Horse gets artificial leg!! WTF was they thinking?

I guess the human that owns him thought she deserved life, and if she can manage as she is, I don't see what the huge problem is.

If the horse has got a fairly decent standard of living, then that's fine surely?
 
DragonSlayer said:
I guess the human that owns him thought he deserved life, and if he can manage as he is, I don't see what the huge problem is.

If the horse has got a fairly decent standard of living, then that's fine surely?
Click to expand...

This, why not give it a second chance in life? As long as he is not suffering, there is not problem. :)
 
I hadn't seen that particular one but there have been a few over the years. Not something I would put a horse of mine through, having seen how the others ended up. It doesn't seem to be a long term viable option.

On a similar note, I found this on youtube recently

[YOUTUBE]mF6nudVI2bM[/YOUTUBE]

Just shows the phenomenon of 'rescuing' a horse only to ask for public donations is not restricted to the UK :rolleyes: :mad: :(
 
It hasn't though, if you read the story it has had a whole load of complications, and after about a years worth of treatment it has been PTS, surely this prostethic wasn't done in the horses best interests! but the owner not being able to make the final act of kindness any owner has to make, just because science has made it possable dosen't make it kind! IMO!
 
Look at the stance-look at the method of application, that posture smacks of horse bumbling along because life is a bit **** and the only way they can deal with it is to shut down a bit (I have seen a few other pics of this horse-it looks like that in all of them). Sorry-not a suitable treatment for a horse imo until you can get it to the stage of actual prosthesis i.e implanted into bone so it isn't being changed daily/causing bandage rubs.
 
Im sorry, as much as I would love to agree with trying to save the life of this horse by whatever means, it really sits uncomfortably with me.
Human amputees have enough struggles coping, cats & dogs manage fine, the anatomy of a horse screams NO.
Whats worse is the statement about the poor animal being able to take a rider ???
 
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6qkjh_prosthesis-could-spare-some-horses_animals

A video-note the extremely unusual hind limb gait-can't be good for the rest of the body.
If you look at the link posted above to best friends animal sanctuary you will see that this horse suffered a LOT. Multiple episodes of being unable to get up and down, of lying down for prolonged periods. prolonged periods in a sling, bandage rubs etc. Not exactly a life for a horse.
 
SusieT said:
A video-note the extremely unusual hind limb gait-can't be good for the rest of the body.
If you look at the link posted above to best friends animal sanctuary you will see that this horse suffered a LOT. Multiple episodes of being unable to get up and down, of lying down for prolonged periods. prolonged periods in a sling, bandage rubs etc. Not exactly a life for a horse.
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Also makes you wonder how many other horses could have been saved/helped with the money - although am guessing the overload of publicity would have brought in plenty of donations :cool:
 
I think the vet has a lot to answer fo rhere... If you research her there is nothing about her on the net which begs the question was she experienced to be carrying out this procedure really?!
 
Can you imagine the amount of strain that it's putting on that joint, and only supported by a rod of metal? It might be a viable option for humans, but surely the weight distribution is such in a horse that it would be impossibly painful, and the quality of life that they are going to have is definitely questionable.
 
I's not a procedure that'll automatically be suitable for all... But it seems to have some positive results for some...

Telegraph - Midnite

CBS - Molly

Maybe they won't live to be geriatric horses and they aren't of course, 18h draft horses that have massive weight bearing implications... But they gained some extra time that appears to have a good enough quality to be a considered option against being dead...
 
Its a really interesting debate and I can see both sides of the argument. However since starting my new job where I work with people with disabilities (ranging from downes syndrome to extremely complex disorders where individuals are bed bound with massive physiological complications) I see that even though some individuals may look like they couldnt possibly have any type of life actually do get enjoyment in life if given the correct care and this may apply to animals too. However I do not agree with a horse such as the one in the OP being ridden just as disabled humans do not need to work (in some cases)
 
QUICKFIRE said:
It hasn't though, if you read the story it has had a whole load of complications, and after about a years worth of treatment it has been PTS, surely this prostethic wasn't done in the horses best interests! but the owner not being able to make the final act of kindness any owner has to make, just because science has made it possable dosen't make it kind! IMO!
Click to expand...

