"Steve Pope" > wrote in message
...
> Arri London > wrote:
>
>>That poor filly had to be put down after the race (she came in second)
>>due to compound fractures of both front ankles.
>
> And if she had been a stallion they would not have euthanised
> her. Pretty cold-hearted if you ask me.
>
> Steve

Yes, they would have had to euthanize a stallion in that condition. She
broke both front ankles, so she could not stand. It is almost impossible to
keep a horse alive for any period of time in a sling. I remember becoming
distraught as a child when I learned that it is common practice to destroy a
horse with a broken leg. I could not understand it and once told my father,
"...but you would not kill *me* if I had a broken leg"! They tried to keep
Barbaro alive, but he was almost a cult figure by then. In fact, they used
heroic measures (which probably caused still more pain for him), but he
developed laminitis. That is a common problem for horses that cannot put
equal pressure on all legs. I cried over his death, too.

MaryL