Euthanasia only option for Derby horse, expert says
By Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Originally published 03:35 p.m., May 5, 2008
Updated 03:56 p.m., May 5, 2008
Photo by Charlie Riedel/Associated Press
Eight Belles is examined on the track after the 134th Kentucky Derby Saturday, May 3, 2008, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Eight Belles was euthanized after breaking both front ankles following a second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby.
Does Eight Belles' death make you less likely to watch another horse race?
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Racehorses are marvels of speed and grace, but they put such explosive force on those skinny legs that fractures can be devastating, leading to no other course but euthanasia, a renowned horse surgeon said today.
Kentucky Derby runner-up Eight Belles broke two legs seconds after crossing the finish line Saturday, and millions of animal lovers wondered why the spirited filly had to be put to death.
If her left foreleg fracture hadn't been so severe, if she'd just been a horse on a trail, they might have been able to save her, said Dr. Wayne McIlwraith, director of the Equine Orthopaedic Research Center at Colorado State University.
But it wasn't, and she wasn't.
McIlwraith said the only humans who suffer injuries comparable to race horses are extreme athletes such as downhill ski racers and motorcyclists involved in bad crashes.
Eight Belles' injury was so severe that if a similar break happened to a skier, that skier wouldn't have been euthanized, but probably would have lost the leg to amputation, he said.
That's what happened to Austrian skier Matthias Lanzinger, who lost his left leg because of complications from two broken bones in a crash at a World Cup race in early March.
Lanzinger, 27, broke his shin and fibula during a super-Grand Slalom, when the double fracture severely damaged blood vessels, hampering circulation. "There's not a lot of soft tissue there to protect it."
Similarly, Eight Belles' first fracture damaged blood vessels when it created an open wound that was ground into the dirt of Churchill Downs, McIlwraith said.
"It's the combination of blood supply loss and infection" that makes the injury so difficult to treat, he said.
Still, humans aren't put to sleep, despite their severe injuries, so why are racehorses?
"The problem with horses is that they can't get along on three legs for a long period of time," he said.
Horses have skinny legs anyway, but that's compounded by the fact that so much of the pressure is borne by just a thin part of the hoof, connected to the bone by a sensitive laminate, he said.
The hoof is a bit like a fingernail, and the onus is similar to a human trying to get around — fast — just on the middle toe of the foot.
That's why a horse's leg has to be repaired quickly and the horse has to put weight back on it quite soon. Otherwise, there's just too much pressure on the leg that doesn't have a partner, especially if that's a foreleg, McIlwraith said.
Horses using just three legs will develop laminitis, a condition that doesn't have a human equivalent.
If the horse is putting weight on just one foreleg, "it eventually breaks down the laminate, the hoof rotates out of position and the connection is lost between the hoof and the bone," McIlwraith said.
Barbaro, the horse that won the 2006 Kentucky Derby, fractured a leg at the Preakness Stakes two weeks later. Doctors hoped they could save him, but he developed laminitis.
"That's the reason Barbaro was ultimately euthanized," McIlwraith said. "He got severe laminitis. We fight that all the time."
Happily, typical horses that bring great joy to riders but are never seen on racetracks rarely suffer the kind of injuries seen in Eight Belles, or Barbaro before her, or Ruffin before him. They simply don't run fast enough to develop the fractures that break the hide, get infected and are so difficult to repair.
And the outlook is getting better for racehorses, as technology improves.
Just 10 days ago, McIlwraith was in New Zealand saving a 5-year-old racehorse, Virginne, by surgically fusing her ankle.
"I commonly operate on (fetlock or ankle) fractures and get them back to racing," he said. He uses a stainless steel plate 3/4 of an inch thick and about 10 inches long, typically screwing 14 screws through the plate and into the bone. "We can save quite a few that way."
The difference is that with Eight Belles "she broke the other leg and also had that left leg fracture that was open," he said.
Two months ago, McIlwraith worked on a racehorse that had fractures in both fetlock joints, using screws and a plate to push both fractures back into place.
But again, the broken bones didn't stick through the hide, so the chances of infection were so much less.
That horse didn't need casts on either leg, and as soon as it recovered from anesthesia it was able to move around.
Racehorses with broken legs used to be shot a lot more often than they are now.
Today, "we'd be very reluctant to allow a horse to be euthanized that has a good prognosis for surgery," McIlwraith said.
"It's just not OK to be euthanizing a horse just because it's going to cost a bit to fix it," he said.
He has seen more and more racehorse owners willing to put a lot of money into saving a gelding, who can't breed and whose race career is over, just because it's the right thing to do.
Of course, economics ultimately plays a part. If a horse faces a $10,000 or $20,000 operation, and the owner is of modest means, practical considerations take over, he said.
CSU is doing its own research to help prevent the fractures from happening in the first place.
