English Deutsch Français Italiano Español Português 繁體中文 Bahasa Indonesia Tiếng Việt ภาษาไทย
All categories

why do horses get put down when they break a leg ?

2006-11-29 08:03:28 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous in Sports Horse Racing

18 answers

The reason that horses get put down after a broken leg is that it is actually the most humane to do at that point. If the horse can't put all its weight evenly on all legs, a disease called laminitis develops. It is a painful and fatal disease for horses. So rather than just having the horses suffer from the disease and then die, they feel it is best to put them down "humanely." It has nothing to with greedy owners, as some of these horses were purchased for millions of dollars. The Kentucky Derby winner this year Barbaro, after he broke his leg, was going to be put down AFTER surgery when he developed this disease. Horses need to distribute weight evenly on all four legs. The "greedy" owners could have just have him put down, and collected the insurance money.

2006-11-29 08:52:20 · answer #1 · answered by Supercell 5 · 2 0

It's really sad but they just don't have a good quality of life once they've broken a leg. Because horses stand so much of the time, even at night, it's really hard to get the leg to heal properly and involves suspending them from a sling in their stable, usually for months. It's pretty miserable for the horse and they can never be ridden afterwards, it's hugely hugely expensive and I guess pretty painful for the horse so all in all it's kinder to put them down. In the same way they tend to be put down when they break any other vital bone, like the hip bone, or the jaw, in which case they can't eat. I did know a horse once that was kicked by another in the jaw but his owner had had him so long and was so attached, plus was so filthy rich, that he had the horses jaw wired back together. He could never be ridden again because he couldn't wear a bridle but he lived out the rest of his days in a paddock, eating soft mash. Although it sounds sweet, I'm guessing the horse was kinda depressed, probably had to go through a lot of stress and pain and never got to do what he'd always loved so I'm not sure it was the kindest thing to do really. Horses do seem to manage well with one eye though and I've known some who have had terrible injuries to their shoulders, followed by muscle wastage, etc. but with high quality care they can be OK again. Hmm, hope that helps!

2006-11-29 08:17:03 · answer #2 · answered by Katie D 3 · 1 0

Did you need to ask the same question 3 times?!

When a horse breaks a leg it's prognosis depends on the type of fracture. If it is a simple clean break, or just a crack it can sometimes be fixed. If the bone shatters (which usually happens to horses in flat races as they are travelling at speeds of 35mph+) or the fracture is open (where the bone protrudes through the skin) it is the kindest option to put them to sleep.

Horses are flight animals and therefore are designed to run, if a horse breaks it's leg and is unlikely to recover fully it is not in their best interests to keep them alive.

It is also hugely expensive and not always successful to try to get the horse to recover. As well as the risk of infection there are factors such as the horse going into shock, developing laminitis in his "good" legs. On top of this the horse may never recover well enough to be able to run again, this would not just stop him from racing but would also prevent him from being able to go out in a field again for risk of causing more damage. What kind of life would it be for a horse to be cooped up in a stable for the rest of his life?

Not all horses that break their legs are put down, but sometimes it is the kindest thing to do. Harsh, but a fact of life.

2006-11-29 21:15:15 · answer #3 · answered by PNewmarket 6 · 0 0

Some horses get put down because the fracture is just too catastrophic to have any real hope of mending. This was the case for Pine Island in the Breeder's Cup. Her lower leg was held on to the upper leg by shreds of skin. The injury site had become contaminated with dirt, and the bones were in so many fragments that there was virtually no hope of saving her. So to spare her suffering, she was put down.

With virtually any injury that may be repairable, the answer comes down to one thing: money. Many horses that could be saved won't be, because objectively the cost isn't worth it.

Barbaro, who is still at New Bolton Veterinary Center, is receiving treatments that have already run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars and he isn't done recovering yet. If he had been a gelding running for a claiming price the day before the Derby, he would most likely have been euthanised within hours of his injury. But he's got two things going for him that a gelding running for a claiming price doesn't: (1) He's an entire male and Kentucky Derby winner, so he has a future at stud (potentially more lucrative than a future on the race track); and (2) His owners are very, very, very, very rich. They can afford to spend large sums of money on his care.

If a horse does not have a future as a breeding animal, with the potential for earning money to cancel out the cost of large vet bills, it all comes down to what the owner is willing to spend on the horse to try to save it.

Given that horses are very expensive to take care of, and that costs for taking care of a horse that has come out of veterinary care will be a minimum of around $400-500/month, it's very hard for an owner or owners who are not wealthy to justify trying to save a horse that may be good for nothing more than being a "pasture pet" for the rest of his/her life. It can be a really heartbreaking problem to face: a horse can live to be in his/her mid-twenties or longer. That's a heck of a long commitment to make in terms of care and cost.

It's sad, but it's the reality of the situation. On the plus side, for horses that do have a future in breeding, there are more and more options available to save them. And that's all to the good-- there are horses alive today that would have been put down a decade ago. Including, most likely, Barbaro.

2006-11-29 10:28:16 · answer #4 · answered by Karin C 6 · 1 0

It is because if the injury is really serious the horse will be good for nothing but a whole lot of waiting for the leg to heal. Sometimes it is better for the horse to be put down to save them from suffering.

2006-11-29 09:28:11 · answer #5 · answered by jessica a 2 · 1 0

Some fractures cannot be cured in a horse because they simply cannot take their weight off the injured area. If you know any human who has ever broken a thighbone, you may know it can takes weeks or months of being non-weightbearing for the break to heal. For horses it is impossible for them to be non-weightbearing for so long, if they are put in a sling then their skin will break down and they will get severe skin infections.

Furthermore, healing the fracture may still leave the horse with disability. Horses naturally get stressed and upset if they cannot run to escape perceived predators, there is no way to explain disability to a horse. In some cases it is kinder to euthanase than it is to have a horse living in physical and psychological pain with a disability which cannot be explained nor understood by the animal

2006-11-29 09:10:52 · answer #6 · answered by tiny_pink_clanger 1 · 2 0

It depends on how serious the injury is whether or not they put them down, technology now is allot better than it used to be so they have a better chance of getting better, but a horse can't lead even a semi normal life with only 3 legs

2006-11-29 08:10:28 · answer #7 · answered by elhodgie 2 · 1 0

Horses get put down for neumerous reasons. They are only put down, on account of a leg breaking, because it is impossible to heal. Sometimes it is possible to heal, but they may never race again. Does this help?

2006-11-30 09:55:08 · answer #8 · answered by Uh-Oh-Its-Alex 1 · 0 0

many horses are put down due to their injuries. b/c after a horse has surgery and anesthesia is used the horse will often wake up confused not knowing where it is at and will most likely reinjure itself. there is a very weak chance of survival for the horse even after the surgery b/c horses cannot lay down for a long period of time.

2006-11-30 05:00:33 · answer #9 · answered by Kar2008 2 · 0 0

because putting a horse in plaster, having a operation and tying it up for prolonged periods of time is expensive, a whole load of hassle and not very nice for the horse. saving it wont always mean its of any use again so unless your rich or the horse is v successful or worth a lot its better to shoot it

2006-11-29 08:08:38 · answer #10 · answered by h 1 · 0 1

fedest.com, questions and answers