Is it true that a horse can't live/survive with a broken leg or ankle, even if the injuries were treated?

Question

My grandma said that, but I have a hard time believing it's ture. For one thing, my grandma doesn't even live around horses, and secondly, wouldn't that apply to all animals?

If it's NOT true, then why are they usually kiiled if they get injured, especially race horses? Why not just treat their injuries and just let them retire in peace?

Answer 1

As has been said, it totally depends on the injury.

If the bone shatters - as often happens when a bone breaks at speed - then the horse has a next to 0% chance of survival.  The actual breaking of the bone won't kill the horse but the shock can as can secondary infections.

The main thing to remember is that the horse is a flight animal - that means his instinct is to run from danger.  A horse with a broken leg cannot run and if he tries to run on a damaged leg he will make things much worse.

You cannot put a horse in a cast, or make him lie down all day for 6 weeks.

Some breaks can be treated and if there is a chance the horse can be saved, they will try.  However, secondary infections and complications such as laminitis - a painful and degenerative foot condition - are a high possibility and the horse may spend the rest of his life in pain.

Sometimes it is kinder to save the horse the pain and distress - because you musn't forget that they don't understand what is wrong with themselves and will panic if they are frightened.

Answer 2

broken leg..yes...ankle...do you mean cannon bone...because with box rest with a broken cannon bone they can live...they may never race again and owners who dont really care for th horses will put them down...but if it was me where my horse is a pet more than my sport i wouldnt put him down...and no if you consider the size of a horse compared to a dog (which can cope with 3 legs) a horse would simply not be able to balence as they have a big body with fine legs...i hope ive helped...the racing industry is not a nice place i have seen things done to these animals which are unimaginable.

Answer 3

You should listen to g/ma ...."y  would she lie to you?....Because horses  have  holow bones, and a horse never lie down...it's impossible  for a cast.. such an injury wont heal..

So g/ma is right again....

Answer 4

seabuscuit came back and beat war admirial after a broken leg..and admiral was a triple crown winner...hey hey..how can they say it cant be done..remember this the jockey was to big, the trainer to dumb and the horse to small and yet against all odds it was done...Who says God cant do anything He wants is plain lying

Answer 5

Depends on the severity - but as Barbaro showed even when extreme efforts are taken to save a horse lamnitis is difficult to prevent.

Answer 6

It depends upon the severity of the break.  Sometimes it's hopeless, and the kindest thing to do is end the suffering.  Even in the best case scenarios, it's a long haul, and there are no guarantees that the horse will recover.  In the case of Barbaro, it was the complications which finally led to that grim outcome.

Answer 7

This usually tends to race horses. After that they are useless and to have them around is a burden. Samething with horses on a farm and other domestic horses.

I am not completely sure if they can get treated for a broken ankle/leg. So you also put them out of their suffering

Answer 8

In the wild they can not.  they quickly become part of the food chain.

in domestication they can have a very hard time overcoming the injury.  a horss legs are made of several different bones.  it depends on where the fractue is and what type of fracture, simple, compound condilar.

a horse is meant to carry weight evenly on all 4 legs/feet.  if one of the legs becomes so compromised by injury it makes the other legs work much harder to carry the weight.  the injured leg that is not weight bearing will most likely eventuall have a degenerative situation occur in the foot of that leg.  it is called founder.  it is the result of blood dying in the foot becuase it is no longer circulated correctly, it becomes inflamed and is non reversible , very painful.  it is not fair to keep a horse alive with no quality of life.  a horse with a broken leg woudl require huge amounts of money to care for the rest of its nonuseful life.  no one really has that kind of money to burn as horses can live to be in their forty's.  a horse is simply not meant to be on 3 legs.  it has a poor quality of life that way and if it is in in constant pain it is the owners obligation to do what is in the best interest of the horse.

the presssure from founder will make the bones inside the foot become ripped from their moorings and they will migrate out the botom of the foot.  can u think of anything more painful?

sesomiod bones are i the back of the ankle.  depending on where the fractuere is...if the horse is tending to correcty and rested it can return to light riding.  the people who say putting down a horse with a broken leg is cruel really do not have all the facts.  they also probably do not have the bank roll to care for a long term pasture ornament. i have recued many horses from the track..with fractures and have had to only put one down becasue his knee was so fracted it was nothing but a bunch of pebbles remaning and gangrene had set in by the time the vet came when i got him home.

Answer 9

Yes they can live but the problem lies in the getting up and down. If they can't get up they will die

Answer 10

YES. YOU CANT TELL A HORSE NOT TO TRY AND WALK ON A BROKEN LEG.

Answer 11

It depends on the injury.

If the bone comes through the skin, it's a definate no. It'll get infected.

If multiple legs are broken, it's a no. Horses can't stand on two legs for a long period of time. Even in a sling, if no weight is being put on the legs, I believe other types of problems with circulation and stuff can occur.

If a leg is shattered, like Barbaro's injury, it's unlikely that the horse will recover, so people don't usually try. It's also expensive.

I can tell you that about four years ago, my Appendix Quarter Horse gelding fractured his leg and tore a hole in the ligament in his left hind leg while in turnout. He was put on stall rest for six months. For another two months, we had to hand-walk him for 30 minutes a day. It was a total disaster, the vet couldn't tell us anything - he might have to be euthanized, he might be completely lame for the rest of his life, he might never jump (at the time I was doing some eventing, but mostly dressage)... but we were lucky and because we put time and a little extra money into it, he made a full recovery.

Whenever this topic comes up, it's ususally involving racehorses - and because the owners of racehorses usually aren't very educated or interested in the horses, if the horse breaks a leg, they euthanize the horse. Because like I said, it does take time and money, and that's something people don't want to waste to save an animal they don't even know.

So yes, it is possible for a horse to recover, depending on what type of injury the horse has.