what makes you believe that the horse is dead? I think, there should be a way to evaluate that the horse is dead. for example, when the company hires a new knight, it could be the reason the previous one was inept and it does not mean the horse is dead. sometimes giving up is not an option.
once I marked this cliche to a person who was stating the problems of his country. It was a blunder of me to state this quote. No one would ever give up on his country. no matter how bad the situation is.
so it happens. need to check the horse, whether it is really dead or not.