Why must a horse be euthanized when it breaks a leg?

Question

It really bothers me that in this day and age there seems to be no way for a horse to recover from a broken leg or ankle. I was very saddened at the news of Barbaro's death and now Eight Bell's is killed on track because of 2 broken ankles. Why?

Answer 1

After Barbaro died, I thought the same thing, and I read one excellent report that explained how certain leg injuries, the horse medically cannot recover.  A horse absolutely needs to stand in order to get through the day and eat, sleep, drink etc.

Here's an article on Barbaro, and I've repeated the reasons given there.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/horses/20...

Why broken legs are life-threatening for horses

Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro broke three bones in his right rear leg in Saturday's Preakness Stakes. It is a life-threatening injury because a horse must heal fast and well enough to have four weight-bearing limbs. Why that's difficult:  



Can't keep a horse lying down: Horses are continuous grazers. Sedating a horse enough that it will lie down for a long period of time disturbs its gastrointestinal tract.



Can't keep a horse still: Horses are animals of flight. When horses get in unfamiliar circumstances, they revert to nature and want to run.  



Can't keep a horse off his feet: Whenever they are under stress, horses want to stand. In a sling, a horse will struggle until it gets its feet back on the ground.  



Artificial limbs aren't practical: Artificial limbs have been tried repeatedly, with limited success. Horses require four limbs to spread their weight. When they overload a limb, it is extremely painful.



Equilibrium is crucial: Equilibrium is so finely tuned in a horse that it needs all four legs for long-term survival.

Answer 2

It is not that it "must" be killed. They can recover from a variety of breaks (there are different types), but in the case of Eight Bells, a break like she suffered is often due to a number of other things that could have occurred, like a heart attack, brain hemorrhage, etc. Also, the double ankle break is horribly painful for the animal, and though I am no real advocate of the killing, I understand that for an animal without the capacity to reason, the pain would have been unbearable, and the death was for mercy sake.

Answer 3

As we all are but, if the animal can't stand, it won't be able feed and will die of starvation anyway.  Besides, a broken leg, for a horse is very painful and the humane thing to do is to put it out of it's misery.  A shame indeed.  I've owned horses and love them very much.

Answer 4

Surgery is usually unsuccessful when a horse has an injury to their leg or ankle. This is because they redistribute their weight to their remaining legs, which can result in the disease laminitis. Laminitis is an inflammation of the connective tissue of the hoof.

Barbaro, who suffered a broken leg in the 2006 Preakness Stakes, had several surgeries afterwards. Despite this, he still developed laminitis and had to be euthanized in early 2007.

After finishing second in the 2008 Kentucky Derby, the filly Eight Belles suffered broken ankles to both of her front legs. Since her injuries were to both feet, her chances of recovery with surgery were approximately 0%. In order to not cause her any more unnecessary pain from injuries she would never recover from, she was euthanized.

Answer 5

I think its really stupid that people say that the horse is "brave", and "valiant" in its effort to win. Why anthropomorphize the horse's behavior? The horse could care less about the"win" .These poor animals are just machines to the people who use them for this cruel sport. Idiots.

What would really be humane would be to just abolish the whole practice of horse racing.

Answer 6

broken foot and ankle don't heal and cause internal inflammation and ulcer (hoof.. itis). very painful, lifelong misery and has no cure. euthanasia is sadly the merciful choice.

the question is why do so many horses break their ankles these days. the answer here is GREED.  steroids and other performance enhancing substances make animal tissues more vulnerable to injury  just  like they do in humans. they also give a false sense of euphoria and invincibility with unrelenting aggression. mix this with an overtly enthusiastic jockey and you have a potential dead horse in front of you.

Answer 7

I know, I felt so bad, I was crying. I had just said to my husband I hope no one gets hurt in this race, and sure enough! The last time we watched was the breeder's cup, and horse had to be put down then too!  I'm sure if there was something they could do they would, those horses are loved by their owners, trainers, and the jockeys, and the fans of course.  I think that it's a really long painful healing process and when horses lay down too long their bodies put pressure on their organs and lungs and eventually it kills them.  So sad.

Answer 8

A horse needs all 4 legs to be able to walk, so mostly it's because the break is so bad it can't be splinted or helped to heal properly in any way.

A horse can't be put up in a sling to rest for too long. Their body weight doesn't allow for them to lay down easily for any length of time either. Their muscle mass makes it difficult for a sick or lame horse to right themself up and their organs suffer by beginning to shut down.

Splints might work, and are tried at all cost. Usually though, a splint can only be used for a lower leg injury, or a less serious type of break. Before putting a horse down, an owner will try anything to fix it, especially if the horse is of a race horse that could still be used for stud to carry a good line.

Answer 9

Someone else may be able to add more insight but I also believe that horses, given their size and the nature of their bones, don't heal properly from broken legs so the most humane thing to do is put them down to stop the suffering.  If, biologically, they can't heal properly then there doesn't seem to be much more that can be done.

Answer 10

That is not totally correct anymore. There are many bone injuries and breaks in a horse's legs and joints that can be treated. Granted, that horse may never he sound enough to ride again, but they can live a pain free life. The poblem comes in when BOTH front legs are broken, and at the joint. The filly could not stand, even when splits or surgery (this about it, when you break a leg, you keep your weight off it). Horses cant balance off their backend totally, and keeping one down or in a sling creates a whole new set of problems  with breathing and digestion. You also have to look at the quality of life she would have had? Honestly, and this is comming from a person with 30 years horse experance, the most humane things was to help her across the Rainbow Bridge. It is never an easy choice, I have had to make it twice with my equine family.

Answer 11

They have trained professionals that can access the extent of the damage on the track. Unfortunately, injuries are very common on the track. It is a brutal sport.  The horse had a compound fracture to my understanding. A horse that is not able to use two legs is in trouble because they cannot lay down in recovery because there are to many complications such as lung infections etc.  It is terribly painful for a horse to have a broken leg due to how they rely so much on their legs for overall health.  As you can see from Barbaro who sustained an injury on one leg and the torture he went thru and even with the best of treatment and thousands of dollars latter, he died.    It was in the best interest to put the horse down. Some breaks can be treated successfully depending on how bad and the location. Sometimes, for example, horse can have the wing of the coffin bone fracture and recover.  The bigger question to ask is why did both of her sesamoid bones break. I would say it is due to racing her the day before and fatiguing the horse which is very unethical. It was my understanding that she raced the day before and won. To send her out on another race the next day is unethical!!!!!  The muscles fatigue leading to various injuries. Even layman horseman know this.   Again, it is a brutal sport. look at the horse that won, three races under his belt. Case in point.