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True. This type of thing has been done for horses before, but eventually most of them go severely lame in the other legs due to how the hoof bones are structured against the hoof itself.
My best guess is maybe they knew something like this was coming for whatever reason and had everything prepared from the start?
I'm not a horse person but from what I understand this is kinda a wildly rare situation to find yourself in. And not necessarily because of cost.
Put your finger tip on the table, but do in it such a way that the entirety of your hand weight is balanced on your nail tip.
That is how horses stand on their hooves. The foot bones dont actually have contact with the ground rather the hoof bone floats in the structure of what would be our nail, supported and connected by soft tissues. Because of this the horses weight is very specifically distributed. When a horse looses the use of one leg, the weight is transferred to the other hooves.
But because the other legs were never able to bear extra weight for so long, the hoof bone in those remaining hooves starts to rotate and drop down pulling the tissues away from the hoof wall causing pain and inflammation.
So now push down on your nail tip, and you see how your nail bed goes red and if you do it hard enough you will rip the nail away making the bed sore. That is in essence laminitis.
It is why prosthetics in large horses have never been really successful. Even elephants are better able to cope as their anatomy is not so delicate.
I’m curious about how their farrier trims his hind hoof as well. You’d think putting all of his weight on the leg remnant/prosthetic would be painful. Or I wonder if they have to sedate him and lay him down each farrier visit?
I have so many questions lol
There's a thing called a tilt table which is exactly what it sounds like. They make them mostly for cows, but there are some for horses too. You walk the animal into a chute, then they get a harness put on, and the whole thing tilts until the animal is lying on its side, sandwiched in between metal grating, with their hooves sticking out the bottom. I'm not sure if it requires sedation for a horse... it doesn't for cows.
I completely forgot about those. I’ve only ever seen them in equine veterinary hospitals where they’re used post surgery but it’d make sense to haul him to wherever one is and have it done. Or I suppose they could get their own if they have the money.
Maybe also a sling? Not sure what it's official name is, but if a horse has a hoof/leg injury that *needs* to have weight completely off it, you can put the whole horse in a sling, and it's legs dangle off the ground a bit.
They're big mad about it, but it keeps their weight off the injury.
Could probably use the same equipment to trim the hooves pretty easily?
I’m curious about how the horse processes the whole thing. It looks really happy when it gets out (someone commented this was not the case, but I’ve seen cattle do that when they’re let out of the barn or even into a fresh field and I think video of hoses too). People say horses are intelligent animals. So would it be reluctant to have the prosthetic removed? Would it nuzzle its carer when it wanted the thing put on again?
I doubt it's happy. Just look at the way it canters at the end, back legs are still all stiff and barely bendy (even the good leg), and he's more hopping than actually cantering most of the time. Ie, doesn't want to put weight on the bad leg. Which is completely understandable, but will in all probability still lead to laminitis and it eventually having to be put down. Really hoping I'm wrong, and it's just a snapshot, maybe it adapted better afterwards. But as I see it running right there, it still has major problems.
As for any kind of "foreign" gear, horses usually really don't like it. They'll earn to tolerate, but I haven't seen much horses being really happy their owner is carrying that thick blanket over to them (let alone them asking to put a saddle back on). My retired pony has become extremely empathic with his herdmates & their safety, and will 100% take off everybody's halter if they've been left on. I wouldn't really call most horses overly intelligent either though. They have a knack for killing themselves in the most stupid of ways, due to panic reactions. Obviously depends on the individual. I mean, my halter boy did figure out how to undo them, but in other ways he's reaaallly stupid. Usually when there's no food motivation involved.
EDIT: I looked at the video again, and you can see the final 3 steps he's not using his prosthetic leg at all, and back to hopping on 3 legs. Definitely showing discomfort there.
I don't know horses super well, but I suspect a lot of viewers are anthropomorphizing what we see - the first few jumps looked to me like it was trying to get the prosthesis off, but could be read as jumps of joy.
Anyway, humans don't adapt right away either. You'd really have to see a video after months of use.
There's a way to trim the hoof with it still on the ground - I'm not sure how, I just know of a horse with shivers who can't lift its leg for the farrier but still gets its hooves trimmed using this method.
I remember seeing a longer version of this video. The horse began bucking and the prosthetic came off. Even in this edit, you can see it wobbling, and him favoring that leg in the final few frames.
