The Fate of an Unwanted Horse

    It is always sad when a young horse is diagnosed with a  permanent disability. I had never heard of Sweeney Shoulder when my mare was diagnosed with the condition for which there is no cure. "She will never be able to bear the weight of a rider nor even the weight of a foal," the vet explained. But the good news is that as long as she gets herself around the paddock she is otherwise quite healthy. So here I am paying board for a horse I can never even hope to ride.
    This puts you in quite the ethical and moral dilemma if you can only afford one horse. If you have adequate pasture land, keeping an extra horse doesn't cost that much more than keeping your riding horse as long as you don't go crazy and take in every "free" horse offered to you. Which absolutely happens when you own a little bit of land. However, if you are boarding a horse or have a limited paddock with horses on hay year round, it can put you in a position where if you are going to have a riding horse you have to make some very difficult choices.
    I will spell out the choices frankly and without judging them.
    Assuming there is no chance for a cure,
    1) You can keep your permanently injured horse and ride other people's horses,
    2) You can figure out how to increase your income to either afford a second board or buy a pasture to turn this horse out in for what could conceivably be another twenty to thirty years,
    3) You can attempt to give your horse to someone who has a pasture that is willing to take your horse or wants a companion horse for another injured or even their ride-able horses or if you're lucky find a rescue or retirement sanctuary that has room to take your horse in.
    4) You could have your horse humanely euthanized.
    5) You may sell your horse at an auction where their fate is left out of your hands and could conceivably be taken to a slaughter house, which yes is legal in the US again since 2011.
    After much prayer and deliberation, my practical self had come to the mindset that euthanasia was the most humane solution could I not find a home for Belle.  There was no way I would take her to the auction or put her on Craig's list and take a chance that she would end up herded like a cow and taken to a kill lot. The thought of her spending her last days frightened among a herd of terrified horses is more than my heart can bear. My impractical self has been online shopping for pasture land I can not afford.
     If you have come to the decision that you have to put down your young injured horse, please don't go down the guilt trip that I did. People will tell you that your horse deserves to live no matter what and that somehow this predicament your in is your fault so you owe the horse to keep them alive as long as they are not suffering. The truth is that if you can't afford to keep them and you can't sell them because they are not rideable due to a permanent injury, then eventually they will be suffering when you don't have the funds to adequately provide for them. When you've exhausted all other resources, sometimes the most humane thing to do is to make the tough, practical decision and have them put down.

    "In His Hands is the life of every creature... to the Father, Creator of all things, belong wisdom and power, counsel and understanding are His."  Job 12:10-13