SaddleSore

If you have a horse who dies after many years with you, what do you do with the remains? Are you legally allowed to bury them on private property?

Derbygirl

I would think you could do this legally. When my friend lost her mare she buried her on a hillside out from the pasture that the mare was raised in. She even had a nice marble tombstone made for her with her name and DOB/DOD put on it. She keeps it decorated just like we normally do for family members.

alexis

I think many people still do this if its legal or not and esp. when they own their own property. I really don't know how else you could do something like this with a professionals help maybe like a vet would could lead you in the right direction to check the laws in your area?

iHorse

It is not always legal to bury pets on your property depending on where you live. Burying a horse normally requires the help of a backhoe to dig the hole and possibly move the animal if you are not euthanisizing it next to the hole. Due to concerns with potable water and the water table you cannot just bury dead animals wherever you wish, even if it is private property.

Stabilo

If they're put to sleep with drugs then they have to be either burried or burnt. I think there are rules for how deep they have to be burried too, so that they don't just pop up again one day.

SaddleSore

Exactly, and that's the reason that I wanted to know. Being British originally, I only know our laws and you could not do something like this back there. I didn't know how things were here.

Derbygirl

I agree. My friend did have to have the help of a person with a backhoe to bury the horse and place it in the grave. I don't know exactly what the laws around here are as far as it affecting the water system, but I know she did this because she wanted to have a memorial grave site for her beloved horse. It may be that she checked with the health department first to see if she was allowed to do this, I really don't know.