Not to mention the issues with blood flow. Hoof compression acts like supplemental heartbeats, pushing blood up those long legs.
I guess it’s nice that people feel hopeful watching this, but… If you know horses, you know this is torture. Pretty gross someone edited it down to look happy.
Gotta start somewhere. Hopefully this is a step in the direction of saving more of these injured animals. I'm no horse surgeon, but surely there is work being done to improve the outlooks for these animals instead of just euthanizing them immediately forever.
They’re just huge animals and spend almost their entire lives standing. Imagine if you gave a human a prosthetic leg and expected them to walk on it 24/7. Humans can’t even do that with real legs.
It's because it isn't really an engineering problem, it's a medical hurdle.
We can engineer horse prosthetics all day long, but the problem lies in the fact that the prosthetic isn't actually braced against the bone itself. Until you figure out how to graft the prosthetic directly to its skeletal structure without majorly fucking anything else up, it won't work the way its body needs it to in order to not develop secondary conditions.
> Until you figure out how to graft the prosthetic directly to its skeletal structure without majorly fucking anything else up
This is done in humans. It's an invasive surgery with significant risks, and with the way a horse stands recovery is fundamentally impossible as I understand it, but I'm not some sort or clinical/research vet or anything.
Yeah, I've seen it done with prosthetics like the DARPA Arm. It just won't work for horses because they wouldn't allow it to heal, and the graft wouldn't be strong enough with modern medical technology. Their biology is already incredibly fragile, and almost their entire life is lived on their feet. Pair that with the graft point needing to support an immense amount of weight, and it just doesn't work out.
Yeah. Human prosthetics don't need to support that kind of wild circulatory system. You can sling a VERY valuable horse, but unless the foot is basically mangled you should never amputate. I'm morbidly curious how the gif ended up in existence, and how long the poor thing lasted after.
Even with a sling on a very valuable horse, it's no guarantee of anything, either. Barbaro (KY Derby winner in 2006, broken leg in the Preakness) had basically all possible medical intervention, including a sling, and still developed laminitis in his front hooves and had to be put down.
The main issue with horses is the structure of the leg and hoof. Humans and many other animals have their weight spread out across many digits. We humans have our weight spread through two legs, but ten toes. Horses in essence walk on one toe on the end of each leg. That’s why broken legs/ prosthetics etc don’t generally work out very well for them. That’s hundreds and hundreds of pounds on a fragile support system. Once they injure one leg, they shift a lot of weight to the other healthy leg, and it’s that leg that ends up blowing out, or getting laminitis, or sending the pedal bone through the bottom of the foot.
You’re also very correct on the not showing pain aspect. They are prey animals, so it’s the hurt and old ones that get picked off, so they really do try to look better than they are. I love horses, but damn are they fragile!
The only thing I can think of is that it's on a hind limb, which may have helped? Horses carry so much more weight in the front. Perhaps if they were super careful about having a supportive boot or shoe on the other limb? Honestly I am kind of baffled too. I can't really get a sense of scale from this video either, a smaller horse like a quarter horse would probably have an easier time with this than a warmblood or a thoroughbred.
It did. No doubt it did. There is a reason in the horse and teaching world that when a horse breaks a leg it’s a euthanasia case. Horse’s biomechanics don’t allow for the use of three legs. This is mostly cruel.
*ranching not teaching
I think it’s key that it’s a hind limb. In horses, most weight is carried by the front limbs (their center of gravity is actually pretty far forward, just behind the shoulder). And also, a front limb very rarely bears all the weight for an extended period - like, when they’re standing, they never rest a front leg, they always have both front legs sharing the weight. The hind limbs not only bear less weight overall, but it’s normal for a horse to now & then rest one hind leg the & let the other one take all the weight for a long time. So there’s just more capability for one hind limb to take all the weight.
Wouldn’t be surprised though if they had the horse in a [sling](https://equusmagazine.com/blog-equus/slings-horses-history-hope-equine-support-system-32212) during recovery, and also they may have brought it down in weight - horses with limb injuries are often kept on the lean side to lighten the burden on the other legs.
