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ATR members recently expressed their dismay about horse fatalities and yesterday three more accidents resulted in loss of life
However, can someone please explain to me why a broken leg seems to leave no option other than the vet administering a fatal solution?
Is death the only option? Is it more to do with insurance? Is the cost of rehabilitation too prohibitive? Is there an alternative to being ‘put down’?
If someone can please offer an explanation then perhaps I’ll stop thinking that these deaths are just the easy option.Horses legs are
very
complicated structures and in the case of a racing injury often too much damage is done by the horse running on after the intial injury.
They do not make good patients – often re-damage initial fracture or do damage to another part of their body (attempting getting up and down etc), They do not like being still (who can blame them?)
I’ve seen an Arab mare who was put in a cast last year and survived for a few months. She could not lie down, had to be kept on diet of hay, she went like a hat-rack and generally looked very depressed. Because she had to be kept in all her muscles deteriorated and her "good" front leg because it was taking more weight suffered. The break mended after a fashion but the leg was very deformed and as such could not take her weight and she had to be pts.
Quality of life afterwards …Cost – loss of use – insurance?
Have a look at this link:
http://www.horses-and-ponies.com/health … eaks.shtmlI remember Mill Reef broke his leg, but because of his stature and stud value, was operated upon and saved.
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Thanks Ten Plus. The link was very informative and has helped me to understand the situation a lot better. Overall, euthanasia does seem the kindest option rather than imposing a lifetime of suffering on these magnificent and complicated animals.
KenIf I remember rightly Mill Reef’s injury occured on the gallops and he didn’t get loose. He was a model patient. Yes he was extremely valuable as a potential sire and he was indeed successfully treated and went on to live for a long time and was a very successful sire.
Barbaro in the US would be a good example of how complicated saving a horse can be. For a while he looked as if he might make it, but then just as quickly he had to be put down.
With all the money swirling around horse racing in this day and age from the Sheikhs, Magniers, Tabors etc etc, I find it amazing how far behind equine treatments are in comparison to human treatments. As said above, horses’ legs are far more complicated (I didn’t know this) and this is probably why, but a leg break in a human is so simple to sort out. It seems amazing how easily a human can be treated and then back to normal in next to no time, yet a horse has to be put down.
Actually when I look at a horse’s leg I am amazed at how resilient it actually is – particularly when you see the angles/strains put upon it by galloping and jumping (not counting falls) – when a foreleg takes the full weight of a horse landing for instance.
By the way human leg breaks are not always so simple either – I have a friend who was knocked over when unloading a horse – she went over on her ankle and shattered it. This happened almost a year ago – after months in various structures and in a wheelchair she is just now able to ride again (it is her profession) but in 6 months will have to have a further operation to rebreak and set it at the correct angle.Here’s another link which shows some x-rays and gives an idea about the complicated bone structures involved:
http://www.cornerhousevets.com/Corner%2 … ctures.pdfSimon,
Treatment of a broken leg in a human might be more difficult if the patient weighed half a ton and had to remain upright throughout the healing process.
It’s also relatively simple to knock out a human – much harder to do with a horse, and then you need a complicated system of slings and pulleys to move the horse whilst it’s unconcious. Think about the TV nature programs when you’ve seen a big wild animal hit with a sedative dart and how difficult they still are to handle.
I think I can remember a horse called Silent Valley breaking a leg .He came back and won a chase.Can anyone confirm this?
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I agree with Ten Plus on this and of course all horses are different. Some just wouldn’t cope at all with the rehabilitation and also often I imagine euthanasia is the first choice as it puts an end to the pain and suffering immediately. If I remeber correctly didn’t Horatio Nelson break a leg in the Derby and I think that John Magnier had wanted everything done to save him but unfortunately it was just too complicated and he had to be put down the same day.
I have just walked the final furlong of the track – having underestimated how far the walk from the airport to the course was I could not walk much further.
Although the going is officially good there are a couple of what can best be called "squidgy" patches which showed a bit more cut.
Not surprisingly the ground towards the far rail is quite well cut up after yesterdays racing.
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Although the going is officially good there are a couple of what can best be called "squidgy" patches which showed a bit more cut.
That’s not a great surprise given that the going has been soft or heavy for most of the season. The top will have been dry after the recent weather, but you wouldn’t have to go far down for a fair bit of moisture.
Rob
Simon,
Treatment of a broken leg in a human might be more difficult if the patient weighed half a ton and had to remain upright throughout the healing process.
It’s also relatively simple to knock out a human – much harder to do with a horse, and then you need a complicated system of slings and pulleys to move the horse whilst it’s unconcious. Think about the TV nature programs when you’ve seen a big wild animal hit with a sedative dart and how difficult they still are to handle.
Yes, that’s a fair point and something I didn’t think of. I guess that’s what makes a vet’s job that much harder than a doctor – they have no way of communicating with the animals.
Barbaro in the US would be a good example of how complicated saving a horse can be. For a while he looked as if he might make it, but then just as quickly he had to be put down.
Barbaro’s treatment was shocking – they were delaying what was inevitable and by about July he’d turned into a hobbling, floating medical experience.
Didn’t I read somewhere that after breaking a leg Nureyev carried on his stud duties using a sling that supported his body weight ?
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