely carries euthanasia solution on his or her truck.Getting the vet to show your mom how to use it shouldn't be any big deal- all vets are trained to do this sort of stuff.

As for shooting the horse, my suggestion is NOT TO. In order for a gunshot to be effective, the shooter must know EXACTLY WHERE to put the bullet, and EXACTLY HOW TO SHOOT so as to be sure she HITS HER TARGET the FIRST TIME. In most cases, the emotions associated with putting a horse down make this utterly IMPOSSIBLE for all but a few- the stories you sometimes see on television where a cop shoots a horse with a broken leg from a distance are just THAT- they are STORIES, and nothing more. They have NO relationship to REALITY whatsoever. I've actually WATCHED as a horse I knew and cared for was destroyed this way- and the person doing the shooting DIDN'T stand off a hundred yards and then aim, like you see in the movies. That only works in the movies- not in real life. On the contrary, he was right next to the horse, and barrel of the rifle he used was pressed directly against the animal's skull- which is what's required to ensure a clean, safe, direct hit. Even with this, the horse still screamed and leaped upwards when the bullet hit. Is your mom strong enough emotionally to deal with something like that? Are YOU? Then I wouldn't recommend shooting the horse, if I were you.

I don't know the exact dosage for putting a horse down with pheno- but I do know that the standard dosage for many medications is one cc or ml for every hundred pounds of body weight. If you follow that, it will mean that your mom will need to give the horse at least 12 to 15 cc of the drug to do the job. After the drug is given, you will need to wait until the horse stops breathing before you call a rendering plant to have the carcass hauled away, or you bury the animal. And on a practical note, you need to decide where you are going to bury the horse in advance, and have the hole for the grave already dug BEFORE you give the horse the shot. Likewise, if you go the rendering route, I would give the rendering plant office a call and let them know that you have a carcass for them, and give them the time so they can come pick it up as soon as possible.

Good luck- and I am sorry about your impending loss.