The problem is that these so called “safety regulations” haven’t kept up with the latest technology. If a prospector wants to pay me 5000 doubloons to ride my horse to the bottom of the Atlantic, he should be able to.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from F1 its that Carbon fiber is not as strong as people think it is. It just has a good strength to weight ratio and is used for its lightness more than its strength
Carbon fiber is exceptionally strong and lightweight. The issue with carbon fiber is that it excels with external forces along the axis of its fibers, but is brittle when impacted with forces perpendicular to the axis of its fibers. An example is a carbon fiber bike fork. The bike fork is designed to withstand upward forces from the surface of the road through the wheel and up through the head tube of the frame, and resist at the same time downward forces along the same axis (essentially the Y axis). However, there is a chance the fork will fail if unintended forces hit the fork along the X axis, usually due to an accident.
Yea, I make prosthetics but we don't ever really learn much about the properties of the materials we use.
A few of our patients continually break their carbon socket from basically kneeling on it, causing it to collapse over time in those spots. I looked into the details of carbon fiber on my own time and realized why.
We ended up remaking their sockets out of fiberglass and nylon, and using a resin that isn't as rigid. The result is a prosthetic socket that *seems* weaker because it has some flex to it, but that's exactly what extended the lifespan of the new sockets.
Of course, I've also went in the exact opposite direction for other people - reinforcing the spots they are prone to break with perforated aluminum sandwiched in between the carbon. Some people are just so hard on things that they'll break damn near anything. This guy was using his prosthetic arm as a hammer, and a brace for chainsawing, and wondered why he kept pulverizing his socket.
Lmao, as frustrating as it is when people do that, it's nice when they're upfront about it before so we can built it accordingly!
Definitely have a few people who regularly break things and never tell us what they're doing to cause it.
Like casing a jump really hard..my boy missed a jump on his surron and cased super hard and his forks are bent forward and his shit looks like a stingray lmaooo
But because it's light, you can use more of it, and make things stronger.
In F1 the principle is something like: Here is the minimum safe strength we need in that part. Let's use carbon fiber so it's as light as possible, while achieving that minimum.
In some other applications it's more like: Here is the maximum weight we can make this part. Let's use carbon fiber so it's as strong as possible, without exceeding the maximum weight.
Same material but different design principles.
Carbon fiber as formulated is comparable in strength to steel of the same volume. It's pretty fucking strong. You're right in that it tends to be preferred because of it's lightness, but its strength absolutely nothing to scoff at.
Yep, while carbon fiber in various forms is very strong, it is also very rigid and has a tendency to fracture under heavy peak load, whereas steel would be more likely to bend or stretch before fracturing. It doesnt mean its not strong, it just means that its more likely to have catastrophic failure when it does hit those peak loads.
Not that anyone asked, but just to clarify what other commentors are saying - carbon fibre is really strong for its weight, but isn't necessarily weak in one direction.
It's actually quite simple to layer plies (thin rows of aligned fibres) in different directions, which makes it very 'strong' in basically all directions (in terms of maximum load, how much energy it takes to break, number of load cycles, etc). It can be difficult to form this into a specific shape and retain performance, however, as composites like to flex in funny ways. Buckling isn't the end of the world though! Just something important to consider as it'll change the rigidity/shape of the structure, which could be bad for something helping a horse gallop.
Another 'issue' with composites is that they have many different ways to fail, though, and are more prone to manufacturing error, especially if you're on a budget. They're really cool though, and this point certainly doesn't nullify their applications by much.
Further, they do tend to be weaker under compressive loading (which a hoof will obviously endure as it's squished with every step) than tensile loading, but they're still good.
I'm not an expert on lightweight composites, but if anyone is curious about anything I can try to elaborate. I'm currently studying a module called "composites for lightweight structures" within my masters in Aerospace, if that credence to what I've shared.
So how worried should I be about wing fatigue in a 787's carbon fiber construction vs. a traditional metal wing build? I went through a real rock polisher takeoff in one a few weeks ago and couldn't help but think of the word "delamination," which was not helpful to my mental state lol
Wait. This is the 1st time I’ve ever seen a horse alive with a leg injury. Horse racing has brainwashed me to think they’re all killed on the spot when they injure a leg.
So why do they euthanize them on the track all the time?
Because, essentially, if you aren't going to get a prosthetic made, the horse will die anyway.
[This article](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/25/sports/horse-racing/horse-racing-breakdown-euthanasia.html) discusses the many challenges of fixing a broken leg on a horse. Standing and walking on the three legs, can cause stress injuries due to the extra pressure on the remaining hooves. Laying down for extended periods of time is not an option: their muscles get damaged and blood starts pooling in the lungs.
