Euthanised because of wrongly diagnosed broken leg?

[Lostsky]

PLEASE PLEASE HELP.

Is it possible for a horse to break her leg over-night in her stable???She has always been stabled at night and is very clam, doesn't ever spook. So how could she have 'tripped, done the splits and broke her hip'? They didn't even x-ray.

I am absolutely distraught. My Mum has just contacted me to say that my 15yr old TBxID mare has had to be put down (I am currently traveling in Asia so wasn't there at the time). I am not a vet but I have been keeping horses for 15 years and have a degree in biology. I think my horse was wrongly diagnosed then euthanised.

Please take the time to read this...this is what my non-horsey mum emailed to me...

""Sky was found lying down in her stable. Her back leg was huge, four times its normal size.The vet was called as she diagnosed Cellulosis, gave antibiotic's and painkillers. As the day went on she deteriorated and began sweating heavily. The vets were called again and could not understand what was happening, no obvious symptoms apart from the huge leg which had been bandaged. She became drowsy unable to get up. The vets were called again , this time they said they were convinced she had broken her leg as it was still swelling, Sky was put up on her feet and her leg put in a splint. The vets tried other medication and sedated her, she was calm and eating. A qualified horse masseur treated her to try and help the fluid drain from her leg, it helped her. The vet tried to move Sky to hospital but she was unable to walk. They vets couldn't bring x-ray equiptment to her. The vet was a young woman about 30 she tried everything absolutely everything, finally treating her with yet more antibiotics and painkillers to try and control her heartbeat and stabilise her temperature, she asked us to wait another 4 hours as a final resort to see if she could put any weight on her leg. Sky was not in pain at this time, heavily sedated , finally when the vet returned and tried to touch her leg the result was conclusive, she had started hemorrhaging into her leg, the swelling had increased ,and was now bleeding it was broken, there was no doubt. The vet was also in tears, she had fought so hard to save her, she had lost her own horse with the same thing last year. She said she could not face seeing Sky when the painkillers wore off and ceased to work as before long this would happen. The pain would be unbearable, she could not let her suffer that way. There was no choice.

The vet finally concluded that she felt the break had been waiting to happen. The broken leg was the one with the barbed wire scar. She believed when the damage was done as a foal, she would have wrenched the muscles in her groin and probably fractured that area trying to free herself. It should have been treated at that time, but almost certainly would have been ignored as to diagnose this she would have had to be xrayed while lying on her back, few people would go to this length. As she grew older the weakness would increase, she asked if she had had any problems with her legs in recent years, of course she has. The vet believes she simply lost her balance in the stable, probably did the splits, and fractured her leg. She had not been cast , there was no damage to the stable, she feels she would have fallen on her knees.'''''''

1. Personally I think that this is ridiculous. Yes sky has a scar on her leg from when she was 3/4yr old but she has NEVER had any problems with her hips/legs since then except a bowed tendon.
2. She was fit, healthy and ridden at least 4 times a week, (just pleasure not in competition).
3.Sky had been in her stable the whole time. There was no damage to the stable or any other part of her body- how could she have 'broken' her leg?
4. How the hell could she have done 'the spilts' in her stable which had a rubber matted floor?
5. Surely there could be another cause for a swollen leg, high temperature, high blood pressure, unwilling to put any weight on it- could it have just been a dislocated hip/ torn muscle/fracture?
4. Aren't these things all treatable (she was insured).

Sorry for such a long question. But I'm absolutely heartbroken she was my best friend for the past 6years. I don't know what to do with myself. Will be flying back home on soonest flight possible.
Please give your advice, I just don't know what to do
Thankyou

 

[scally]

I am so sorry for your loss, however all you have written, yes it is very possible, the slightest fracture on a rear leg, high up is not good news at all, the vet gave her every possible chance, but at the end of the day when the heart rate, temperature, blood pressure etc get so high there is only one last act of kindness you can do for them.

I just recently led a horse in from the field, short walk but took over half an hour as on three legs, 99% sure of what the vet would find, luckily found within half an hour of having the accident and vet on site within half an hour of that he stands a very good chance of recovery, had he have been out for a couple of hours with it that way the prognosis would have been very poor to non existant. That said he has a minimum of 12 weeks cross tied, not to be moved at all and thank god he is one that has taken to this well as otherwise we would have had to seriously looked at the welfare issue. Fractures of any kind open themselves up immediately to infection from the blood stream, even worse if the blood stream is then restricted or burst due to the injury. It is also not a case of being insured or not, it is nearly impossible to move a horse to a horsepital without causing further damage to the injury, so that option is written out pretty quickly, most mobile x ray units are not powerful enough to do injuries high up so the vet has to go on the symptons the horse is showing there and then.

Have also seen one fracture its hock overnight in the stable with nothing disurbed or out of the ordinary, but too far gone to save.