"We're working on biomarkers that can tell us if the horse has early signs of bone diseases — microdamage in the bone," he said.
The goal is to be able to take a blood test from a racehorse once a month, and look for the presence of antibodies that indicate the body is trying to repair the tiny cracks that can become big cracks, that can become hairline fractures ripe for explosive breaks during the pressure of a race.
If the biomarkers are there, you'd follow-up with X-rays, and then "you rest the horse," he said. "They'll heal. But if you keep running those horses on stress fractures, you'll get fractures."
Whether a racehorse can come back from a break also depends a lot on its personality.
McIlwraith noted that the filly in New Zealand "was being real sensible. She was lying down all the time, and that decreases the amount of weight bearing and the risk of laminitis. They have to be clever and they have to be able to handle a cast."
Several animal rights groups believe that horse trainers overrun their horses, then don't do enough to try to save them when injured, tossing their lives away when they no longer can race.
Colorado Thoroughbred Rescue, of Wellington, is one of the organizations that lets horses live out their natural lives after their careers as racehorses or riding horses are over. The organization teams with supporters who rescue the horses from slaughter by outbidding other auction-goers whose intention is to slaughter the animals.
In the wake of Eight Belle's death, several horse racing observers have pointed to the fact that all of the Kentucky Derby entrants last week, and a majority of race horses nationwide, are descendants of Native Dancer, a great champion of the 1950s, but a horse that tended to have weak lower legs and a herky-jerky weight.
They say that dependence on one horse needs to stop, and that breeders can't be surprised when a genetic trait in a horse gets passed on -- to tragic ends.
Comments
Posted by freethought on May 5, 2008 at 4:05 p.m.
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Posted by Golden on May 5, 2008 at 4:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Great work! It's nice that so much is being down for retired race horses. Too bad an equal amount of energy and press is not given to the tragedy here in the West with thousands horse owners.
Who is looking after all the non-race horses which are starving and neglected because owners can no longer afford to care for them. Feed prices are up, euthanizing and disposing of the old horses is cost prohibitive and they can no longer sell them to slaughterhouses?
Oh yaeah, and by all means let's add to the problem by "saving" the overpopulated wild horse herds with wild horse adoptions! Euthanizing old, sick, unservicable horses is not cruel. It's kind.
Posted by NotChasB on May 5, 2008 at 4:09 p.m.
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Posted by NotChasB on May 5, 2008 at 4:11 p.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by freethought on May 5, 2008 at 4:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Of all the horses I ever worked around, the females were the smartest, easiest to break and more gentle with my kids. You MCP's had better watch it.
Posted by roadstar on May 5, 2008 at 4:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
To NotChasB, nice try, but I doubt her running with stallions did it. She probably had tiny cracks in her fetlocks before the race, and this race just happened to be the one that cracked them open. Horse owners should know that the growth plates do not become strong until a horse is at least three or four years old, five or six for warmbloods. The fact that thoroughbreds are raced so young before their growth plates have firmed up shows that the racing industry cares more about money than the welfare of its horses. Reading the article about all these fine, talented horses being euthanized due to human greed makes me very sad.
Posted by coloradogirl73 on May 5, 2008 at 5:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
[i]"McIlwraith said the only humans who suffer injuries comparable to race horses are extreme athletes such as downhill ski racers and motorcyclists involved in bad crashes." [/i]
Right...and these humans have fully formed bones by the time they're exposed to these situations (or they should)...unlike the horses. I don't know why, as this article says, CSU is spending money to research why the initial hairline fractures occur. The fractures come from the running on the not fully matured bones. Why does that need to be researched?
Posted by Ashley on May 5, 2008 at 5:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Not even funny, NotChasB. Chauvanist swine. I agree, roadstar. I've long been of the opinion two-year-old racing should be banned. And three-year-olds should not be asked to compete in the grueling Triple Crown -- or the Tiara, either. The animals are too young. I train Morgans, and even though they aren't racehorses, we don't put anyone on their backs until they're between three and four, depending on the size of the horse. And we never do hard, fast work with them until they're four or older. We also don't inbreed our Morgans the way thoroughbreds have been; their gene pool is exremely diminished.
Posted by Steve on May 5, 2008 at 5:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
NotChasB is the funniest guy posting here. Not "even" funny, "more than" funny.
Posted by jaybyrd on May 5, 2008 at 7:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Just another reason for universal health care. The horse should have been airlifted to the nearest hospital, provided a private room, and the best surgery and rehab that tax money can provide,and been showcased on the podium of Hillary's inauguration. Right, Dems?