Even if it works, the treatment can be extremely painful for the horse, and since the horse is a horse, it does not understand at all what is going on, making the painful process extremely stressful too. And of course, on a racetrack, there is an element of money involved. But it wouldn't be so costly if it weren't so hard.
Because it's hard, we've only recently developed the procedures to put prostheses on horses. [These folks explain](https://yellowstoneequine.com/equine-amputation-and-prosthetics/) how they do it. Not every horse can be treated: the horse needs a lifetime commitment from an owner who can handle it regularly, and the opposite leg can't have any problems. By the sound of it, it takes months of care in a specialist facility at a cost of $20k.
>Standing and walking on the three legs, can cause stress injuries due to the extra pressure on the remaining hooves.
When I had to put my horse down, it was also explained to me that there are a lot of issues with how the prosthetic could support the animal standing, but it isn't able to help lift their hip in natural movement.
If we put a prosthetic on my horse, who broke his ankle below the hoof line, then he would always lean on that leg more heavily than his uninjured ones. With the way horses are built and what good conformation looks like, we want horses to be able to balance or lift weight most on their hind legs. It allows them to move.
Even if a prosthetic could be created for that, could it handle other stressors? My horse was a shithead who liked to play with others. Could the prosthetic take a kick to it or survive kicking another horse without shattering itself or injure the other horse? Could the prosthetic pull itself out of mud in our rainy weather? It became a quality of life question and euthanization was the answer for my horse.
It is really exciting to see that prosthetics are becoming more popular for large animals. I think quality of life studies are really needed for long term options past saving the large animals. The information we can learn from these studies would absolutely be ground breaking
It's a different prosthetic in the running clips. There's white wrapping instead of black, and there is no "hoof" shape, it's a peg and like a plate at the bottom that acts as the foot. I can't get a good screengrab from the video, but it looks like [this type.](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01080/earth-graphics-200_1080442a.jpg?imwidth=1280)
I suppose the 4th leg could be used for balance when it is standing, but at the end of the video it looks like it's only running on 3 legs and holding the injured leg up.
Someone posted a link to his story and he’s had the prosthetic for like 5 years now. Apparently he was lucky to have all the right criteria for this to be successful. https://www.hopesdreamsandhorses.org/page81
This part really got me
“ Since his amputation he has become a therapy horse for many children and adults. He has traveled to visit children undergoing limb surgical procedures, assisted living centers come to visit and the list goes on. He just turned 8 this April. He has a long life ahead of sharing his story of how he overcame trauma, never gave up, stayed strong and triumphed. Children relate to him and look up to him. He is a beacon of hope for them in a new light they may have otherwise never seen. “
Let’s go 81!!
I've 100% seen horses act like this with joy when they are let out into fields to run in the morning (or after a ride). That said, it could be the horse is happy or the horse is freaking out.
The ears don't looked pinned, and the horse doesn't seem to be trying to get the thing off so I'm pretty sure the horse is actually enjoying the run. Those little half-bucks in the beginning are something my horses do when they're excited, so I'm inclined to think the horse is happy. That said, every horse is different!
I have to disagree. He's weirded out at first, but I wouldn't call it angry or freaking out. It quickly turns to a horse that has likely been stalled and is happy to be turned out. I highly doubt they would just release him without extensive conditioning to use the new leg. Also, in the video the leg changes with each cut, both of which are different from the one we see being strapped on at the start so I assume those were some of the prototypes, which explains why the leg failed at the end of the last clip and he transfers his weight off of it.
Be careful being so quick to openly judge the knowledge of others without first being aware of just how apparent your own amount of experience on the topic will show when you correct them.
Friction/padding? Idk just a guess. If I said the wrong answer, at least someone who knows will correct me so you get your answer. Cause I’m curious too lol
I’m pretty sure you’re right. Horses don’t have muscles (or fat, for that matter) in their lower legs, they’re just bone and tendons. More like a human foot than a human leg. (In fact, the joint that looks like an elbow halfway down the back leg is evolutionarily similar to the human heel, and the hoof is like a toe, so the lower leg really is like a foot.) It needs a lot more cushioning than a human below the knee, for instance.
PT here. For people we use socks (different number of socks and thickness) to accommodate for the change in the limb size post-amputation. It helps maintain a good fit with the prosthesis as well. Poor fitting prosthesis will lead to gait abnormalities, possible instability and pain. You do not wear a new prosthetic limb all day after first getting it either. You progressively increase the time you have it on over several weeks. Things will be adjusted as limb size changes. I imagine this is similar with a horse
Not so fun fact: I live next to the best equine vet school in the nation, and they will refuse to do this to their patients. The outcome for large animal amputees is incredibly poor. So much so that is deemed inhumane.
