MAKING THE RIGHT DECISION

“It was a Sunday morning at the end of April. I can remember the day like it was yesterday,” says Tessa Hill. “I arrived at the yard as usual, but the whicker I received from one of my horses sounded different from normal — a little distressed. My other horse wasn’t looking out over his stable door, which I thought was odd. I found my horse lying down in his stable and unable to get up. I gave him a few minutes while I sorted their breakfasts to see if he got up, but he didn’t. This was totally out of character and I could tell by the look in his eyes that something was seriously wrong.

“I called my vet and he came immediately. After checking my horse over, and with no visible signs of injury, he administered some pain relief to see if this would enable him to get up. After several hours and no improvement in my horse’s condition, I called the vet again to report that there was no change.

“We discussed the options over the phone, and from a welfare perspective I was concerned my horse was suffering and the pain relief had made no difference. I made the decision to have him put to sleep. My vet carried out a post-mortem, which revealed my horse’s femur had shattered. How this had happened, I’ll never know, but it was the right decision to have him put to sleep.

“Nothing can prepare you for this situation — it all happened so quickly. I notified my insurance company as soon as I could. They were very helpful and understanding. To be honest, I didn’t realise I could make a claim and was only letting them know I no longer needed the insurance policy. I did submit a claim, together with the post-mortem report, and they paid out in full.”