Well, I had a chat with the vet today about my old lady, Queenie. We agreed it's time to think about having her put to sleep. I'm going to give her the best week or so of her life first though.
She's an ancient gypsy cob who came to me 2 and half years ago in apalling condition. In fact, she and Noah (they came together) were so bad the vet gave them a month to live! Neither had seen the farrier for at least a year, they were wormy and thin and had mites and mud fever that hadn't been treated. In fact, it just has to drizzle and the mud fever rears it's ugly head again.
Both horses were totally shut down but Queenie was especially mistrustful and so terrified of water that I had to sedate her to wash and clip her incredibly hairy legs to see what we were dealing with.
After spending nearly £1000 on vets' fees in the first year I trained in applied zoopharmacognosy and then we began to see a real difference. These days she is the boss of the boys and will happily stand to have a foot spa!
Sadly though, she is so arthritic that she has to be kept on level ground and can't be stabled. Unfortunately the only level ground where I live floods so I have to move the horses and it's just not fair to move her so we're going to let her go with some dignity.
Sorry for the long post, just wanted to get it off my chest!
Here's a picture of her in her younger days, beautiful mare.