why do they put race horses to death after leg injury?

Question

isn't that very cruel? cant they be kept as pets?

Answer 1

Most horses cannot survive very long after breaking a leg. Sometimes, keeping them alive in a painful situation is more cruel. Personally, I don't believe in horse racing as a sport. Many horses wind up in bad shape, dead, or with very poor quality of life. Barbaro's owners are an exception. They did everything they could to give that horse a pain free existence. However, if he had not been racing in the first place, I think he'd still be alive. I have seen first hand how race horses are treated when no longer needed or viewed as valuable. It is heart breaking to see the lives they lead. Only the best of the best are treated with dignity and respect. Very Sad.

Answer 2

Some may be able to be kept as pets, but a leg injury to a horse is much more serious than a leg injury to a cat or dog. I would hope that if the animal could lead a healthy and not be in a great amount of pain that someone could be given the oppurtunity just to offer the horse a good and loving home. Unfortunately, as much as it hurts, it is sometimes necessary to euthanize an animal to end its suffering

Answer 3

Because with the horse being so large and heavy, keeping it off it's leg long enough to heal is very expensive, and often traumatic for the animal. If the horse isn't kept off the broken leg or leg injury then the injury won't heal properly.
Yes it is cruel.

Answer 4

-they put the horses with broken legs down because...
they aren't able to heal properly,
They may develop other complications,
the horse may re injure itself,
the owner does not have the money to pay for the risky surgery...
They can't be kept as pets because even "pet" horse needs to be able to walk and live in comfort.......unlike other animals horses can't live on three legs because the legs can't handle the extra stress........
had barbaro lived, he was never going to race again. Instead he was going to become a "pet" and/or a stud....however, he had so many complications and pain that he could not even stand comfortably.........
Now, if a race horse gets a broken leg, and someone pays to fix it, and then it heals completely, and then It can become a pet, but that doesn't really happen....

Answer 5

Horses are not always put to sleep after a leg injury. When I was growing up many years ago, I had a horse that had broken his leg and it heeled without much of a problem. The only time it bothered him was when the weather changed.

Answer 6

A horse that has broke it's let with most likely never ever be able to walk again. Not ALL race horses are treated badly after they stop racing alot of them are used for barrel racing, trail, and much more. We have had several that came off the track and they were great. Injuries are a hard thing to decide what to do..... we had the wind roll our trailer over and the horse broke its pelvic bone and e1 said he was done.... let me tell you that horse had more heart and will than I have ever seen. My daughter used him in 4-H and he was wonderful won lots of ribbons and even state.

Answer 7

They put almost all horses to death after a broken leg because it is very uncommon that the injury will heal properly. Also, even after the injury heals, the horse will most likely be in pain for the rest of its life.

Answer 8

No, it's not cruel. Most race horses cannot recover after broken bones, esspecially if it is their leg, because they have to stand all day on them!
I think there is atually a way that you can help them, but they can never race again, and it probably cost a lot of time and money to recover them. It is sad, but everything has 2 die some day!!

Answer 9

well its not just race horses. Horses usually have a pretty bad life after an injury cause they dont have an ability to do much any more. If someone cares for them enough and has enough money they will pay for surgury, but they still will never get to really do much for the res tof their life

Answer 10

It's due to the anatomy of the horse: it has a very heavy, muscular body supported by four very spindly legs, and if one of them is broken it forever alters the horse's quality of life, and thus its tempermant and disposition. Especially racehorses: they are bred to race and this effects their psyche. They are forever in pain after a break, and the imjury can actually make them go mad. It would be like us having a permanently broken back and intense pain, along with chronic depression, if our sole livelihood depended on using our back. Thus, it is actually more humane to painlessly put the animal down than subject it to a life of terminal agony.