Time to euth this horse?

I agree with Zephania, Missy. I don't think that this is your decision to make, no matter whether you think it's time for the mare to go to the Rainbow Bridge or not. And there are lots of things that need to be investigated where the mare is concerned, so the owner is right to get a second or even a third opinion before she makes any choices. Just by way of example, has the mare been evaluated for EPM or another infection that can cause ataxia ( staggering) such as sleeping sickness? Have her eyes been checked to be sure she isn't suffering from cataracts or moon blindness, which in turn could be causing her to stumble and fall? Has she ever been tested for Cushing's disease? What about Lyme disease? One of the most common symptoms of a Lyme infection in horses is sudden, inexplicable lameness that moves around from one place to another. Stumbling is also a common symptom. Having personally known three horses that tested positive for Lyme and were treated for it, I am familiar with it. One of those horses was ours, in fact- our old pensioner, who is 32 years old now, tested positive for the disease some years ago. With treatment, he recovered completely. He's still going strong. Of the other two horses, one was a mare that belonged to a friend of mine, and the other was a school horse that was owned by a former employer. Both of them recovered too. So I'd tell the owner of this mare to think about getting some testing done for Lyme as well as everything else. Should the mare test positive, the disease is relatively easy to treat.

As for the back leg, that may just because of arthritis, which wouldn't be surprising in a mare that's this age. She could have navicular back there too, but this would be unusual in a hind leg- generally, when horses get navicular, they get it in the front, not the back, because the front takes more weight and is subject to more stress.

Not your decision, and you've said enough.

The horse is not suffering - she's eating well and seems happy.

The vet is scheduled.

The owner is not ready. She wants to investigate options, to see if anything can be done for the old girl. THIS IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.

If you're afraid the horse will inadvertently hurt you, stay away from her.

I've been through similar issues with my oldies, and it's always a hard decision. Their ability to recover and to continue happily is amazing. I always give them a chance, as long as they're eating well and not hurting.

It never hurts to try. I give the owner a lot of credit doing everything possible. She seems happy otherwise if she's eating etc. If she is ready to die, she will let you know by stopping eating and she will start to lose a lot of weight fast. Old ones are fragile, but that doesn't mean you have to throw their whole life away. The vet is coming out to try and help her, why give up? She's no where near too far gone

That's a hard decision...

At my local stable, they have a little miniature donkey named Wee Man (or that's what we call him anyway). While being at the stable, Wee got a bad injury on his leg. A vet came out to look at him and said their best option was to put him down. Well this little donkey was the star of the barn, so they wanted to make sure, 100% that they needed to put him down. A different vet came out to look at Wee Man, and said that he could fix it easily and he didn't have to be put down.

So even if your vet says that you might have to put her down, it doesn't hurt to get a second opinion.

My opinion? If I had a horse like that, I'd just monitor her closely, make sure that she's with a buddy, not any horses that are mean to her and would possibly hurt her if she was down, and (this is just me) I would probably not ride her or work her hard. But that's just me.

If she is laying down, I would also not bother her. She'll get up in her own time. But I'm sure you know better than to make her stand up.

I have never had a horse do something like this on me before though, so I'm just speaking as if one of my mares were doing this.

But if her leg hurts her, be more gentle with her. Don't push her hard. I have two horses with Arthritis, and two with Navicular, and I treat them much differently than my other horses.

I hope this helped, even a little bit! Good luck!

As long as she's not suffering she's fine. 26 isn't that old for an Arab. I would have a list of Emergency #'s handy so you can act quickly if she does go down and is suffering.

She seems that besides the falling, she is a very happy horse. I wouldn't put her down but it really is up to the owner.