What are your thoughts on this story (horse prosthetics)

shortstuff99

shortstuff99

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I came across a facebook story today of a horse (in the USA) that after shattering a leg due to a field kick had an amputation and then a prosthetic fitted.
https://www.facebook.com/545429056374019/posts/633302007586723

I'm not sure what I feel about it, the horse seems to look happy but having known friends with prosthetics they can be uncomfortable and painful at times.

What are your thoughts?
 
considering how much weight horses put on their front legs, i'd imagine all of that weight would transfer over to the other leg
smaller animals such as dogs cats etc can usually handle an amputation but for a horse?? I think it's terrible
and it presents the whole quality vs quantity of life sort of thing, and people not knowing when to let go. I can't see any benefits for it being fitted.

its not in the horses best interests, simply
 
Yet another example of the extreme selfishness of some humans.

Too many animals kept going purely because owners cannot face up to pts because they "love" their animal ?

At the end of the day it is cruelty.

Just because you can does not mean that you should.
 
Red-1 said:
Not something I would personally do, but it must have had approval from the vets.
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Look at the televised nonsense about "saving" animals that is promoted on our mainstream TV.

Some vets clearly want to push the boundaries of what they can do & what can be done. The best interests of the animal are not he number one priority as they should be.

Edited because I forgot my actual point.

Just because something can be done, prescribed or administered by a vet I wouldn't use that as an ethical or moral compass.
 
I think its very wrong.

Someone in the comments section said that, as someone living with a prosthetic, she often felt extreme discomfort and pain and did not think it would be kind to subject an animal to this when they may not be able convey pain levels to its carers.

I agree with TPO that some of the things done to animals, particularly pets, to prolong their lives really doesn't sit well with me and is done for the owners sake or the vets ego, with little thought to the animal.
 
Red-1 said:
Not something I would personally do, but it must have had approval from the vets.
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Vets do all sorts of things that I wouldn't want for my animals!

My aunt is an 'over the knee' amputee and after the first few weeks/months of rehab opted to use a wheelchair, rather than a prosthetic, because the prosthetic was so uncomfortable. Why would you wish that on a horse?
 
Pearlsasinger said:
Vets do all sorts of things that I wouldn't want for my animals!

My aunt is an 'over the knee' amputee and after the first few weeks/months of rehab opted to use a wheelchair, rather than a prosthetic, because the prosthetic was so uncomfortable. Why would you wish that on a horse?
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I would not wish that on a horse at all!!! If you read my post that you quoted I said that I, personally, would not.

My point, obviously not clear enough, was that if it has vets approval, there will be nothing that can be done about it.

They did things to my mum that I personally would not have done too. But, as she was 'under the doctor" as well as a mental health team, social teams etc, I had little choice.
 
oh jeez, i find this kind of thing horrifying tbh.
the videos on the FB page show a horse that is coping despite the prosthesis IYSWIM, it can roll and get around but it looks like a 3 legged gait and then standing on the prosthesis rather than using it to walk around as it's a basically a solid crutch rather than having any articulation.

It's obviously a much loved horse but I couldn't do it to one of mine.
 
Red-1 said:
I would not wish that on a horse at all!!! If you read my post that you quoted I said that I, personally, would not.

My point, obviously not clear enough, was that if it has vets approval, there will be nothing that can be done about it.

They did things to my mum that I personally would not have done too. But, as she was 'under the doctor" as well as a mental health team, social teams etc, I had little choice.
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I understood that you wouldn't want it for your horse.
 
shortstuff99 said:
I'm not sure what I feel about it, the horse seems to look happy but having known friends with prosthetics they can be uncomfortable and painful at times.

What are your thoughts?
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I'm more open minded to it. The horse does look happy. Uncomfortable and painful? so are badly fitting saddles, rolkur, too tight nosebands, draw reins, pre marin mares, riders who are far too heavy, and a million and one other things that are done to horses, stabling for some, lack of rugs and shelter for some thin skinned horses standing out in the cold and wet shivering all winter with mud fever/rain scald etc.


I think that if we are to criticise this because it does look repugnant to look at then are are an awful lot more things to be condemned.
 
poiuytrewq said:
I think it’s awful. We have a friend who’s an above knee amputee. He can’t have a prosthetic so I’m not really commenting on that but he feels intense pain in his missing leg, how can they be sure that the horse isn’t suffering, they can’t
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that's the thing, horses can be such stoics, and they just get on with life because that's all they can do.
 
Rowreach said:
I always wonder how much people really do love their animals when they do this sort of thing to them.

I can't watch the supervet type programmes, they annoy me far too much.
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i think they think they love them... and probably do in their own particular way. I guess it's the difference between being emotionally attached to an animal, and having its best interests at heart, as although there's a lot of common ground they aren't really the same thing.
 
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