Why are racehorses killed when they break a leg?

Question

"Following the race the horse was taken to the veterinary treatment centre and several X-rays were taken of the injured leg."


"They revealed that Horatio Nelson had suffered fractures of the cannon and sesamoid bones and a dislocation of the fetlock joint."


"Sadly the injuries were considered to be too severe to be repaired and the horse has therefore been euthanized."


"There was damage to the ligaments and nerves around the horse's joints and with open wounds, which could already have been infected, there was a unanimous decision taken by the five vets present that it was a hopeless case and it was in the horse's best interests to put him down."

Answer 1

In the case of Horatio Nelson he had as much potential to go to stud and breed as Barbaro (he was one of the top-rated two year olds last year and was favourite for the Epsom Derby) and cost was not a factor - he was owned by Coolmore Stud and they are multi-millionaires (if not billionaires). If there was any way of saving him they would have paid for it.

As I understand it there was also an open fracture (the bone had broken through the skin) and the risk of infection, as well as shock, laminitis and other welfare issues, was too high.

If five experienced vets (four of whom had no financial interest in the horse) say there is no hope, we just have to accept it.

Unfortunately horses do break down, it is part of racing. We just have to do our best to fund and advance veterinary science so that we can start to prevent it happening in the future.

There are a lot of people out there that seem to think everything boils down to money in racing. A lot of the time it does, but as someone who has worked in racing for many years I can confidently say that the vast majority of people in the industry (owners, trainers, lads and lasses) are in it for the love of horses and not the money.

Answer 2

Thoroughbred horses have been bred for thousands of years to be as fast as possible and that has led to them having very thin leg bones. When these bones break, it is very unlikely that they will ever heal enough to support the horse's weight and they will never walk again... much less run.

These horses are very high-sprited and high-strung super athletes. They do not understand the concept that they are disabled and will do everything they can to try and run, including injuring themselves more. It would be a horrible, miserable life to be a disabled race horse.

Previous posts that the owners are cruel is blatantly not true. Most owners care about their horses very much and experience great sadness at a horse having to be destroyed. From a pure monetary perspective, they have also lost a significant investment. Retired racehorses are in demand for breeding, so most racehorses live out their lives after the track well cared for and loved.

Answer 3

When a horse has a serious leg injury, its medical complications are far different from that of a human. The delicate, complicated nature of a horse's blood vessels throughout its legs often means that a broken leg will eventually prove fatal. The difficulty with blood clots, hemorraging, and infection which any wound, human or animal alike, presents is greatly magnified in the atonomy of the horse's leg.

As Barbaro's recent case exemplifies, the break alone is not the problem. A great deal of complex surgeries were able to quickly fix the multiple breaks in the leg. Barbaro is not yet 'out of the woods' so to speak due to the constant medication and attention that will be needed as the leg heals to make sure that the leg does not present further complications. In all but the most extreme of cases (such as a multi-million dollar stud such as Barbaro), the surgery and care is so costly, delicate, and uncertain that it is far more humane to put the animal down.

Answer 4

There is NO amount of insurance money that can compensate for the loss of horses like Ruffian and Go For Wand. The fact is horses can't take time off to heal like people do. Bed rest isn't an option. Ruffian survived the surgery but coming out of the anesthesia thrashed around and shattered it - horses are COMPLETELY unpredictable coming out of being knocked out...more than one survived the surgery then did irreparable damage in recovery. A horse needs circulation in his foot - a big factor in Barbaro's case that worked out. When the leg shatters and comes through the skin there is SO much a chance of infection no amount of money CAN fix it. It's not about money - there's other things TBs can be used for but not every case can be saved. Barbaro has been very very lucky - so far so good but he's not out of the woods yet. The damage to the nerves and ligaments, as some horses, that can't be fixed. It's worse to have the horse alive, thrashing in pain, than to be put down. Losing a horse - be it a "big horse" or a claimer is ALWAYS sad. I've seen plenty of grooms shed buckets of tears for their charges who couldn't be saved. And it's not just race horses sustaining breaks and injuries.

Answer 5

Their owners think that the horse is only good for horseracing, so when the racehorse breaks his leg, the owner can't find anything to do and the racehorse does not make money. Also, the owner pays alot for to keep a racehorse, so the owner kills it, so he can save money. Also, the leg might not heel and the horse could be in alot or pain.

Answer 6

To mj we don't use drugs over here, never have never will. I think Makybe Diva is the best because as everyone has said not only was she a mare that beat the guys but she won 3 Melbourne Cups. But also she carried 61 or 62 kgs the last time which is an amasing feat. People are also forgetting that in her last season of racing she won Group One races from 1400m - 3200m what other horse has won top qualtiy sprinting races and staying races. I can't wait to see her foals, except I am a firm believer in a good race mare doesn't make a good broodmare. Find me a champion mare that threw good foals. Sunline's foals haven't done anything yet.

Answer 7

It used to be that on account of the lengthy recovery time, and the slim chances of recovering completely, as said before, since the horse would probably never return to their top again, a horse would be euthanized. These days, if you have enough money, patience and the horse that has the mentality to live, then recoveries can and have been successful of course there is a significant risk involved. Some horses go on to perform in other disciplines not racing.
This may also be linked to the fact that people are pushing horses to run faster and faster at such young ages, when bones have not finished developing much less the brain, and leading a horse to be more susceptible to injury.

Answer 8

listen, all these people are right. oweners usually do not want to take care of a horse that can't race anymore. but then there is surgery. not the cost of the surgery is the problem. the pain. also, if they amputate the leg the horse would have to walk on three legs and most likely develop an infection in the other three legs do to the added weight pressure. In barboros state. he was a derby winner, millions of dollars are needed for the breeding. horatio was a good horse. i saw him break down. but he really doesn't have the breeding power that a derby winner winner has.

I hope this answers your question, and then some.

Thourobreds are man made horses. we made um. it's the nature of the game for horses to break down and be put down.

Answer 9

You have the answer right there in the question. The injury could not be repaired and would have led to infection. So the horse would have been unable to stand for the month it would take for the infection to kill him. To save the horse a great deal of agony, they put him down. What's the problem?

Answer 10

Too many of these answers here say it has all to do with money, not true. Like most things in this world, money does play a part, but you must realize the truth of the situation.

Horses bear wieght on all four legs, if you take one away, the remaming three legs must share the extra load, in almost every case one or more of those legs will break down due to the extra stress, then you have two legs, eventually the horse has no leg to stand on.

It may sound cruel, but they just cant live very long with these kinds of injuries and if you know the horse is doomed to live their short remaining life in pain, and on all kinds of drugs that will not likely save them, do you really want to put them through it?

Nureyev & Alydar are good examples to look at, I personally worked with Nureyev during & after his severe injury, the fact he survived is considered to be a near miracle by those in the know about these kinds of accidental breaks.

Alydar, who at the time was worth millions hurt himself during the peak of his stud career, they did everything they could to save him, "for the money" because if he lived he could have bred many mares and made millions more, but even with all the efforts of the best doctors he still died.

It is a sad truth for a horse, but they need all four legs, and when they get hurt, they just don't heal in many circumstances, and the compasionate thing to do is to let them go, and not make them suffer for greed.....I suggest anyone that really knows horses to re-think what has been said here by many.......

Answer 11

Because the horse would have to go through a lot of surgery and recovery and would never be able to race like they did before. Most owners of racehorses are not that attached to their horses. They are just an investment; so they decide it's cheaper and better for them to just put the horse down rather than pay for him/her to be fixed up. Sad, I know.