Using a shotgun for humane dispatch of a horse

[Dougy]

Here is a topic of which i have a good amount of knowledge. I've got and had lots of horses and I've got my own business working with the bloody things.

First off anything from a 410 up will knock over said neddy. Secondly it's a bit different to the old x from ear to eye. Under the floppy hair bit at the front there's a whorl and that's your aim point so slightly above the average x marks the spot. Thirdly pray to god you don't miss. Fight or flight doesn't kick in it's just pure fight. You could very well find yourself wearing a horse necklace. They come at you both front legs at the same time aiming to kill whatever gets in the way.

Is it legal? Yeah it is as part of the animal welfare act. Would I recommend it? Unless you know a bit about horses steer well clear. Having taken more than a few to the kennels it's hard enough with a pistol to get one to not move and having held several to be shot with a shotgun it's even harder because of the length of the barrel.

Would I do it? Definitely. Last time I had to have a vet shoot one for me it cost me £60 for him to use his captive bolt and I had to ply him with hot sweet tea after because he went white and nearly fainted. The horse was well on its way to dying of colic at this point and wasn't insured for surgery so it wasn't a hard decision.

Spot on answer,

And you mentioned insurance, Mrs dougy is still trying to sort out a claim due to hers having euthanasia due to having a fit, that was injection which incedently is in 2 parts.

If your horse is insured which I would assume they are, the company ain't going to want to pay out if they can get away with it.

[robbiep]

Here a long while ago crofters who wanted to kill a sheep for own consumtion and not being in possesion of a firearm would use a 6" nail and a lump hammer

 

There's a reason why it's referred to as being 'poleaxed' !

The poleaxe, whether as a weapon of war or as a slaughtering instrument on farms, was very efficient (and deadly).

 

I know someone who is on the police 'call-out' list for deer strikes on major roads. His tool of choice is a Cooey 410 single barrel shotgun, 3 inch cartridge.

[la bala]

Here a long while ago crofters who wanted to kill a sheep for own consumtion and not being in possesion of a firearm would use a 6" nail and a lump hammer

Poor mans captive bolt

[CharlieT]

So, can you tell us what happened to the 'orse in question.

 

Hunt kennels, knacker man or renderer.

 

I remember vividly many years ago out hunting when my horse broke a leg at the bottom of an inacessable valley. I had to shoot the poor thing with a pistol and then cut it up into manageable bits to carry it out on horseback. Heartbreaking.

[Benthejockey]

A couple of years back I had to hold one that had broken it's back out hunting. The huntsman turned a somersault over a tiny rail and the horse was clearly ******. They had to leave it on the hill and come back later with a tractor and flat bed trailer.

[hedge]

Thank you so much for all of your responses. Some really useful information and some truly awful stories.

 

As I said - this was hypothetical and `last resort` situation. I hope I never actually have to do it.

 

Here is a topic of which i have a good amount of knowledge. I've got and had lots of horses and I've got my own business working with the bloody things.
First off anything from a 410 up will knock over said neddy. Secondly it's a bit different to the old x from ear to eye. Under the floppy hair bit at the front there's a whorl and that's your aim point so slightly above the average x marks the spot. Thirdly pray to god you don't miss. Fight or flight doesn't kick in it's just pure fight. You could very well find yourself wearing a horse necklace. They come at you both front legs at the same time aiming to kill whatever gets in the way.
Is it legal? Yeah it is as part of the animal welfare act. Would I recommend it? Unless you know a bit about horses steer well clear. Having taken more than a few to the kennels it's hard enough with a pistol to get one to not move and having held several to be shot with a shotgun it's even harder because of the length of the barrel.
Would I do it? Definitely. Last time I had to have a vet shoot one for me it cost me £60 for him to use his captive bolt and I had to ply him with hot sweet tea after because he went white and nearly fainted. The horse was well on its way to dying of colic at this point and wasn't insured for surgery so it wasn't a hard decision.

 

Ben - thanks for that. Hadn't thought so much about positioning (I had made an assumption the patient would be lying down...)

 

Not something i would do unless absolutely necessary.

 

 

 

Ordnance - Thanks for the picture - very helpful

 

So, can you tell us what happened to the 'orse in question.

 

The `orse is question was put in a horse box and taken to the vets as it was still upright. The latest update was nothing broken and maybe jarred/strained. I don't know the full outcome though. It was a 20+ year old pony going over quite a big fence. The jockey needed the air ambulance (heavy concussion) - purely down to the access issues due to being in the middle of a field.

 

Thanks again everyone.

[pigeon controller]

I've had two examples that I can quote, I was asked by a farmer to shoot a deer which had been hit by a car and broken its hip. It was in a field and I shot it in the head from approx six feet with 32 gram 6s. It went down stone dead.

 

At the stable yard a so called Knacker Man shot a pony in the centre of its head with a .22 pistol , the pony went forward and down and was covered with a tarp . Ten minutes later it got up and started to walk around so they called the vet for an injection.

[welshwarrior]

We used to have something like this on the farm for sheep and cattle work on other things as well mind but the ban saw it scrapped.

