A well-attended equine welfare conference at the Weipers Centre, in Glasgow, has broken the taboo of euthanasia and tackled this serious subject with the dignity and respect it deserves.

The stats speak volumes. In Scotland, today, only one out of every eight horses will die naturally (AESE research) which leaves us with a heck of a lot of tough decisions to make.

Derek Knottenbelt opened on the subject by emphasising the importance of the right decision for the right reason at the right time: “Just say goodbye,” he said. “Horses have no premonition and deserve a quiet pain free death, it is our human emotion that causes all the problems.

“Human beings are the only species on earth that condones suffering in an effort to prolong life. So, do the ultimate thing and give your horse a good life followed by a good death.”

The conference was designed to tackle the main equine welfare problems we see in Scotland today – we are so fortunate not to have the over-breeding and horse crisis that is being acted out in England and Wales.

But we do see too many old and infirm horses kept alive and underutilised with COPD, arthritis and navicular and other chronic conditions. “I want to give my horse as a companion,” is a common call to the BHS.

Why deliver your horse into the hands of a complete stranger, rather than carry out the last act of kindness that you can do for your life defining companion – it’s barmy?

Derek’s persuasive introduction was followed by Nicky Jarvis, the chief vet from Redwings, who introduced her research into quality of life indicators and assessment that lets us objectively gauge our horses’ wellbeing. Equines rely on their human observer to work this out and our problem is that we tend to anthropomorphise.

Nicky explained how instead of relying on ‘five freedoms’ as freedoms ‘from’ things like suffering. A quality of life assessment can also be used to improve your horse or ponies’ lot by recording the what they can do – things like getting up and down easily, rolling, moving freely, eating well and having a happy attitude.

Of course, this also helps justify difficult decisions. Georgina Crossman presented the finding of her AESE (advancing equine scientific excellence) project on attitudes to equine end of life, explaining that horses can die or need euthanasia at any age and the importance and sense of having a plan covering how you will euthanise your horse and how you will cope with the aftermath – disposal, grief, companions.

Sophie Cookson, from the BHS, reminded the conference about our Friends at the End (Fate) scheme, where well-trained and sympathetic volunteers can make the final decision and process easier.

Dr Sue Dyson, the head of equine clinical orthopaedics at Newmarket told the conference about her ethnographic work on facial expressions as manifestations of pain and the importance of coaches, trainers and vets helping horses by recognising the early signs of lameness.

Later, the panel session tackled the issue of bullying in yards and online where pressure can be applied to owners to stop them doing the right thing by their horse when the time comes.

This is not a cheerful summer column but it is probably one of the most important, as together World Horse Welfare, the BHS, the Donkey Sanctuary and Scottish Government (all partners in this annual conference) publicly broke the taboo of euthanasia and showed people a path they can go down with confidence.

The pain indicators and quality of life assessments along with education and support can definitely help at this precious time.

As it says on the Donkey Sanctuary website: “The death of a treasured animal friend is always sad but euthanasia should never be regarded as a failure of your care in any way – it may well be the last good thing you can do for your equine.”

Derek Knottenbelt summed this up by saying euthanasia is a privilege, we must plan and use it well as so many countries and cultures don’t have this tool.