Amazing 3 legged pony in the US

in the wild the pony would have died.

to me pts would have been a kinder option rather than make it into a story (££) and the poor pony will never lead a normal life.
 
noodle_ said:
in the wild the pony would have died.

to me pts would have been a kinder option rather than make it into a story (££) and the poor pony will never lead a normal life.
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Initially I was gonna agree but then I thought who are we to judge whether the pony's life is ruined, she has adapted her behavior to accommodate the leg and she has a loving caring owner prepared to put the time into her. Given all that i think she has every right to a life.

Should we put down all disabled people if we deem their life difficult, can you imagine the outcry. a life is sacred IMV no matter whose it is.
 
This was posted quite a while back when they first did the op, which raised many of the same questions and opinions. This article has more updated pictures of the pony. She seems to be doing very well to be honest!

Everybody argued about this the last time around, let's hope it doesn't happen again!
 
BBH mabey so.... but i just think its messing too much with nature.... i honestly stand by the "just because you can fix it shouldnt mean you should" thing.

but i wont turn it into a debated and leave it at that.
 
noodle_ said:
BBH mabey so.... but i just think its messing too much with nature.... i honestly stand by the "just because you can fix it shouldnt mean you should" thing.
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Agree.

MagicMelon said:
So... I guess we shouldn't treat people then by your logic? If someone lost a leg, they'd die without intervention...!
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What a totally stupid thing to say. There's no comparison between a human and an animal built like a horse which is not anatomically built to withstand with the loss of a limb. I wish people would stop using human feelings and their ability to cope with such traumas as a mirror to those of animals, it's totally stupid and in many cases only done for their own benefit with not a thought to what the animal is going through. Whether you like it or not, the natural instincts/reactions and capabilities to cope of an animal with a limb defect should be taken into consideration before anything else and if it's not natural to the species it shouldn't be done in all fairness to it.
 
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I think it is cruel. What happens if she's out and goes down? It's putting stress on all of her other limbs... something that any horse owner knows is bad.

Just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should.
 
Maesfen said:
Agree.



There's no comparison between a human and an animal built like a horse which is not anatomically built to withstand with the loss of a limb. I wish people would stop using human feelings and their ability to cope with such traumas as a mirror to those of animals, it's totally stupid and in many cases only done for their own benefit with not a thought to what the animal is going through. Whether you like it or not, the natural instincts/reactions and capabilities to cope of an animal with a limb defect should be taken into consideration before anything else and if it's not natural to the species it shouldn't be done in all fairness to it.
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very well said.
 
Before i read the article i felt kind of sick about it, but she does genuinely look ok.

Surely if she asks for it to be taken off then it cannot be comfortable? if it is taken off how does she manage? she must surely just have to lie their until someone comes back to put it on?

Is she ever able to run around like canter about in the field like a normal horse? what if she spooks suddenly surely it could cause her a damage and if someones not their when it happens?? It still really does not seem quite right to me unfortunately if this happened to my horse i would without question pts.
 
I'm on the fence with this, the mare looks fairly happy but can see the down sides to it. I probably would have PTS as I wouldn't have wanted to see any suffering but I know plenty people who don't feel the same.

noodle_ said:
BBH mabey so.... but i just think its messing too much with nature.... i honestly stand by the "just because you can fix it shouldnt mean you should" thing.

but i wont turn it into a debated and leave it at that.
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I agree with this, but sometimes I think its good to mess with nature like a colic operation etc. As long as the animal doesn't have to suffer for, in some cases, the owners selfishness.
 
Personally, I would not put a horse though that, nor a colic op for that matter.

You cannot compare disabled horses to disabled people. After all, there are plenty of perfectly able bodied people who are more than happy to sit on their arses all day every day!
 
Maesfen said:
What a totally stupid thing to say. There's no comparison between a human and an animal built like a horse which is not anatomically built to withstand with the loss of a limb. I wish people would stop using human feelings and their ability to cope with such traumas as a mirror to those of animals, it's totally stupid and in many cases only done for their own benefit with not a thought to what the animal is going through. Whether you like it or not, the natural instincts/reactions and capabilities to cope of an animal with a limb defect should be taken into consideration before anything else and if it's not natural to the species it shouldn't be done in all fairness to it.
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What's the problem?! The horse looks pretty ok to be honest. I inititally thought it sounded awful, but it looks happy enough. You know as a horse owner, that a horse makes it pretty clear when its unhappy / in pain. Why cant a horse "anatomically" withstand the loss of a limb?! Its no worse than a cat or dog living on 3 legs which many do extremely well. Its absolutely ridiculous for you to say that if its not natural to a species then it shouldn't be done - then how can you agree with ANY veterinary intervention?!?!
 
I do think its quite different for a horse compared to a dog or cat mainly just because of the sheer weight of a horse, and i would now worry for the remaining leg and how it will withstand the pressure being put on it.
 
Having read the whole article, it sounds like they didn't choose to do this lightly, and the pony looks pretty happy. She tells them when she wants the artificial support on or off, and copes very well. A horse would soon go downhill if not happy. We have been amputating dogs and cats legs for years, and they genuinely seem to cope with no problems. Yes there will be more pressure on the 3 full limbs when the artificial one isn't used, but if this horse is happy enough and copes for even a few more years, who is to say it is wrong? Horses can give up, stop eating and drinking if they are unhappy or in pain, but this doesn't appear to be the case here.
Most animals fight on, and even in the wild, if a horse's leg is injured and they can no longer put weight on it, they continue to graze with the herd for as long as they can. Animals adapt, as do humans.
Humans probably think about things more, and so get depressed when, say, they lose a limb, whereas animals just get on with it.

I have a friend who was young fit and healthy, then had an accident and is now paraplegic. His best friend bought a bag to his bedside, which my friend knew had a gun in it, in case he decided he didn't want to carry on. But that made him determined to make the most of his life, even though it was very different and much harder than the one he wanted.

We tend to think "OMG if that happened to me I wouldn't want to live" but animals don't analyse things like that and most humans want to live when they find themselves in those circumstances.

As the article said, this pony is one in a million and it is purely because of her temperament and how she coped that they even considered doing what they did. They know her best.
 
This sort of procedure will never become the norm. The fact that the pony showed the ability to cope with the original problem was the only reason she was put through such an operation. Personally I think it's great that the little mare was given a chance and why not. She obviously has the greatest of care from the owners and vets. There are remarkable animals in this world just like there are humans who deserve just as much a chance at life as the rest of us.
 
MagicMelon said:
So... I guess we shouldn't treat people then by your logic? If someone lost a leg, they'd die without intervention...!
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you can never compare a person to a horse. ever.

because the difference being people can speak. horses cant. people can tell you what hurts/what dosent and they can adapt

horses have to put up with what we do to them whether the like it or not.
 
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