Couldnt they have put the horse in a sling?

Question

I know they have slings for horses who have fractures, couldnt they have put Eight Bells in a sling?

Does the sling only work with one broken leg

Would that have messed up the digestive system too much?

Answer 1

No, Eight Belles could not have been put in a sling- and it's doubtful that she could even have survived the initial surgery to set both her front legs- that's how catastrophic her injuries were. Yes, to your other question- there is no possible way that a horse like this filly could ever have withstood the 3 to 6 months confinement in a sling which would have been necessary for her legs to heal without serious digestive and other complications. Horses are NOT like humans- they don't understand why they would have to be confined like that, and plus, their systems are NOT set up for confinement for long periods of time. Horses evolved as grazing animals- and in the wild, they are constantly on the move all the time. Putting a horse in a sling would not allow this, and the odds were high that the filly would have died anyway from colic or founder, the way Barbaro did. No, as awful as it was, Eight Belles' owners made the right decision.

BTW: The filly broke both cannon bones in her front feet- not her ankles, as the press reports have said. One of the newspapers here in DE where I live had pictures of her standing ( or trying to stand) on HER KNEE joints, because both front legs were broken. It's not a pretty picture.

Answer 2

it is very hard to get a horse to recover from a broken leg.  there are lots of issues that can arise.  There's a high risk of infection, and the horse may not sit still long enough for the bone to heal. Infections are most likely when the animal suffers a compound fracture, in which the bones tear through the skin of the leg. In this case, dirt from the track will grind into and contaminate the wound. Even if it doesnt break the skin, any soft-tissue damage at all can cut off blood flow and create a safe haven for bacteria.  To make matters worse, there isn't much blood circulation in the lower part of a horse's leg. (There's very little muscle, either.) A nasty break below the knee could easily destroy these fragile vessels and deprive the animal of its full immune response at the site of the injury.

2 broken legs is pretty much a death sentence.  its not like they can put him in a wheelchair like they would with humans.

Barbaro (sp) was kept alive for about 8 months after his accident, and even then he had to be put down. its thousands and thousands of dollars for a slim shot at survival.  sad huh?

Answer 3

Even recovery from one broken leg is difficult because the horse will nto stand still.

Two broken legs with no extra support and the instinct to move?

They would never heal.

Answer 4

You can put horses in a sling, However Eight bells had two issues that made it imposssible.

First, as you had stated, she had broken two legs, and secondly, the skin was broken which leads to infections that in the end would of killed the horse, so they put her down to relive her of pain.

Answer 5

i know, i was crying so hard when she was euthanized.

i wanted her to win, but i never expected her to break down.

okay, she had 2 broken ankles.

even if they put her in a sling, she would be favoring both of those hooves, the ankle bones never heal.

thats where its kinda above the hoof, and that moves.

so it would have never healed. and, if by some miracle it did, she would be in so much pain all her life. because horses cant support all their weight on even 3 legs. they need all 4 legs. her back hooves would have become lame, and she would be very unhappy.

they wouldnt have been able to get her into the equine ambulance anyway. im not mean, but i think all they couldve done is euthanize her. that was best, because now she isnt in any pain.

Answer 6

She's right.

After hearing over and over again on every news station and news paper in town...Eight Belles was in severe pain after the  breaks. One of her bones penetrated the skin which I believe is never fixable.

The vet that was on the track said that he had never seen anything like it in his life. It really must have been bad.