Sadly, horses are horses, there is no fault these things just happen, and sadly a lot with broken legs still cannot be saved no matter how much money we have to try and save them.

Dont look for blame it will not help at all, hind leg major trauma is very hard to deal with a slight fracture, burst blood vessel would cause major suffering, be glad for the time you had, and that she didnt suffer any more than necessary and she was given every possible chance.

I am so sorry for your loss and know the pain you feel especially with unanswered questions, but your vet sounds as though she did everything humanely possible to try and save her, but at the end of the day had to put her suffering first.

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

Ah hun. My heart aches for you. What a terrible, terrible thing to happen especially when you couldn't be there to do anything.

Here's the thing though, and I'm just an ordinary horse owner. The way I see it, the stuff about the scar on your 15yr old horse's leg and it happening as a foal is all red herrings. It might be true, it probably isn't. But it doesn't have any bearing on what happened so put it out of your mind. The awful thing is that yes, any horse, any where, any time can have a terrible accident in the stable and cause itself dreadful injuries. Sadly, I've known several cases where a horse was terribly injured and no rhyme or reason was ever found. My horse Sunny was one such case.

Now to my mind, whatever had happened to your horse and however it had happened, she was clearly in extremis. It sounds as though everything that could have been tried was, but nothing was helping. Your horse started deteriorating despite massive sedation and pain relief and was decisively non weight bearing. In the later stages, it was apparent that massive bleeding into the leg was going on. The horse had been drowsy, sweating heavily and with a racing heart beat. All these symptoms hun indicate a horse in severe pain with heavy internal blood loss so bad that the heart could not pump enough blood round the body and the brain was unable to function fully. I'm so so sorry hun but this sounds to me like your girl was close to the end regardless of the final diagnosis. Your vets reluctantly took the decision to save your horse from having a long drawn out death. It's what I would have wanted if it had been my horse. I would have wanted someone to be brave enough to spare him any more pain and I would have wanted someone to cry with him as they made his end as comfortable and as dignified as possible.

If only you could have been with her hun, it might have helped a little. I bet you would have wanted the same thing if you'd been there and seen her suffering but you could have held her head and whispered in her ear how much you loved her rather than hear it all second hand. Hurry home Lostsky - did someone keep a snip of her tail for you? If not, put an old numnah folded, under your pillow so you can smell her as you sleep. The horror will lessen with time. If you believe in Rainbow Bridge, she'll be waiting for you somewhere but for now she runs free on all four legs in no pain xxxxx

 

[criso]

I'm so sorry to hear about your horse.

A couple of years ago, we think mine did the splits in the stable and when I got there was standing on 3 legs unable to move. The vet examined and could feel any movement but given the degree of lameness couldn't rule out a break in the hip. Gave him painkillers and we cross tied him overnight. There was a large haematoma on the inside of his thigh.

Next day a little better and we able to box him up to the vets college. They xrayed as far up as they could but explained that it is not possible to xray high enough to check the hip so they kept him under observation for a couple of days cross tied.

They said they x ray as if it was a hairline fracture it might travel down and if he didn't improve they would re xray to compare.
Luckily he improved really quickly so they decided it wasn't a break but the seriousness with which they treated it, suggests this is not unknown.

It must be doubly awful not being there but it sounds like they did all they could and made sure she didn't suffer.

 

[quirky]

Sorry for your loss and yes, a horse can break their leg in the stable.

Happened to one on our yard.
Like yours, the vet couldn't be sure it was broken but the horse couldn't move and his heart rate was indicating shock.
He was put down, only then when they had a good feel around did they feel the bones grating.

Very, very sad for all involved.

It sounds like everything was done for your mare that could be done. Remember the good times you had with her.

 

[loz9]

sorry to read of your loss RIP Sky & hugs for you! xx

Sadly I lost a horse last year to a dislocated hip in the stable. Obviously we are unsure as to the exact events, but as your horse was he was calm & relaxed in his stable. He had never had any issues previously, even laying down/getting up & he was a huge 17.2 hunter with athritis. Our initial thoughts with him was an absess as he was standing but in a huge amount of pain, but no swelling anywhere. The vet was called, who also thought absess, but on further examination you could swing his hind leg in pretty much any direction & hear the bone grinding together. Sadly there was nothing that could be done for him & we had him pts.

And re some of your other points, Burt was also in regualr work, had rubber matting in his stable & no damage to it. To look over the door you honestly wouldnt have thought anything was wrong with him. Sadly horses have freak accidents, I think it comes with them.

It must have been awful not to have been with her at the time to say goodbye, but as above has been said remember the good times, dont dwell on her passing.

 

[cptrayes]

I am so sorry for how bad you feel. I have had a horse which we did x-ray who chipped a large piece out of her cannon bone while overnight in a stable bedded wall to wall with 2 feet deep straw. I hope knowing this makes you more settled about your mare.

