This will not be an easy post to write. I’ve already made four or five attempts to get started, writing tired cliches…like “Letting a horse go is never easy” or “We know we can’t save them all” …and then hitting the delete key. Staring at an empty page. And finally putting the task off for another day.
But when you run an organization based on transparency, you have to be as forthcoming with the bad news as you are with the good. And sometimes the best way to tell bad news is to simply come out and say it.
We made the difficult decision to humanely euthanize Dexter last week. As rescuers we’ve been in this position many times before, and it’s true that it’s never an easy decision to make, but this time was so very much harder. Dexter was young, healthy, and sound. We made the decision to let him go because after three years of working with him, handling him, riding him, and training him, we felt that he was too unpredictable and dangerous to ever be safely adopted out.
photo by Karen Wegehenkel
Dexter came to SAFE in late 2009, after being seized by Skagit County Animal Control due to neglect and starvation. Initially, he seemed pretty solid under saddle, and we had high hopes that we’d be able to place him into a good home pretty easily. He was adopted for the first time in early 2010, but was returned to SAFE after two short months when his adopter could not keep him contained in her fencing. Having never had a similar problem with him at the SAFE farm, we put him back up for adoption, and again, he was placed into a new home. Again he was returned to SAFE, this time because he was behaving aggressively towards other horses and because he was displaying bad behavior on the ground — nipping, rearing, and striking. Again, we were somewhat baffled, having never seen such behavior from him ourselves.
Our trainer and key volunteers worked with Dexter regularly over the summer and he continued to behave well. He did have some bad moments, most notably at the 2010 SAFE show where he proved too anxious to be ridden safely in the show environment, but once he returned home, he was back to his usual self. Once again, he was offered for adoption to a suitable home with an experienced rider.
Unfortunately, Dexter’s third adoption fell through, again after just a couple months. This time, he displayed dangerous behavior under saddle when his adopter took him to an unfamiliar place to ride. We were beginning to get a clearer picture of this horse’s tendencies, but since his bad behavior was so unpredictable and hard to replicate, we were at a loss as to how to train him out of it. Most of this time, he was perfectly normal…but when he wasn’t, it was as if he was experiencing a meltdown — tuning his rider out completely, and behaving very dangerously.
We had no choice but to classify him as a project horse suitable for an experienced rider only, someone who understood that there would be a lot of work needed to get him through his issues. He continued to be ridden by one SAFE volunteer who took weekly lessons on Dexter from a visiting trainer. Dexter was typically well behaved at home, but even so, from time to time he would have his little meltdowns, which made us increasingly concerned about ever being able to find him a home.
About a year ago, we got a very generous offer from a long time SAFE supporter and experienced rider to take Dexter on as a foster horse at her boarding barn and continue to work him under saddle on a regular basis. I can say with absolutely certainty that this person went as far as humanly possible to work out a solution to Dexter’s problem. No stone was left unturned, his soundness was evaluated, his teeth re-checked, his saddle fit assessed, his hormone levels were checked — anything that could contribute to his behavior was explored, examined, and ruled out. His foster “mom” bankrolled most of this testing herself, and refused reimbursement from SAFE. She and Dexter had ups and downs, and we all rejoiced at his appearance at the 2012 SAFE Benefit Show in which he was a perfect gentleman and competed successfully in dressage, trails and english. Many times she told us that if only he were a taller horse, if only she could commit to a second horse, she would adopt him.
I also truly believe that during this year, Dexter thought that he’d been adopted, and that he finally had his own person. Which makes the end of this story all the more heartbreaking.
Dexter had been showing some signs of lameness and he was examined by a vet on Sept 1. During the exam, he was put on a lunge line and when asked to go forward, he suddenly and with no warning, reared straight up and flipped himself over. He hit the ground hard, and it is a wonder that he was not killed on impact. It is also a wonder that no one else was hurt. Had there been someone on his back, they would not have had time to react, and the result might have been tragic.
