Nancy's Blog
Saying Good Bye- Difficult Decisions
Saying Good Bye- Difficult Decisions
Sunday was a difficult day for the Dream Catchers family. We said goodbye to one of our equine partners- our colleague and our friend, Jazz. Jazz had been with us since Dream Catchers opened at the Cori Sikich Therapeutic Riding Center. She was our “go-to-girl”, who could be counted on to provide stability, safety, and gentle kindness to each and every student. Jazz had degenerative arthritis in her back legs. When she was injured this spring, the wound should have healed without complications; it did not. We had multiple vet visits and treatments- from several vets, and she did not get better. The injury made her arthritis worse, as she began shifting her weight off the injured leg- to the other leg, which also had arthritis. There was no clear decision point, until she had sustained enough damage to ligaments that could not be repaired, that euthanasia would be the end result. The decision to euthanize Jazz came after every reasonable treatment option had been tried. We could not keep her out of pain, and that was how we came to the final decision.
People wonder how and why we make the decisions we do about euthanizing or retiring horses, and why we have made these choices more frequently than ever before. Let me see if I can give it some explanation. This is not brief, as it is a complicated answer, and I respect our horses, and the Dream Catchers staff too much too treat it lightly.
In March of 2007 we had six horses: Indy, Jazz, Blackie, Zip, Shea, and Zipper- plus two miniature horses and two miniature donkeys. The minis and the donkeys were not being used in lessons, and their capacity to work in lessons was very limited due to their size and their lack of training. They did not further the primary program of providing therapeutic riding lessons and they took resources in the form of staff time for care and funds for feed and health care. I found them a good home. The average age of the remaining horses was over twenty years.
In the fall of 2007 (before I came to Dream Catchers) a grant from the Williamsburg Community Health Foundation had been received to provide lessons to elementary students in special education within the Williamsburg- James City school system. We the funds had been awarded months previously, and we had to get that program up and running or return the funds. As soon as the state-wide quarantine on horses (they could not be transported) was lifted, we went looking for horses. We did not have any funds dedicated to the purchase of horses, so most of what we got was older animals. We scraped some money together for partial purchases. We got some horses on loan (Sassy and Merlin). The average age of our horses remained at over twenty years. While horse management practices in the horse industry have improved significantly in the last twenty years, primarily due to the creation of dewormers and improved nutrition, a twenty year old horse is still a senior citizen. We quickly increased the number of students we serve each week to the current average of 75. I often compare our methods of acquiring horses to recruiting Olympic athletes from a retirement home. Our “gray-power” volunteers are some of our very best, so please take no insult from this comparison! But, in reality, a 20 plus aged horse, has developed some health issues over the years that will, eventually, require retirement or the more difficult option of euthanasia.
There are some key facts we take into consideration when faced with a horse who cannot carry a reasonable work load. The first is why? If the horse is in sick, and not expected to recover, and in pain, then euthanasia is our humane responsibility. Shea is a good example. She got sick very suddenly with life-ending and excruciating condition- colic. Older horses do not have a great chance at surviving surgery—even with the best surgeon and the best follow-up care. Colic surgery is expensive- at least $5,000- more likely double that and it might double that sum again ($20,000). As the steward of each dollar donated to Dream Catchers, investing that amount of money in a single animal with poor chances of success is irresponsible. In cases where the animal cannot be maintained relatively free of pain, then, on the professional advice of veterinary staff, this is the decision.
For a horse whose physical condition presents a risk to our riders, who cannot work without pain, then the decision is also clear- euthanasia. We feel that we owe our horses the respect and dignity of euthanasia, where we know they will not be asked to do more than their bodies can handle, but their hearts would always try. That is why we do not retire these horses. The other factors in this decision include 1) that for every horse who is not working, the other horses must share the additional load. This is hard on an aged herd; and 2) keeping a horse who is not working is expensive and not a prudent use of our limited resources. This was our decision with Molly and Noel.
Charlie had an injury that required surgery. The chance of recovery was good. We went ahead. He healed “too well”, as Dr. Berry told me, and the healing process has created a mechanical lameness. That is to say he is not lame because he is in pain, but because his movement is compromised by the scar tissue. Still, he cannot “do his job”. Finding a retirement home for a relatively young horse (16) is hard—especially if he will only be a pasture ornament. Thankfully the person who brought Charlie to us, Dr. Carole Hill, remained committed to his well-being, and found him a home with Dr. Dave Whitaker, the head of the horse program at Middle Tennessee State University http://frank.mtsu.edu/~dwhitake/ . Charlie will be heading out to Tennessee Wed, September 30.
BJ, after a career as a top roping horse, a western pleasure horse, and then a therapy horse, has decided that he would just like to be a trail horse. He is in good health, but at 27, isn’t up for marathons in the mountains or hard riding. He would like to find someone who wants to spend some time on the trails, but nothing too strenuous. How did BJ let us know about his decision? He showed extreme displeasure when he has side-walkers. We need horses that don’t have more than the normal restrictions of rider weight—we can’t manage a matrix of matching horses to too many variables—it isn’t fair to the horses who are our “go-to-girls (or boys)- or to Tricia, who has this very difficult job. Hence, BJ is being retired.
I hope this long-winded explanation is helpful in letting you know that we make our decisions carefully, with much consideration, under the expert guidance of the vets at Woodside Equine, and, in emergencies, Tidewater Equine and Bridle Creek Vet services. We count on them to understand the difficulty of the work we ask our horse colleagues to perform. Day in and day out, we follow their advice. The vets and assistants from Woodside have seen many a tear from us, and even cried a few of their own, as we stood together at the final moments of life with our friends. The animal assisted therapy/living industry is one of the few where colleagues have to make life and death decisions for their animal partners. We appreciate your support, your words of kindness, and your understanding as we go through the decisions and their outcomes.
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A round of applause for Sue Pearce!
A round of applause for Sue Pearce! She won the prestigious Cruikshank award from United Way!
This award was established in 1993 by the United Way Board of Directors to honor the first recipients, Nan and Pete Cruikshank, for their service in the establishment of the UW Information and Referral Service. This year is the Seventeenth Annual Cruikshank Spirit of the Community Awards.
The awards are based on the following criteria:
Need: Nominee who has contributed to a needed service to the community
Action: Nominee who has been physically active in service, not just a figurehead
Initiative: Nominee started a new program, used new methods to solve problems or initiated activities
Impact: The activity of the volunteer service produced positive changes and set an example for other volunteers
Time: The amount of time devoted to the activity, service or agency was significant
This year recognition is being awarded in three categories: 1. A group 2. Adult (ages 18+) and 3. Youth/ Youth Group (under age 17)
Sue Pearce was nominated in the Adult Category for her Exceptional Services rendered to Dream Catchers. She helped to elevate Dream Catchers from a small unknown not-for profit in Toano to a leader in the broader local community as well as the professional therapeutic riding community by 1) developing and implementing a strategic plan to provide equine activities to students with an array of disabilities and by 2) developing the board and the staff to achieve those goals.
Sue is an intrigal part of our DC Family and we are so very proud of her and her gifts! We are truly honored to have her as part of our team; as a part of our family. It is these accomplishments that make Dream Catchers Shine!
Thank you Sue and again, CONGRATULATIONS!!
Nancy
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