Why do they kill race horses after they break a leg?

Question

Shouldn't we kill our athletes who break their leg too, figuring sometimes they won't be 100% anymore? Why is it ok to just dispose of an animal in this fashion, is it because you can no longer use it for what you wanted it too?

Answer 1

Horses are VERY fragile. They have exceptionally poor blood flow to the lower leg bones so the chances they will repair a bone break like most humans is very unlikely at best. Secondly, they must walk and stand just to keep their intestines working and avoid the twisting of the intestines. Horses which are confined only to a stall will likely not digest food and will likely "colic." Colic is often a fatal condition where the guts of a horse become twisted and emergency surgery is the fix but the surgery must occur almost immediately. Thirdly, horses are very high strung and "freak out" when they are not with other horses or in otherwise unfamiliar surroundings. Think of an hysterical person with a fear of flying who awakes and discovers themselves to be on an airplane full of snakes. All of the ensuing thrashing about is likely to re-injure the broken leg as well as cause other injuries. Fourthly, the large amounts of pain medicine needed to prevent pain-induced panic is sufficient to completely disrupt the digestive system. A horse's instinct has taught her that when frightened run away and stay in a group. The people who care for horses love them like children. The injured horse is put down to avoid the excruciating pain that has little, or no chance of ending regardless medical intervention. We must accept the differences between horses and people. To love a horse we must understand them as they are, not as we want them to be. see this brief article: http://www.slate.com/id/2142159/

Answer 2

In the old days, I think that was more common. A horse is a very heavy animal and it was difficult, if not impossible, to immobilize the leg. Horses die of suffication if they lay down for long periods because they are too heavy and their lungs fill up with fluid. There wasn't anything strong enough to hold up the horse's weight and immobilize the leg. Now-a-days they can do surgery and put pins into horses legs etc to fix the break. However, the surgery is expensive and the horse isn't usually able to race anymore. However, they are still wonderful animals and can be used for breeding purposes (unless they have been sterilized). Anyway, I don't think that many people euthanize a horse for a broken leg anymore unless the leg is so bad that it can't be fixed. If that happens, the horse will probably die anyway because it won't be able to get up on just 3 legs and would sufficate.

Answer 3

IF a horse( who is a 4 legged animal) breaks a leg badly enough he cannot walk. They cannot balance on three legs like some animals can and it is better to destroy them. There is no way for a horse to exist with only three legs. Sorry, I love animals too but in this case they are being kind.

Answer 4

No horses are unique animals. They cannot survive lying down for any period of time and must put their weight on the broken leg. In rare instance risky medical procedures are tried for horses but the key word is "risky" They often don't work. If a better treatment ever becomes available, just like other vet procedures on these expensive animals, I am sure the treatments would become widespread.

Answer 5

You said it enter, the owners figure these horses are no good and have no use, so they decide to terminate these poor animals instead of letting them live peacefully in a retired horse farm. Bandage the legs up and let them heal like people do . So what if they dont race anymore, these owners still got their money when the horses started racing., and won millions for them.

Answer 6

when horses break a leg or any hip joint it is possible to set it, now but they find that in the long run horses loose theur drvie on the track, they don't want to run as hard,because they don't forget the time before,sometimes they can fix a break depending on where it is, but more than likely it's the cost of such surgery that stops them from committing themselves, per say; the ownersI remember not to long ago there was a race horse that went thru such a surgerory,and was able to race again , bit like i said it varies on each animal.

Answer 7

because often time with larger animals such as a horse a broken leg will not heal right. i used to live kinda on a farm and we had a lama break its leg after a couple weeks it became infected and just wasn't healing. shooting it was much easier than watching it suffer.

Answer 8

Because they think the horse will never race again, but if you've watched Dreamer then you know that there is a chance for every horse, but killing them saves money and it's fast. I don't support this and I think it needs to stop.

Answer 9

They don't kill them as they used to, due to medical advances in Veternery medicine. But it is expensive so the horse has to be worth the money in stud fees.
As to why don't we kill athletes. wel they heal quicker and can often get back into the game, and not to mention, they have laws against killing humans.

Answer 10

Usually, because of the type of break, and the enormous weight on them, the legs usually will not heal. It's just a way to keep them from suffering.