Posted by Ginger on May 5, 2008 at 7:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It is sickening to me that beautiful animals are sacrified all in the name of the allmighty dollar. I have no knowledge of the horse racing industry, but it seems that bad breeding choices have the same effect on horses as on dogs. I lost my beloved dog six months ago at only seven years old because of a breeding problem that, unfortunately, was not detected by my veterinarian until too late. Horses used for horse racing are just like elephants used for circus animals. There is a huge outcry when our society is compared to the barbarians or even the Tudor kings -- yet the result is still the same, when we use innocents to provide our entertainment and take no responsibility for the outcome of pain and suffering that seems to go hand-in-hand with the human quest for power and ridiculously simple entertainment.
Posted by EastVail on May 5, 2008 at 11:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Um, we do put humans to sleep. It's called a hospice. Donate money to one before you need one.
Posted by EastVail on May 5, 2008 at 11:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Or we just kill them when they are inconvenient or we don't agree with them ideologically or they block our access to resources we "need."
Posted by mtnsrfer on May 6, 2008 at 12:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
O.K., I'll admit it, I didn't read the story here. I watched the race, I saw it.
First of all, the track was hardend with rubber. I knew when I heard that a horse would be hurt. The race officals want a record time to get people back into the ponies. Let them run in soft dirt.
I don't think many jockies mistreat their horses. These horses know what they're doing. They want to do it. The rider of Big Brown "whippped" his horse three times down the stretch. That horse knew what it was doing, just like Eight Belles. I blame the track!!!
The reason they race young horses is because they are fresh. That's just the way it is. Why run a four year old horse when your competitor is running a three year old that's fresher and stronger.
Posted by myto2boys on May 7, 2008 at 1:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I have never in my life heard such ignorance. The people who are posting on this story and site have no clue what they are talking about when it comes to horses or racing - that is quite apparent.
I have been around and in the racing industry for my entire 37 years of my life.
The people who take care of these horses (trainers, grooms and even owners) feel like these animals are their family members. The thought of something happened to them on or off the track is almost unbearable. I can assure you that many people who cared for 8 belles were devastated by her passing - not just you tree huggers.
I can also assure you that if the jockey had felt anything was wrong, he would have pulled her up long before the finish line. By not doing so he risks his own life, the life of the animal, the life of the animals behind him, his job and hefty fines. I have seen what happens to a jockey and a horse if they breakdown in the middle of the race. The jockey will go head first into the dirt , IF, he gets clear of the riding equipment, only then to be trampled by the animals behind him. So, if her jockey knew something was wrong - don't you think he would have tried to stop her long before the finish to avoid all of this? These people (jockeys, trainers, owners)invest a lot of time in these animals - they don't want to see them hurt anymore than anyone else. To say different is ludicrous. Also, these animals are treated better than most people I know. Have any of you been to a thoroughbred barn and watched what happens? These animals are probably babied and spoiled more than any other animal in the world.
And trainers and owners have these horses x-rayed often to try and prevent something like this from happening and ensuring their bones are fully closed before racing. Why would these people invest so much time, energy and money into something only to kill it? That doesn't make any sense to me at all.
The plain and simple truth is these are very large animals running on very small leg bones. That's just the way God made them. There is no way to predict a breakdown in one. And to say that these people are doing it just to be cruel or for the money - the people saying these things need to have their heads examined or come out to the track sometime and spend time with these owners, trainers and grooms and try to understand how they feel about these animals. I think you would be surprised.
Posted by Patti_Vail_AZ on May 9, 2008 at 12:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Eight Belles' Legacy
In the wake of Eight Belles death last Saturday, many people have expressed frustration at feeling they can have little influence on preventing more racetrack deaths. For the casual fan, or the horsewoman/horseman not intimately familiar with horse racing, the huge number of racing-related groups, commissions and organizations seems like an impenetrable maze.
But there is something we can do - sign the petition supporting the Grayson-Jockey Club's Welfare and Safety for the Racehorse Summit recommendations.
Are these recommendations perfect? No, but they represent a beginning to unifying the racehorse industry community in reaching a common goal.
Are the recommendations and the Jockey Club's newly formed Thoroughbred Safety Committee slanted to favor the industry? Likely, but they are also first steps toward improving the welfare and safety of the racehorse. They are certainly more thoughtful than the reactive demands put forth by some animal "rights" groups and reflect a body of current and future research by the country's top veterinarians and academics.
By signing the Racehorse Welfare petition, we can show our support for the Summit recommendations - and the need to move forward in an expedient fashion. It also sends a message to industry stakeholders that they need to actively participate in and financially support the TB Safety Committee and Summit recommendations.
If you also spend a few minutes looking through the diverse list of industry contacts and stakeholders, you can get see why unilateral demands on the industry that don't address core issues are ineffectual, and also how important it is to support a unifying entity such as The Jockey Club to effect change. Your comments next to your signature will also provide valuable input to stakeholders.
The petition is at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Ra...
When you sign the petition, your email address will not be displayed. You may also post as "anonymous" if you wish.
Thank you for helping turn Eight Belles' tragedy into a legacy.
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