In an ideal world, horse owners prefer the thought of their aged senior dying a peaceful, natural death. Unfortunately, many owners are faced with the difficult decision of having to put down their beloved equine due to humane or medical reasons. While planning ahead for the inevitable might be somewhat painful, understanding the process and knowing ahead of time who to turn to for help will make the decision easier, especially when our minds are clear and free of emotion.

Throughout the eight years that Bronwynne Wilton owned Pepper, a lively gray pony with a personality, he gave her family all that he had, and more. Saved from a trip to the slaughter house by his previous owner, where she paid the equivalent of meat price for him, Wilton never knew Pepper's true age, but estimated that he was likely in his teens. Unfortunately, upon closer inspection, his feet were already showing the telltale signs of some metabolic issues occurring within the hoof capsule.

"After bringing him home to a friend's farm, we discovered he was much more nervous around humans than we originally thought, and his feet were quite a mess, as they were long and laminitic," says Wilton, who is on staff with the Office of Research at the University of Guelph in Ontario. "We worked on his feet gradually and also on his confidence around us, and both improved quite quickly. We kept him off grass, and his feet were quite good for about five years with us, and all three of my children learned how to ride on him. He had a lot of character and was a funny little pony to get along with. There was quite a bit of bonding with him and our family over the years."

Pepper was loaned out on a free lease to allow another little girl to learn how to ride, and about a year later he came back to the Wiltons and was retired on their farm near Fergus, Ontario while they carefully managed his laminitic condition. One of the most common causes of lameness in horses and ponies, laminitis is a painful inflammatory condition found in the laminae of the hoof. Research has found that it can be triggered by a variety of metabolic or physical causes. Even though the Wiltons monitored his diet by restricting his access to grass completely, soaking his hay and regularly consulting a veterinarian, Pepper's health continued to deteriorate