A horse that rears and flips displays a complete lack of regard for its own safety and is a dangerous animal that cannot be “fixed.” Upon hearing of this incident, the SAFE Board of Directors immediately and unanimously agreed that Dexter should be euthanized. All the time put into him, all the work and expense…it means nothing if someone gets hurt. We could not take that risk any longer. It was time to accept that we had done all that we could do for this poor horse.
And so last week, surrounded by people who cared for him and loved him, Dexter was set free. We are left behind to wonder if we failed him, to wonder if things could have been different for him…and we’ll never know the answer. But we do know that for three years, there was always enough food to eat, a dry place to stand, a warm blanket in the winter, and people near and far who cared a great deal for him. We do know that in that time, he was never treated roughly, never made to be afraid, never asked to do anything he couldn’t do. We had very high hopes for Dexter, and he will be missed greatly.
No, you can’t save them all. But it still hurts to fail.
Im so sorry to hear this. Dexter was always one of my favorites to hear updates about with that beautiful coloring and that spunk. Its hard to let them go but this was clearly the best choice for him. He’s better now, getting to run and buck all he wants on the other side of rainbow bridge.
I am so sorry for your loss as I know how hard it is to make a decision like that. As hard as it is, you made the right decision.
There is a horse in our area who has the same unpredictableness and has flipped over before. The owners continue to ignore this and continue to try to sell this horse as acceptable for an amature. Just last week, the horse while not being asked to do anything except lazily walk on a loose rein flipped over and broke the riders pelvis in several places as well as her tail bone. She is seriously injured and if the owners were willing to take the same responsibilities that you guys courageously accept this injury could have been prevented. Your decision has also protected Dexter from the abusive future that many difficult horses fall into as people try to fix them.
Thank you for making the hard decisions. My thoughts and prayers go out to the SAFE family members whose hearts are hurting right now.
I can’t listen to you mention, “failure” it was not your failure at all. Sometimes animals have a short circuit, just like humans that makes them act crazy‑I was going to be more politically correct and say ‘inappropriately’, but truth be told, the capacity to hurt or kill a good hearted innocent with only the best intentions, constitutes a true threat. I have experienced the same Jekyl and Hyde behavior with 2 springer spaniels from the same bloodline. Both father and son had to be reluctantly put down. Never easy when you see them behaving normally, but when you are face to face with bared teeth and a surprise attack while petting the dog next to you, what are you going to do? See if someone else wants them, and are you going to be forthcoming that this dog might rip your face off when you least expect it? Send it to an animal hospital for the criminally insane?
All you guys did was do your best to rehabilitate a gorgeous monster who could not be rehabilitated. Please to watch the documentary “Buck” again, the original ‘horse whisperer’ and watch the episode with a problem horse who almost took a guy’s head off. Sometimes you have to admit defeat that we can’t change an aberrant gene…we aren’t God. Sounds to me like many good souls devoted time, money, heart and energy into this horse.…bless you all for your patience and hope. there will be other beautiful ponies for you to administer to and shall emerge healthy and happy and form a great bond. I doubt Dexter could chose his behavior. Something wasn’t right with him, and nothing or no one could change that.
No “failure” word here, please. I am so very proud of all of you who tried. And glad to know you are all alive and well. You didn’t fail a horse, genetics did. Happens.
Thank you for all you do for these horses. I know that this was a heartbreaking situation–but you’ve certainly done the right thing.
Just heartbroken. It is hard to believe that he had to die.
I’m so sorry. It is so difficult to make the decision when to let an animal go. Too often we view euthanasia as a failure. For some animals, because of behavior, illness, or past abuse, it is a blessed release, and I firmly believe that’s the case for Dexter. You did all you could do for him and I commend you for making a difficult, but necessary decision.
It is easy to question the difficult decisions made in animal rescue. But the bottom line is that whether it’s a cat, a horse, or a dog, there aren’t enough resources to save them all. There are many horses who need SAFE’s services, and to adopt out or foster a horse that is a known liability may put SAFE in jeopardy for any injuries that horse may cause. You absolutely did the right thing, for Dexter, for the organization, and for the future horses who will come to Safe Harbor.
Hugs to all of you.