I agree completely.
I had a long discussion about this with an uncle of mine who is a vet. He says that for a horse, a FLIGHT animal, to be fitted with a prosthetic limb is cruel; they are not able to trot, or canter and certainly not carry a rider (whose idiot idea, if true, was it to put someone on board??)
I would never do it to one of mine.
 
Outcomes from many surgeries that most of us accept (e.g. human heart transplants http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_transplantation#Prognosis) aren't great but have improved significantly over time.

Given the option some people risk invasive but life-saving surgeries to give them a chance of extended life span and others choose to die with what they feel may be a greater quality of life.

I see no reason to assume that horses would be any different if they could understand the choice with the exception that they aren't in the position to make that risk assessment or vocalise a preference.

So, we have to make the choice for them. And, with adequate pain relief, I'm prepared to accept that someone/horse has to be the first recipient of any pioneering surgery.

Realistically outcome for this horse may not have been great but then first heart transplant patient only lived 18 days!
 
PapaFrita said:
I agree completely.
I had a long discussion about this with an uncle of mine who is a vet. He says that for a horse, a FLIGHT animal, to be fitted with a prosthetic limb is cruel; they are not able to trot, or canter and certainly not carry a rider (whose idiot idea, if true, was it to put someone on board??)
I would never do it to one of mine.
Click to expand...

Midnight, granted he's a mini horse and he needed a replacement 'foot' so to speak rather than a partial/full limb, manages to bazz around quite well... The riding bit, yep, just a ludicrous idea...

I think though, if being able to trot and canter is the measure of a good quality of life for a horse, there's a good few (myself included) who'd need to rethink their opinions regarding the injured, field ornaments and elderly beasties...
 
I'm all for not putting down a horse if they can have a quality of life.. Put my boy through arthrodesis for ringbone..but only because he had a 95% success rate and could go back to being a normal horse.. But don't like the idea of this fake limb and that utube video rhino posted has literally turned my stomach!!
 
God Rhino, that video makes Jazzy look sound ;) :p

It's barbaric keeping a horse with those type of issues. Granted the horse itself doesn't know any better but it can't be comfortable, and I'm willing to bet its in pain. The way that the "good" forelimb is , it's no wonder it's so bum-high.

Such a shame some people have no consideration for the horse involved, and are just thinking of how they can make them some money, or the headlines :(
 
rhino said:
I hadn't seen that particular one but there have been a few over the years. Not something I would put a horse of mine through, having seen how the others ended up. It doesn't seem to be a long term viable option.

On a similar note, I found this on youtube recently

[YOUTUBE]mF6nudVI2bM[/YOUTUBE]

Just shows the phenomenon of 'rescuing' a horse only to ask for public donations is not restricted to the UK :rolleyes: :mad: :(
Click to expand...

This is heartbreaking :(
 
DragonSlayer said:
I guess the human that owns him thought she deserved life, and if she can manage as she is, I don't see what the huge problem is.

If the horse has got a fairly decent standard of living, then that's fine surely?
Click to expand...
Four years this poor thing has suffered, and how is he going to have a normal life, gallops are out, and playing with his friends, are out, it just shows how cruel owners can be, not to mention vets.
 
Things like this just make me see red. How selfishly stupid are people to prolong the suffering of an animal for their own benefits? How can a rescue (of all places) possibly think that doing such an irresponsible thing is in the horse's best interest? They should be completely ashamed at the unnecessary suffering that they inflicted on this poor animal.

As for that video, it's just beyond comprehension. Don't horses carry around 70% of their weight on their front legs? The strain that remaining leg is under would be unthinkable. We all know how horses can tolerate and hide pain and that poor animal must be in imaginable pain. I can't imagine it lived much longer after that video was taken.
 
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