Eight Belles' horse race death?

Question

the kentucky derby was on saturday and one of the horses (Eight Belles) died. She had two broken ankles but how did she die from 2 broken ankles??? i dont get it...

Answer 1

Horses with that severe an injury cannot be saved.  In Eight Belles case, she was so badly hurt that she wasn't moved off the track before she was euthanized.  Anyone remember the similar incident with "Ruffian" at Belmont in 1975?  Very similar situation.  For more info. if you are curious, see link below.

Answer 2

I think they would have been able to save her if they actually tried to because you never know what might happen. At least she would have had a chance.

What a shame how they sold her off to the slaughterhouse just like that.

Answer 3

Well, she couldn't stand at all, which is horrible as it is. She was in complete pain, and had almost no chance of being able to recover. They did the right thing, and put her out of her pain by euthanizing her.

Two broken ankles for a horse is a fatal thing.

Sorry AJ i had to say something- she was in pain. Barbaro couldn't survive and he only had one broken leg. They put her out of her pain. The vet determined that she wouldn't be able to stand. There wasn't anything they could do.

Answer 4

Horses put 70% of their weight on their front legs when in a neutral standing position.  There's no way she could have recovered fully.  She would have been in pain her whole life, if she even made it past complications like founder and infection, which is what Barbaro ended up with.  Putting her down was the right thing to do, poor thing.

Answer 5

Eight Belles didnt die naturally from two broken ankles. She had to be euthanized because she could have never been able to recover from two broken ankles.

Horses put over half their weight on their front two legs. They also have to be able to stand, they cant lay down for long periods of time or else their organs begin to shut down. They even sleep standing up.

For a Horse even one broken leg is difficult to recover from. Its very painful for them. Even with surgury a full recovery is not guaranteed, Barbaro is unfortunately probably the best example.