Grand National

[whiskeryron]

Just showing my higorance here but hearing & seeing the news about the 2 horses being put down who suffered broken legs, why in this 21st century can't these poor beasts be saved with broken limbs ?

W Ron.

[DTCwordfan]

http://animals.howstu.../broken-leg-horse.htm

[MASS1961]

Sadly, it costs to much and they will never be able to do what they were bought for. Earn the owner money. It's a business!!

[HowardKennitby]

^

That is pretty much what I was told once. The nature of horses is that they move around a lot. Constraining the fracture until it healed is virtually impossible.

[DTCwordfan]

Mass - really you do not know what you are talking about.....unbelievable. It applies as much for any horse or pony, be it for kids riding, a hacker, hunter, a police horse or a dray horse.

[cathfromsaron]

sadly not economical!

and please spare a thought for the other slaughtered animals, at abattoirs every day!

[HowardKennitby]

I was replying about DT's link should anyone be in doubt.

[MASS1961]

I was repeating what I had been told, incorrectly it seems. My apologies.
I also started the post with "sadly". I do not agree or condone it.

[ojread2]

it has nothing to do with cost

Do you really think they'd put down a horse worth a few million in stud fees unnecessarily?

It is far kinder to euthanise a horse with a broken leg, than to try and fix it

[sandyRoe]

If a horse with a broken leg has a potential value at stud they will try to save it. It's nearly all about money.
Horses that don't make the grade at racing and have no stud value are destined for the dog food tin.

[VHG]

The thing is that if a human breaks their leg they KNOW they have broken their leg and so after the plaster cast has been put on they will move around carefully and only put weight on it if they have to and with support like a crutch.

A horse has no idea it has broken its leg so will try to kick any cast off, and will not move around carefully but try to run if it can.

Also how do you support a horse while it has a broken leg, it cant lie on its side all the time till it is healed, but if it stands it will try to move around, causing more damage to its leg.

I did see a program once where the owner tried to save a horse with a broken leg but it meant hanging it in a huge harness in a large pool of water for weeks on end.

This is obviously impractical for most owners, and of course very expensive.

So there is no easy solution.

[DTCwordfan]

Ok massi. - there is an awful lot of drivel and misinformation put out by the anti-horse racing crew and this is one of them. Horses have always had to be "put down"since the year dot if they fall and break their legs, esp. the front ones.

Actually, one of the positives of horse racing is that funding is being made to see if they can alleviate this situation through horse-medical research......surprisingly, says he ironically, just like any horse owner, it hurts like mad when a horse has to be put down - the owner, the trainer, the jockeys, the stable boys. You don't want to be around a stable when it has happened.

[MASS1961]

Why then Sandy was Syncronized put down. It had won the Gold Cup.
Was it because of the nature of the break?

[DTCwordfan]

It was the break.

Synchronised was a gelding by the way.

[sandyRoe]

It was a gelding so no stud potential.

[MASS1961]

Thank you, I didn't know that so I put "it"

[ojread2]

Synchronised carried on running after he had broken his leg - irreparable damage done

Pete broke his shoulder

[Brinjal]

The bones in a horses leg are delicate compared to the size of the animal. He needs all four legs to move. Can't get around on three like a cat or dog. It means being suspended in a sling for months and then not always successful . Tragic as it is it is the kinder option.