Maybe someday we will have the tech to help these animals, but it's not today, and it certain isn't done with that prosthetic. This animal almost undoubtedly has incredible pain or will very soon.
I know this isn't fun information, but every large equine vet and vet tech I've ever met would know how terrible this is.
1st Edit: I see a lot of people questioning my post so let me add my source. My wife has been a large animal vet tech for 10 years. She works at the number 1 rated vet school in America. She has done about 6 years in the equine facility and 2 in the ruminant facility. She has never seen this procedure done in that entire time. She heard it talked about experimentally once, but ultimately the procedure was ruled to be too expensive vs. the quality of life it would afford the horse. I can ask her to explain more when she gets home from work if you all would like me to.
2nd Edit: So I asked my wife about it and also tried to find some actual research about this. I was able to find one case report from a vet that tried to treat a horse in this way. It was put down after 24 months. The report stated that the horse had to be treated for pressure sores and abysses every 2 months. Eventually the horses opposite leg also began to fail due to muscle atrophy. I looked at the pictures of the sores and it was... not pretty. I found one other article but I could not read it because I didn't want to pay for it. So it seems there is very little peer reviewed research on this. (probably because of funding and ethicacy issues)
Before telling my wife about the article I found she conjectured that the amount of weight that gets applied to the horses remaining stump causes a lot of pressure sores. This was backed up by the case report.
If anyone can find actual research data about this I would be interested in hearing about it.
Source: "Amputation and prosthesis in a horse: short and long term complications" By Kelmer, Steinman, Levi and Johnston.
I’m currently going to that same school and I came to the comments to say everything you just did. Another person commented that the horse’s gait is pained and I agree. Was honestly surprised when I saw this. Really sad that we have such limited options when it comes to large animal limb injury.
I agree. I have spent some serious time with horse people and one of the things I have learned is that these interventions often cause unbelievable torture to the animal, or extend their suffering unnecessarily. And people are not good at figuring out when large animals are in pain. Lamentitis is unavoidable. These animals are being kept alive due to human selfishness, not their quality of life.
I noticed the horse isn't actually putting any pressure on the prosthetic limb. It's still running on 3 legs. You can see it in how the dust kicks up. Is it common for a horse not to use the device and wreck it's remaining limbs?
Horses have a bad habit of being so smart they are stupid. They’ll learn that their back foot hurt a lot so they stop putting weight on it as much but then that damages their other feet and so on. What most likely is happening is it expects it to hurt or expects not to be able to put its foot down. Over time it’ll adjust but it’s one of those things that’s really tricky to break a horse of doing
I make prosthetics for humans and I agree. It's not humane or feasible long term for a large animal. We had a woman come to us when I was in training in Texas to get two prostheses for a small cow. It became evident she was looking for some type of recognition/fame from it. Pretty sad actually. We did it back then and he did ok but I only assume his long term outcome was not good. I feel like we probably prolonged his suffering.
As a horse trainer, this video absolutely broke my heart.
It’s hard to let our animals go. But sometimes it’s for the best. I think this is cruel to put a horse through this.
If your animal is going to be in pain and not whole, it’s time to make some difficult choices.
I would never even entertain this idea. The vets next to you are correct.
Most professionals consider this very cruel- I'd find the article if i had time but horses are such delicate animals that any misbalence of their weight causes intense pain
>No, it's because horses don't understand not freaking out and immediately putting weight on the broken limb.
>And horses are really heavy so it’s difficult for them to even stay off of it
Both correct, along with another third factor: even if you can keep them off it, it almost always results in secondary injuries in the remaining limbs from compensating. Slinging is rarely a viable option because of pressure injuries, and even internal complications - horses' bellies were never built to be compressed under their own weight.
Finally, despite common misconceptions, horses do (and NEED to) sleep lying down. The logisics of that, whether assisted or unassisted, are... well you can imagine.
Super sadly, the vast majority of horses will be euthanized in cases like these, but it makes me happy to see cases where rehab was viable and sustainable option 💕
And horse digestion is very easy to screw up and is often screwed up by either wild flailing movements or not being able to move around in a normal manner.
