Why are horses euthanized following leg injuries?

Question

I don't know if this is dumb to ask but i've noticed in many books and movies (based on real stories or just fiction) and even in the sport of horse racing, horses are euthanized after breaking a leg. Is it impossible to mend a broken leg on a horse? after all, it isn't that hard for humans or other animals. perhaps it is a devastating injury to horses...i honestly dont know. Or is it just to much time and money the owners of the horses don't want to invest into healing a horse that has broken a leg? I guess just recently a horse broke his leg at the preliminary race to the preakness (the dixie stakes) and they actually euthanized the animal right there on the track. I just dont really understand this.

Answer 1

Because after a horse breaks its leg it puts weight on all other 3 legs and then in alll the other good leg, laminates occurs which then gets harder and harder to treat so they decide that the horse should be euthanized.

Like Barbaro.....

-mel

Answer 2

extreme pain, infection and   they will  never even walk  again.

Answer 3

It is impossible really. They have to do surgery to fix a broken leg, and horses cant cope with the stress and its really hard to wake a horse up from anestesia because they become extremely stressed. They also would have to stay in a sling, and horses would really just be in pain. If they ever did recover from a broken leg, they wouldnt even be able to walk without pain.

Answer 4

Occasionally, if the injury is not terribly severe, the leg can be stabilized and the horse can be saved from being put down.  A few years ago, there was a horse named Charismatic who broke his leg in the Belmont Stakes while trying for the Triple Crown.  The jockey (the late Chris Antley) jumped off and held him and basically saved his life.  It's not the break itself, it's what happens when a horse with a broken leg continues to run, that causes the problem.  If Barbaro had stopped the instant his leg broke, he wouldn't have broken the leg in 24 places like he did.  

But the serious issue is how do you heal a broken leg in a horse?  With a human, you put on a cast and tell him/her to stay in bed.  Horses don't understand or follow such instructions.  And you cannot suspend a horse up in the air with a makeshift hammock for an extended period of time, so don't believe that story from "Dreamer".  And if you try to keep a horse's weight completely off a broken leg, there is a high likelihood of developing laminitis (hoof disease) in the opposite hoof.  

So putting the horse down is more humane than making the horse endure pain and suffering for months.

Answer 5

Horses are euthanized because the recovery process is long and painful. A horse needs all four legs to survive. The horse that was euthanized today had a broken leg that penetrated the skin. That was a very infection prone injury that can even kill humans. Following a break, a horse has to lay down a long time and could develop laminitis which is a disease in the hooves that Barbaro suffered from following his broken leg in the Preakness last year. It is possible for a broken leg to heal on a horse but it takes sometimes years. It isn't because the owners do not care or do not want to "waste" money on the horse. Imagine the care put into a horse that you've been with the past two-five years suffering one of these disastrous injuries. Barbaro's owners tried to save him even when they knew he would never race again. It was because they cared. Euthanizing a horse after these injuries is sparing it the pain and suffering the horse will experience and with the same outcome as a euthanizing. Barbaro's owners have raised over $2 million to help prevent these injuries. Remember Barbaro and Mending Fences.

Answer 6

others can correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard recently that horses can't lay down for any length of time, and three legs cannot support their heavy bodies, unlike a dog who loses a leg he can still walk/run, a horse is way to heavy for three legs and cannot lay down because of their stomach