 

http://mikethegun.co.uk/belgian-410-double-hammer-pistol/

[bostonmick]

i would not consider it a good thing to do unless the animal is in serious distress and a vet is not available for several hours,my experience has always been that a vet will arrive within about thirty minutes of a call of this nature.the animal can then be dispatched by injection.i have had over the years several horses put to sleep due to health/age related problems i have never once considered using the shotgun.then of course you have the problem of the mis understanding general public who may get to hear of this and by the time the story has been spread over a couple of days who knows how it will end up being told,the horse is a wonderfull animal and deserves full dignity in death. .

[Shotguneddy]

Good luck with that mate. There's people called vets out there

[Benthejockey]

i would not consider it a good thing to do unless the animal is in serious distress and a vet is not available for several hours,my experience has always been that a vet will arrive within about thirty minutes of a call of this nature.the animal can then be dispatched by injection.i have had over the years several horses put to sleep due to health/age related problems i have never once considered using the shotgun.

I've held more horses (to be shot) than I care to remember in a lot of different scenarios from racing to hunting to standing quietly in an orchard and I would always always always have them shot. Injections are subjective to the vet. And the vet as is the way with a lot of vets could be a bit wishy washy and useless. id never have one injected, it also means it can't be fed to the hounds and has to be incinerated.

[robbiep]

I've had two examples that I can quote, I was asked by a farmer to shoot a deer which had been hit by a car and broken its hip. It was in a field and I shot it in the head from approx six feet with 32 gram 6s. It went down stone dead.

 

At the stable yard a so called Knacker Man shot a pony in the centre of its head with a .22 pistol , the pony went forward and down and was covered with a tarp . Ten minutes later it got up and started to walk around so they called the vet for an injection.

 

Not surprised with either of those outcomes, to be honest.

 

A 22LR is what, 60-80 ft/lbs of energy ? And that's out of a rifle barrel. With less 'shove' from the shorter pistol barrel it could easily have been under 50 ft/lbs.

 

In your case (32g of No. 6 shot), at the muzzle you're looking at 1,500 ft/lbs with a MV of 1200fps.

 

A 410 pushing 14g of shot is, at the muzzle, close to 700 ft/lbs.

 

I'd never consider 22LR to be a suitable tool for humane dispatch for sheep, never mind pony/horse.

[Beagle boy]

I've spent much time in hunt service, 410 will do the job fine but horses have tiny brains and kick like a kicking thing even when dead.

20s work quite well to be fair never used a 12 on one yet.

[bostonmick]

I've held more horses (to be shot) than I care to remember in a lot of different scenarios from racing to hunting to standing quietly in an orchard and I would always always always have them shot. Injections are subjective to the vet. And the vet as is the way with a lot of vets could be a bit wishy washy and useless. id never have one injected, it also means it can't be fed to the hounds and has to be incinerated.

You do as you feel fit.I have had the same vets for many years and have never had a problem with any giving a injection.As for feeding to dogs my horses have never gone that route neither have they been burnt.All buried on the land they lived on.

[Old farrier]

Thank you didn't know you knew about horses 😇

The clue is in the name 😚😂

 

Here's one we used in earlier days 😟

 

All the best

Of

Edited January 7, 2016 by Old farrier

[islandgun]

jeez Of

I wonder what ft/lb a blunt pickaxe develops

[Big Mat]

I've held more horses (to be shot) than I care to remember in a lot of different scenarios from racing to hunting to standing quietly in an orchard and I would always always always have them shot. Injections are subjective to the vet. And the vet as is the way with a lot of vets could be a bit wishy washy and useless. id never have one injected, it also means it can't be fed to the hounds and has to be incinerated.

 

Gf refuses to have horse put down by injection, too many got back up and started walking round! Last one had to be shot, i nearly got the call but thankfully the vet was available!

[dougall]

g/father used to do an annual xmas pig with 410.shotgun at @3inches is devastating.

[ordnance]

 

Gf refuses to have horse put down by injection, too many got back up and started walking round! Last one had to be shot, i nearly got the call but thankfully the vet was available!

Why not just get the vet to shoot it in the first place.

[islandgun]

g/father used to do an annual xmas pig with 410.shotgun at @3inches is devastating.

I like the sound of that, do you never want to follow in his footsteps ?

[Old farrier]

jeez Of

I wonder what ft/lb a blunt pickaxe develops

Depends whose swinging it I suppose 😂

The axe in the picture the thinner round end is hollow and punches out a disc of the bone and goes into the brain very easily

Now only a historic reminder of days gone by

 

 

Sort of thing you could hang in the hallway to show (intruders) interested freinds 😚😉😋

[islandgun]

Depends whose swinging it I suppose

The axe in the picture the thinner round end is hollow and punches out a disc of the bone and goes into the brain very easily

Now only a historic reminder of days gone by

 

 

Sort of thing you could hang in the hallway to show (intruders) interested freinds

would that be so that could have a poke around the brain with a bit of metal (as carried out on pigs nowadays if my memory serves )

[Old farrier]

would that be so that could have a poke around the brain with a bit of metal (as carried out on pigs nowadays if my memory serves )

I believe it's called pithing

Proberably spelt wrong and could be the wrong name

But yes that's the idea

[islandgun]

sounds a plausable name, lets hope we all enjoy our bacon just that little bit more

[Bleeh]

I believe it's called pithing

Proberably spelt wrong and could be the wrong name

But yes that's the idea

 

Yeah it's called pithing, and it's the right spelling.

 

Many still use it to dispatch fish.

Edited January 8, 2016 by Bleeh