Do you think the people at the Kuntucky derby do the right thing to 8 bells?

Question

Do you see what happend to 8 bells? He was at the Kuntucky derby and he fell to the ground and broke 2 ankles. they had to put him to sleep on the track. He was my favorite. Do you think they made the right choice?

Answer 1

Absolutely! SHE had absolutely no chance of survival with two compound fractures. horses have to be able to support their weight on all four legs to survive. It is possible to treat one leg (sometimes) but very very difficult. She was in agony.

Answer 2

Yes.  The injury that Eight Belles suffered was disaterous.  She couldn't support herself in order for splints to be put on her legs, much less get into the equine ambulance.  The surgery would have resulted in incredibly painful recovery, and she would have had to be in a sling for the entire recovery.

In the end, it was the right choice to euthanize her and free her from the pain she was suffering.

Answer 3

NO!!! I didnt make it to the television in time but when i found out this morning i was heartbroken. Its so sad how people put young horses in like that for MONEY. Its really depressing. I would be so mordified if my favorite horse on this planet was put into a big shindig like that and had to be put down for breaking to ankles.

I'll pray for Eight Bells.

Answer 4

Of course they made the right choice.  Had they managed to get her up and onto the ambulance (which would have been extremely painful for her to support her 1200 pounds with broken ankles), she would have had about a 10% chance of survival because of all the complications that come from horse injuries.  She would have been in excruciating pain in her front legs, she almost certainly would have developed laminitis in her back legs, and she might have died from an infection because she broke the skin of one of her legs which let the dirt and infection into her bloodstream.  To try to save her would have been torturing her for a few more weeks before they would have had to put her down anyway.  It was much better that they ended it quickly.  Recovering from 1 leg injury is hard enough for a horse... recovering from 2 leg injuries is simply impossible.  It wouldn't be fair to the filly to keep her alive and suffering.

Answer 5

Horse racing is for $$$,these people are NOT horse lovers. What a waste of a good mare.There was no choice,the mare could not be fixed.

Answer 6

Not racing her two days in a row would have been the right choice. Immediate euthanasia was the best for her as she had to be suffering mightily for them to do this right on the track.

Answer 7

Yes. Putting HER down was the best thing for HER. SHE was my fav too. In order for HER to not be in chronic pain, SHE was put down.

Answer 8

Since medical marijuana could not have helped this horse, it seems death was the only answer.

Answer 9

Jennifer Jeter.....They did do the right thing.  If you study your history and horses, there is no possible way a horse with 2 broken ankles, especially them being in front to heal.  All of their weight would be in their hind legs, which in that case could develop lamenitis, which is very fatal to a horse.  Even with the proper training and care, there would have been no way to save Eight Belles.  Sorry to say.

Answer 10

In the movies the cowboy pulls out a six shooter and puts the horse down.

Answer 11

Yes. Keeping her alive and trying to (and eventually failing, because these injuries are nearly impossible to heal) heal her broken ankles would have been short of animal cruelty. She would have developed problems in her other two legs from having to put all her weight on them. The right choice would have been to not have 20 horses in the race. The right choice would have been to not race her as a two year old, before her legs were fully developed.

If you racing lovers want to flame me, go ahead. But what happened yesterday was so disgusting I feel that I've got to say something about it.

Answer 12

if SHE was ur favorite seems like u would have known that she is a philly, and Yes they did the right thing, poor babygirl couldnt even put any weight on ur front legs, horses support over 70% over their weight with their front legs, this is what happens when hilary clinton picks a horse to win, i was so saddened by this, and i even won the exacta bet and still havent cashed the ticket in yet and dont know if i will, is my 200 ticket even worth cashing after knowing that this philly gave her life just so we could win a measley itty bit of money

Answer 13

There was nothing else to do.  She had no way of surviving with 2 broken legs and she was in agony.

It is very very sad.  I question the ethics of horse racing.

Answer 14

Unfortunately horses are very complex and fragile animals.  If Eight Belles had fractured just one front leg, they would have probably tried to save her, but even then she would not have had a great chance with just one fracture.

Horses must spread their weight over all four legs to stay healthy.  Unlike a dog, they walk on hooves, which are like humans walking on our tip-toes.  The hoof wall is the same as our finger nail.

Say just one of the filly's legs had broken, lets take then left leg, then the right leg would have to compensate for almost 100% of her weight in the front end.  You would then have a massive risk of laminitis in the healthy hoof.

Laminitis is when the hoof wall becomes separated from the rest of the hoof, due to the increase in pressure and weight that the leg is bearing.  This would be the equivalent of our fingernail pulling from our finger and having to walk around on it.  VERY PAINFUL!!!

With 2 broken legs....there's just not a chance.  Very sad.