Why do horses get put down?

Question

why is it that horses get put down if they break there legs whilst racing. surley it could be fixed

Answer 1

Horses weigh over half a ton and need to stand to be able to breath properly for any length of time. A horse's legs are relatively fragile in relation to the weight they carry and the speed they travel and are often "smashed" inside when we humans say "broken". There are rare occassions when they can be put in plaster - but this is unnatural for them. Horses are herd animals and need to be able to flee at pace.

When humans break a leg, we think of 6 weeks sitting in front of the TV, but for horses several months of restrained movement will badly affect their well being.

Answer 2

why do put down dogs? same thing. you can have your horse go into surgery but sadly sometimes it wont always help they will be suffering for the rest of their lives and this way they wont be suffering.

Answer 3

actually, it's not that "surely it can be fixed"...

Horses legs are very complicated.  We might be able to piece the bones back together and put a cast on the leg and get the leg to heal, but it takes a long time for that to happen.  And during that time, the horse will be standing on 3 legs.  when a horse distributes his weight improperly, they get many more injuries.  If you remember Barbaro, he didn't die because of his broken leg, but because he got laminitis in all of his other hoofs.  That's the problem with fixing a horse's leg.  If we do manage to fix the leg, there's all sorts of complications that pop up while we try to fix that leg.  A horse needs all 4 legs to stand on.  horses can't lie down for a long time like people can... since they weigh so much, their body weight restricts their organs if they lie down.  So a horse needs to stand up.  but if the horse has an injury to one of its legs, it won't want to stand on that leg so it will stand with more weight on the other legs.  and that can cause laminitis and abscesses and all sorts of problems.

And if a horse breaks the skin when they break their leg, it's much more serious because then there's not only the broken leg, but also the extremely likely risk of infection in the leg.

Horses aren't like people.  People can lie down for a while and recover... its not that simple for horses... the legs are the most important part of a horse.  when one gets injured, its much more serious than when a person breaks a leg.

Also, when a horse can be fixed, the owner usually will pay the money to fix the horse.  Breeding the horse is very lucrative.  If the owner can fix the horse so that the horse can be bred, then the owner most likely will choose that option.

Answer 4

sometimes yes, it can be fixed. but the horse most likely will always be in pain, and probably never ride able. therefore for the owners is a lot of money into a horse that will never do anything for the rest of its life. racing to me seems a lot about making money with the right horse, that can win it all.

Answer 5

cos there heavy

Answer 6

As above because of the weight it's said they break as if a grenade has exploded.Also it's pretty much impossible to keep the horse still to treat it,they keep trying to get up and walk about.

Answer 7

The other reason that a racehorse gets put down if the leg or legs are broken is because you can not get a horse to stay still and the only way to make sure the horse is not in pain is to have the horse lifted in a sling so that all 4 legs are off the ground at one time to stop any other injures. This still my too painfull for the horse and if its a bad break it may not heal correctly and it might mean the horse will always be in pain. If you can save the horses leg and are sure that the horse is not suffering then I would choose the sling everytime as the horse's comfort is all that i would care about not the cost

Answer 8

If a horse breaks its leg they can not walk, stand or anythig. Horses are amazing creatures. If its leg is broken they can get NO exersize which without a horse could founder & get laminitis which they cant eat grass, be ridden etc. Horses are SOO much more happy where they go than having to deal with a broken leg. You HAVE to think of whats better for the horse. For us breaking a leg means 6 months of being a couch potato for a horse its to have SOO much pain, never walk the same if at all.

Answer 9

Racehorses are a commodity. Farmers do the same thing to other animals.