Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

Is it true that a horse can never really move again if it breaks its leg or is that a rumor?

Also, you are right. But this would be the perfect time to send it to a restaurant.

Animals do not have the same will to live that humans use to fight for survival after a particularly traumatic injury (like two broken legs) so death is a natural response after such an injury. It is true that some horses have overcome an injury to a tendon or even one broken leg but those cases are rare. Horses very seldom lie down, even to sleep. Overwhelming pain to a horse is usually followed by a form of shock the same as humans except we can usually survive with intensive care.

The humane way to relieve their suffering is euthanasia.

Originally Posted by Missileer

Animals do not have the same will to live that humans use to fight for survival after a particularly traumatic injury (like two broken legs) so death is a natural response after such an injury. It is true that some horses have overcome an injury to a tendon or even one broken leg but those cases are rare. Horses very seldom lie down, even to sleep. Overwhelming pain to a horse is usually followed by a form of shock the same as humans except we can usually survive with intensive care.

The humane way to relieve their suffering is euthanasia.

True. When a human breaks a leg, he gets months of bed rest and walks on crutches. When a horse breaks a leg, he has to stand on it almost 24/7. He can't shift his weight too much to any other hoof because that could cause laminitis to devellop, which is even more painful than a broken leg.

Euthanasia is the easy, painless way out. Unless the horse is worth a lot of money as a stud, no one will usually even try to save most of the horses.