Why Horses With Broken Legs Are Often Euthanized

It wasn't that long ago that if a horse broke a leg, euthanasia was the only course of action. Breaks are most commonly heard of in racehorses, but any horse can break a bone in its leg.

While euthanasia is often still the main option, advances in veterinary technologies and techniques mean that some horses can be saved and may even be able to return to their work in some capacity. But saving every horse with a fracture is still a long way off. Here's why.

When a Human Breaks a Leg

If a human breaks a leg, the worst-case scenario might be surgery, possibly to place an implant (plates, pins, screws, etc.) to hold the bone together. This usually involves a cast and weeks or months of allowing the bone to heal, followed by physiotherapy. Our bodies are relatively light compared to a horse's, and our leg bones are proportionately larger for our weight, in comparison to a horse's.

We also know that we must stay off of the injured leg so that the fracture can mend properly, without stressing or damaging the healing bone. Most people, no matter how complicated their fracture, will probably survive their fracture unless there is some sort of unusual complication.

Why a Broken Horse Leg Can Be Worse

Unlike humans, horses have heavy bodies and light leg bones. This is the way we've developed many breeds, especially the thoroughbreds. When bones break, they may often shatter. And it's almost impossible to surgically reconstruct the fractured leg.

While humans have some large muscles and a bit of tissue below the knee that helps to stabilize a broken bone, along with a cast, a horse has very little muscle and hardly any other tissue besides tendons, ligaments, blood vessels, and some nerves below the knee.

The lack of muscle and other tissue means that even with a cast, the broken bone has little to support it. And, it's much harder to prevent a horse from using its broken leg to bear weight. Horses stand most of the time, and a