If I had to kill a horse, I think I’d be using a rifle/shotgun, not a freepin sledgehammer. But that’s just me.
But that wasn't my animal with which to have my way.
I don't think this old guy was doing anything that he wanted to do, he was simply faced with a situation that overwhelmed him.
The horse was probably starving. He probably doesn't own a gun, and if he did and used it on the horse, they'd probably be charging him with a gun crime right now.
We all love horses. The fact is, horses cost a lot of money to take care of, and if your source of income has evaporated, there are no good solutions.
Slaughterhouses are a necessary evil, when it comes to horses.
What can you do with a horse who is thirty-something years old that you've owned for twenty and can barely walk anymore?
Even if you have a vet put it down, what in the heck are you going to do with the thousand-pound carcass?
You can't just take a shovel and dig a hole in your backyard.