 

[hobo]

So sorry for your loss and that you were not there at the end. Reading through it sounds very like when my loan horse broke his leg he woke suddendly from a sleep spooked forward and leg broke . The pain he was in was totally differant to any other thing I,ve seen in any of my horses. The vet sounds like she did everything right if you had been there you may have said to take her pain away quicker, they would have been very aware that you were not there. This will take a long time to get over but you will come to terms with it and just remember the good times.

 

[Birker2020]

I know of two horses with broken limbs in their stables, both shoulders as it happens. The first one was a friends horse who came in from the field slightly lame with a minute cut to the shoulder. She put him in the stable and went home. She went back to the yard the next morning to find her horse in agony on the floor, blood everywhere with a compound fracture to the shoulder. SHe thinks he went down, and when rising it broke. It must have been fractured before. The second horse was an old boy who on being walked out of his stable one morning to be turned out was hopping lame. Vet diagnosed broken shoulder (no xrays) and he was humanely destroyed.

I feel so sorry for your loss. I was told once about my horse who needed to be put down over the phone and it is a very traumatic event. Please have your memories of your mare in good times and think only of those x

 

[Booboos]

Hon, don't do this to yourself! It sounds like poor Sky was very poorly and everyone tried their best but it wasn't to be. I am really, really sorry for your loss. If you can, try to remember the good times you had together...

 

[AmyMay]

It sounds like everything that could be done for your horse was done.

Horses can do some terrible damage to themselves in seemingly 'safe' environments.

RIP Sky.

 

[Kenzo]

So very sorry to hear this terrible new, but from what you have put, it really does sound like the vet did as much as she could and that she had infact broken her leg, I don't think it would of been fair to carry on, of course there is always doubt and un answered questions, specially when your not there and god onlys knows how she did it.

Does honestly sound like the vet did what she could, although a hard decison it does sound like your vet made the best one.

(((hugs)))

 

[brighteyes]

I, too, have no doubt the vet was acting in the horse's best interest and not at all, from what you have said, on a spur of the moment decision.

She was deteriorating, her condition wasn't able to be stabilised with any degree of certainty and it sounds to me like they didn't take just a quick look and decide she wasn't worth the effort.

I also think you are feeling the effect of your absence and distance from the situation, which is adding to your panic.

In my experience, insurance would guarantee some degree of effort on the vet's part, but not if the prognosis was hopeless and the animal beginning to suffer.

Speak at length to the vet when you get home, but listen carefully to everything they have to say and don't let your emotion make you judge before you have heard them out.

Sorry for your loss - remember the good times and feel compassion for the vet who had to make the call on both your behalves, and the distress she felt.

 

[Sanolly]

Sorry for your loss hun *hugs*

 

[Happy Horse]

Sadly it is very possible. The only way to diagnose a fractured hip conclusively is by Xray under GA and as she was unable to travel and clearly in distress it does sound like the kindest decision was made.

As to what you should do, I would urge you to carry on with your plans. Coming home early won't change anything but I am sure you will be strong enough to keep going and travelling is such a valuable experience. Remember the good times you had with Sky.

 

[Janette]

There is nothing I can say except, I'm so sorry that all of you went through this horrific experience.
Remember the good times.

 

[alfiesmum]

unfortuantely this can happen, i found a livery last year with a broken hind leg which had come right through-it was and still is the most horrific thing i have ever had to deal with.
my thoughts are with you xx

 

[spaniel]

I too have had the same experience Alfiesmum and it stays with you for a long time I can assure you.

OP Im so sorry to hear of the loss of Sky but it does sound as though the vet did her very best and the right decision was made for your horse.

 

[Wishful]

It might be better to think that she was euthanised because she was in severe pain, and there was no way this pain could be eased or stopped, so she was euthanised to stop her from suffering any more.

Although the reason for the pain may not have been ascertained for certain, the amount of distress she was in had to lead to her being euthanised. Vets have a primary duty (like the hippocratic oath) to preserving the welfare of the animals they treat. In that situation, the best welfare outcome had to be for her suffering to end.

Horses can't tolerate immobilisation, and really struggle if non weight bearing on a limb for any length of time. If they lie down for too long, they have digestive problems, and severe injury to one limb tends to lead to laminitis on other feet.

Sadly, there are often times when nothing can be done. Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby winner a few year ago broke a leg (admittedly lower down). The leg was pinned and plated, every possible care was taken, but they still couldn't save him (and they would have spent hundreds or thousands on him given his stud value. In hindsight, it would probably have been easier for him to be pts after the injury, but hindsight is like that...

 

[Orangehorse]

Very sorry to hear this. I have also heard of a horse doing the splits and breaking their pelvis (and it was on rubber matting). The first diagnosis from the vet was a foot problem, but the owner insisted that it was more serious and the PM confirmed the break.

Very, very sorry for your loss.