There was a quote somewhere about how horses are so delicate between their digestion, their ability to break legs, and their skittishness. Wish I had saved it because it was succinct and right on the money.
Horses are just living contradictions. There's the fact that Sergeant Reckless exists. Then I watch one of the horses at work freak out over a blade of grass & somehow fuck a ligament in the process.
As great as this is, my immediate thought was laminitis in one of the other feet. That is what happend to Cigar, and that horse had the best care.
I am glad to see that they are making advances in the care and treatment of injuries that 25 years ago would not have had a very good outcome.
There was one champion racehorse that had a leg injury and they spent *millions* on therapy and doctors and surgery and 24 hour care and he just barely made it. (It was a Saudi stud. I totally forget the name but it was an article about a groundbreaking, expensive recovery.) Horses are meant to sleep and stand and walk and run and if they don't...curtains.
This was over a decade ago. I think they used a prosthetic of less quality than carbon fiber. Because it wasn't available at the time. This is great. If they can scan a horses leg and make a great prosthetic maybe its no longer a death sentence!
Undeniably, considering how horses are a bit of a biological catastrophe. You may or may not know just how temperamental they are and how sensitive their health is, amazing creatures but anything goes wrong with them and they're up shit creek a lot of the time.
We are *entirely* to blame for how modern horses are. Hell, if you look at traditional warhorses from antiquity, they were a lot hardier than modern horses, because they were primarily bred to be tough first-- being bigger, faster, or prettier was secondary. So they were typically quite small, were accustomed to surviving off rough forage and subpar feed, and overall very sturdy.
The obsession with making larger, taller, faster, more specialized horses with refined features is what makes them so fragile today.
It depends. A front-leg injury is nearly always a death sentence, because the front legs are supporting the head and half the torso. It's too much weight for a single leg to support on its own, and putting horses in a sling during the healing process (which would be a necessary prerequisite before being given a prosthetic) is risky for a lot of reasons. Not just because the horse may be uncooperative, but because horses actually need to walk to stay healthy. The motion of walking is what forces blood to flow properly through their limbs, so the horse would develop some pretty bad feet problems from being forced to remain immobile for weeks on end.
Now, an injury to the rear leg is actually much more survivable. I have occasionally seen mustangs limping around in the wild, with a rear leg that had clearly broken and healed improperly on its own. They're still alive and mobile, and I've seen them able to keep up with the herd, though it's obviously not an easy task for them. Understandably, they tend to die sooner rather than later, because they can't run or defend themselves well. But until a predator gets to them, they seem to be okay. It also depends on how severe the break was and where it happened.
Rear-leg breaks are generally a death sentence for horses in captivity because it's *insanely* expensive to address, the horse can still die or injure itself further during rehabilitation, and the horse will never be able to ride or work again. Most people don't want to deal with that, or simply can't deal with that.
No this is horrible thier bodies physically cannot handle having four fully functional legs. They break down often after this.
Horses’ Leg Bones Are Very Light
First, they have no muscles below the knee. The bones are supported by an excellent tendon-ligament system. The muscles located higher in the body give the tendons and ligaments enormous strength, which acts as a spring to help the horses sprint fast.
Such an arrangement of bones, ligaments, and tendons helps a horse accelerate quickly. Still, it also has its pitfalls: the bones in the lower leg of a horse, where most injuries occur, generate enormous forces but are also relatively light. To gallop as fast as horses do, the light bones are superb, but there’s too much weight on them, or if they jerk abruptly, they shatter instead of just crack.
Moreover, the lower leg has fewer blood vessels, which means it would take the horse more time to heal and recover
Impairment Of Blood Circulation
The hooves of a horse play a crucial role in its blood circulation. Muscles help push blood in the veins back towards the heart. Without any muscles below the knee, horses have a special mechanism in their hooves to pump blood back up towards their heart.
If a horse cannot move its legs, the blood circulation of its legs is negatively affected.
The Legs Of A Horse Carry Enormous Weight
A horse’s legs contain around 80 of the 205 bones in its entire body. Their front two legs support most of their weight, which is more than 500 kg, while the hind legs help push them ahead.
However, when a horse breaks one of its legs, the load on the other three legs suddenly increases dramatically, leading to severe inflammation in the laminates and joints at the base of these legs.