To all you heartful people at S.A.F.E..my heart goes out to you all over Baxter, do not feel bad, you did all you could do according to your article..like you said, Baxter spent his last 3 yrs. warm, loved, groomed, fed and God know you all tried..
So sorry about the outcome for Dexter. He sure was a pretty boy. You gave it all you could and have to have some solace in that. If someone had gotten hurt on him that would have been worse, so you made the right decision. I wish I lived closer so I could volunteer, but you have my support.
Naomi
I believe that you did do the best that SAFE could have done but maybe in horse heaven he could truly be happy and free to express himself. You did the best and praise you for that. I am studying Equine science and this is a story that I will keep with me thought my future into being positive and also understanding that not always can you save every horse.
It does hurt to hear about such cases as this. We all would love to save all horses.. They say. God has his plan, and wondering why. I hope Dexter can run, kick up his heels now and be happy.
Your good for the horses that can be saved out weight the sometimes unpleasant decision that you had to make.
Goodbye Dexter, we’ll see you again with all the other pretty horses
In no way did you not do this horse justice. There is no way of knowing, but in my and my husband’s experience, a horse who behaves in this fashion has some medical issues that will never be known, but surely had you not euthanized him, he would have had a medical emergency which would have been a much worse situation for all involved. Thank you for your care, and concern for all. 2 legged or 4 legged.
Surprised and sadden to hear Dexter’s fate. SAFE did more than enough to help this horse find his forever home. It is a reality not a failure that we can’t save them all, and he would not have been a safe horse for anyone, regardless of their riding ability. I know the board made the correct, yet difficult decision to have Dexter put down. My heart goes out to those of you who had to make this decision.
I worked with Dexter when he arrived at Safe. Just loved that horse and always wished I could make him mine. We shared a lot of carrots and after I left SAFE I continued to check in on him through the website. I am so completely sorry that his life ended this way. Hugs and more hugs to you, Dexter.
That is so sad, and I’m so sorry about Dexter. In a way though, you did save him by setting him free. I know that it doesn’t help with all of the pain, but at least now, he cannot harm himself, or someone else.
That’s so incredabbly sad:(
Many years ago I worked with a horse named Ringo, he was much like you describe Dexter. Mostly normal, then one day he threw himself over on his side while I was riding him, luckily the road had steep banks and I jumped onto one. He was flat on his side on the road, eventually I got him up and walked him the rest of the way back without incident. Fine again for months, then he decided he was going to codycheck me into the stall wall and lean on me-the only way to escape was to hit him as hard as I could over his eye, and believe me I am not one to strike a horse but he was squeezing the life out of me and pushing etc was doing nothing-it was as if he was just “not there” in mind. Again he was fine for a while again but then suddenly died, and was sent to our local veterinary college for a necropsy. They determined he had a form of epilepsy that would not have been diagnosable while he was alive, or treatable.
It makes me wonder if this was poor Dexter’s problem.
In any case you did not fail, you did all that could be done and loved him despite his issues, what more could you do?
I understand, we all want to save them, all…I felt bad even having to hit Ringo to save my own life, never mind the poor guy dying. For all you do be Blessed and Thank you!
I am sorry about Dexter. I worked with a dog rescue near Cincinnati and we recieved two boxers that were seized from a meth house raid. the female left us for her foever home two months after arriving and has been the best pet ever. The male however was a different story. He was aggressive to animals and people. The dog I now own was the only dog that could be turned out with him. We neutered hims and had a professional trainer work with him. He got a little better. He then went to the home of an experienced dog handler to foster but he bit her and her husband. he then went with a policeman that worked both with dogs that were active in the police force and with dogs that were retired to try to make them pets. Ace bit this man several times. He was always treated with kindness and no negative reinforcement was used with him. We worked with this dog for almost two years and finally had to euthanize him. It was tragic in that he was the first dog that this rescue had ever euthanized due to behavior problems. It is so sad because they are so beautiful and they sometimes judt do not realize that you are trying help. Ace had every kind of test done in the book but I do not believe he ever came to know he could trust humans.