Help to Navigate Your Horse’s Final Transition
The fact is talking about death and dying is hard even when its a part of your career. Although I wrote a book about it and work with animal lovers all offer the world to move through the transition more easefully its still a challenge to go there. So Im going to make my best attempt to write on this tough topic acknowledging that it is emotional often triggering and just plain hard to look at. Yet in my experience it is made easier through awareness and preparation.
When I wrote my book Death Sucks A Straight up Guide to Navigating Your Pets Final Transition I was thinking not only of the countless animal lovers I had met who struggled with death and dying but also of myself and my relationship with my mare Diva. I had never felt so connected and in love with another animal and at that time with another person and it terrified me to think of losing her. I grappled with this fear while I was writing my book and since. I still havent fully released it but have found more peace by fully accepting that someday she will make her final transition and I will be the one supporting her through it.
I want to start by saying that I believe the passing of horses can be more challenging than that of other pets. I say this in the spirit of preparation and to support you in knowing what to expect and plan for. Horses do not tend to die of old age or of their own volition. Rather they are assisted via euthanasia because of colic or other digestive issues unresolvable or debilitating pain injuries or fractures choke or disease. Some of these situations we can prepare well for but many we cant. They are big animals and as such their death even by euthanasia can be hard to witness and the choices for their bodies postlife are not always ideal. When we are considering timing
