Why can't they just fix the horses broken leg instead of putting it down.?

With all of the medical advancements today, it is possible to fix a horses broken leg. It is very spendy and most people can not afford to have this done.

In the past, a horse that was unable to take weight on a leg for any appreciable period of time - such as that required for a fracture to heal - would have to be euthanised. This is because a horse is so heavy and its legs are so fragile. Horses are built for speed - their spindly legs must take close to half a ton of weight. When one of the legs is out of action, the others cannot hold up the horse's weight. It was usually considered more humane to euthanise the horse immediately than to allow it to suffer as one of its other legs broke or ruptured a tendon under the strain.

Modern technology has allowed a lot of broken bones to be repaired, however even if the bone is healed the horse will loose alot of muscle mass and become lame. It is not so much the ability to set the bone, but the ability to hold up the horse while it heals. Slings allow a lot of the horse's weight to be taken by pulleys on the roof. Some horses will not stand in a sling, and particularly highly-strung or temperamental horses may not be suitable candidates for rehabilitation, because they have to stay in a stable many horses become depressed, stressed and develop vices and often become depressed to a point where they stop eating.

The prognosis for a horse with a broken leg is generally good if the fracture is simple and the horse will accept treatment. There is usually permanent lameness and for this reason, horses are sometimes euthanised because it is more economical. A horse that has had a broken leg is no use for competition, only for light riding if that. If the break was a result of a congenital weakness it is no use for breeding either. A mare with severe lameness may not be able to carry a foal, and a stallion that is lame in one hind leg will not be able to stand to serve a mare. Jockey club only registers horses produced by live cover (artificial insemination is not allowed) so this is a problem for racehorses in particular. The huge costs involved to surgically repair a fracture and then rehabilitate the horse mean that it is financial suicide to attempt to save a horse with a fracture if you are not extremely wealthy.

Some fractures, such as compound fractures or fractures of more than one leg, still result in instant euthanasia. Since this question was asked shortly after Eight Belles was put down I will use her as an example. During the 2008 Kentucky Derby, Eight Belles fractured both front legs. She was euthanised because she could not stand while the legs were splinted. However, even if they had gotten her up it would have been far harder for her to be saved. Her front legs would have to have been held off the ground for over a month. The result would have been dubious - and the horse would have suffered immensely. This is why the sad decision to put a horse down is often made after it breaks a bone, as more often than not it is the more humane option.

Horses are really large and heavy animals - they also don't have the ability to understand that they can't walk on their leg because it is broken and they need to stay off of it. If a break is relatively minor and in a location that is not going to be totally problematic, then yes they may try to save the horse.

When a horse has broken a leg they also need special care while it is casted - this also requires special facilities (think about the movie Dreamer - they had to keep the horse completely off of her front legs with the suspended sling). If the horse is of the uncooperative or highly agitated sort then this isn't going to matter - they won't ever stay quiet enough to heal and their condition may end up deteriorating due to the stress of the circumstances. A horse who doesn't get to move around much and is in a stressful state is far more likely to colic as well (a bowel or intestinal condition that can kill a horse). If a horse has severely shattered a bone then the chances of that horse recovering are EXTREMELY slim. Not only is the recovery time greater, but the bone may not heal strongly enough to support the horses weight. Horses have a very strong prey mentality so even if a horse did recover enough to walk and stand after a severe break, most likely that bone would break again as soon as the horse became frightened and placed any additional stress on the bone.

If a horse has broken multiple limbs (as Eight Belles did), then there is little chance that the horse is ever going to be able to recover. Horses can break legs in any sport (racing is the most prevalent) and it is devastating when this happens. When a horse at the race track breaks a leg they are assessed by the track veterinarian. If the veterinarian does not feel that the horse has any chance of recovery then the horse will be put down as soon as they can to prevent any additional pain to the horse. The decision to put down a horse who has broken a leg is not easy for the trainer and owner - they have to weigh a lot of different factors - can we afford treatment, how likely is it that this horse will recover, does this horse have the right temperament to deal with the treatment...and so on.

I hope this helps and I hope that the Preakness today ends with all of the horses sound and uninjured.

They can save a broken leg, if the leg is just broken. Usually if it's broken in more then one place, or shattered, it can't be fixed.

Especially if it's the front leg, since horse's carry 60% of their weight in the front, it's really a gamble. Because you don't know if the horse will ever be sound again, and you don't want to put the horse through that much pain (and living in a stall for that long - to let the leg heal - isn't much of a life) and to spend that much money if you don't know. A lot of people will take a chance and try and save the horse - like they did with Barbaro.

It just depends on the horse, owner, and how bad the leg is.

Horse Broken Leg

The leg bones in horses take a lot of stress. It's very, very difficult to get them to heal properly. And also blood flow in their legs has to work right all the time or their feet develop serious, permanent problems. That makes it difficult to do surgery to install a plate or pin. Horses can't lay on their side for very long. It messes with blood flow (no leg movement) and it messes with their digestion. Horses are highly prone to go into shock. A horse can die from shock alone, and the pain of a broken leg can cause shock. So, it seems the merciful thing to do is put a horse down instead of having it suffer through a healing attempt that doesn't stand a particularly good chance of working anyway.

It's not all about the money.

Horses spend a great deal more time standing up than many four legged animals and cannot lie down for an extended recovery.

If only one leg is involved, there is a possibility of using a cast, but many times a horse will break these casts off.

They also are very prone to develop laminitis when they do not use a leg for a long time. This can be very painful for a horse and can reach the point that it is not treatable and will cripple the horse.

Sad as it is, in many cases, it is more humane to euthanize the horse rather than putting it through a lengthy, painful recuperation that may not even be successful.

If only one leg were broken they would probably make an attempt to save the horse, and then it would depend on the severity of the break. But if your talking about the filly in the Derby, she broke both front pasterns. She would have no way of coming back from that severe an injury, and she would be in constant pain. The proper decision was made to end her suffering. The horses' anatomy is such that when one leg is injured the other legs are strained in trying to support the weight of the horse. There is a good chance of laminitis developing on one of the other (unijured) legs. This is also a very painful illness. It is the anatomy of the horse that makes it difficult for them to recover from serious leg injuries.

Horses hate being couped up especially Highly Strung thoroughbreds. To fix two compund fractures would take months of operations and the horse not being able to put weight on either legs, Which is almost impossible to do and very cruel on the horse. This talk of they can but do not want to is rubbish!! A filly coming second in the KY Derby is worth millions as a broodmare, so obvioisly if they taught there was any hope for her they would have saved her! Just look at Barbaro that was one Fractured leg, all the best vets in the world couldn't help him, it just prolonged his pain and eventually he got put down. It would have been more cruel to keep that filly alive!!!

Well when a race horse breaks their leg they are out of racing forever they will never be able to race again. Now they won't put a horse down if the extent of the injury is not bad. If it is really bad and the horse will not be able to walk or be ridden then they will put them down. They often send horses that don't have bad injuries to rehabilitation centers for them to get better and then sell them to a loving home where they will be taken care of. I am studying to be a Veterinarian and am a horse lover and do internships with large animal vets and equine specialists.

There are some good answers already, but I wanted to add that one reason it is so difficult to get a horse to heal properly from leg break is because of circulation.

In a horse's foot, there is what is called a frog, and they are often referred to as a horse's other four hearts, because they are responsible for pumping the blood back up to the heart.

When this process is interrupted or destroyed, such as by a leg break, the horse's overall health is often affected. In order to circulate blood properly, the horse must be able to put weight on his feet. When this can't happen....well, you get the picture.