Eli5: Why are horses who break their legs so often euthanized?
In: 3613
No one has really answered the question clearly.
Many horses these days can survive breaks to various bones in their legs. It depends on the bone and the severity of the break and the horse’s temperament. But when horses are euthanized for bone breaks, it is generally for one of three reasons:
1) The way horses have evolved, they require all 4 legs to bear the weight of their bodies, with no margin of error, unlike animals like cats and dogs who can live easily with three or fewer legs. Horses have to spend most of their time standing, and when they have to take weight off a leg for too long – like for a broken leg to heal – the other legs can develop serious problems. This is especially true when the broken leg is a front leg, since the majority of the horse’s weight is in the front. In that case, before the broken leg can heal, the horse’s other front foot can (in ELI5 terms) break down irreparably from bearing too much weight. There is no cure for this breakdown once it passes a certain point, and it is excruciatingly painful, so it results in the horse having to be put down.
2) For a broken leg to heal requires a period of rest and no movement. By nature, horses are not designed to stand still for long periods – in nature, horses cover miles each day as they graze, moving constantly, and sometimes fleeing from predators. So some horses do not adapt well to being restrained from movement for long periods of time. They will try to run around in circles in their tiny stalls, or kick the walls. They can develop nervous ulcers or other issues. If the break is bad enough, the leg may need to be non-weight-bearing, which means the horse may need to be in a sling. Some veterinary hospitals have slings, but this is even more restrictive, not to mention very expensive, and can create even more problems for the horse, as all sorts of things can go wrong (eg with the digestive system) when a horse can’t move at all. All these factors can, depending on the circumstances, make healing almost impossible as a practical matter, even for a break that could theoretically heal.
3) Sometimes the break is severe enough that it’s clear at the time of injury that even if the horse were to make it through the healing process, he would never be able to live comfortably – he would always be in pain.
Generally when a break happens, the vets and owner take into account the severity of the break, the likelihood of full healing, the possibility that surgical intervention might help, the time it would take to heal, the horse’s temperament, and all other relevant factors to decide whether it’s worthwhile to attempt the healing process. Sometimes the decision is to put the horse down immediately. Sometimes a horse is euthanized after healing is attempted but fails, because of problems in the other supporting limbs or other issues during the healing process. And sometimes the horse heals fine and either resumes his former activity or retires from that activity but lives comfortably doing something else, or doing nothing!
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