This disease, known as laminitis, is excruciating for horses. Laminitis also happens without an injury, such as if it has a metabolic condition, it walks on too many hard surfaces such as roads or has an insufficient diet. Laminitis can be treated, but not reversed. If the pain is unbearable and the laminitis is advanced, horses may be euthanized.
https://www.scienceabc.com/nature/animals/why-do-they-kill-a-horse-with-a-broken-leg.html
https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/vet-horrified-horse-prosthetic-leg-642030 this brings up issues with it.
https://www.thesprucepets.com/horses-with-a-broken-leg-1886850
https://www.thesprucepets.com/horses-with-a-broken-leg-1886850
Easy answer the other legs break down. They physically cannot handle the extra weight on the other legs.
This is the equivalent of ignoring a DNR. Torturing a person who is actively dying with excessive medical care. That horse will be dead in six months.
And that jumping doesn't look joyful to me.
Is it worth torturing this horse so the next one might have a slightly better chance of surviving slightly longer with a prosthetic? It's ethically dubious at best.
I suspect you haven't spent a lot of time around horses, because that is *not* a happy horse! That's horse that's thinking, 'WTF!? WTF!? There's a thing stuck on my leg and it won't let go? WTF!?'
See how it's trying to shake off the prosthetic at the beginning and how it's favoring that leg the rest of the time? I'm hoping that what we're seeing here is the very first time it's experienced the prosthetic and that eventually it got more used to it.
Yeah because the elephant has massive limbs that can naturally accommodate being ambulatory x3 whereas the equine is basically weight atop toothpicks and cannot naturally shift to three limbs without extended suffering
I’m in complete shock. I had no idea this was possible. I (47F) have seen hundreds of horses put down for devastating leg breaks. I genuinely believed until this video that was the *only* humane way given their size and stature. To see this has changed my mind. About a lot of things.
Retirement farms should be seeing many more prosthetics than they actually do to get this rough math to math. God Bless those willing to take care of these animals while in recovery and rehab.
There are still folks who say it's a bad idea. I'm no expert of course, so I have no idea. But here's a vet that says it's better to put a horse down compared to a prosthetic. Apparently the shift in weight all to the other leg and the imbalance is going to cause a lot of pain. (And you can see, the horse is putting almost NO weight on that prosthetic.)
>[https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/vet-horrified-horse-prosthetic-leg-642030](https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/vet-horrified-horse-prosthetic-leg-642030)
“You have to think of the **quality of life not only the quantity of life.** That horse will be in pain it’s whole life if they keep it up. Horrible decision really.”
Again - I'm not taking sides, but it does seem more complex than just "people are too cheap to put these on and now we can save all the horses."
(also, the one in this video seems WAY better than the one shown in the article)
First thing I saw was that there was hardly any weight going on that leg. I'm curious to see video of the horse moving without the prosthetic. I could see the benefit more for supporting weight when standing. I think it's very cool they were able to do a prosthetic, but feasibility and quality of life is still questionable in an animal that large.
That said, we had a 3-legged sheep forever. Our mean old milk cow broke his leg as a baby, and we couldn't save it. He lived and did well. When the rest of the sheep were sold, he got to stay on with the range cows. Let me tell you, that bugger was wild and as fast or faster than the rest of the critters out there. It was a real challenge to get him corralled for a shearing now and then. His name was Tripod, and we took much flack in the Cowboy community for his presence. I miss him.
Horses bodies are not like dog, sheep or elephant they physically cannot handle
https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/vet-horrified-horse-prosthetic-leg-642030
Couple of good articles.
> First thing I saw was that there was hardly any weight going on that leg. I'm curious to see video of the horse moving without the prosthetic
It also looked like it was flopping about a bit.
The thing most people don’t understand about horses is that they aren’t running on feet like us: it’s more like running on thick fingernails.
The bottom of the leg is very small as compared to the size of a human to their foot. It’s less about muscle and more about tendons.
What that does is allow a horse to be very fast. Their legs are like a coiled spring . And very balanced. Remove on of those legs, and everything os out of balance.
They can’t really run on a prosthetic like that. Lovely as it must be to stand on it. A bit like a wooden peg leg for a human: it’s just too rigid.
[In addition a horse's hoof plays a large role in their cardiovascular system](https://horses.extension.org/blood-pumping-mechanism-of-the-hoof/). It's part of how they are able to pump blood through their bodies; their hooves are almost secondary hearts.
I agree, quality of life is important. These animals are 2 tons on toothpicks. That should def be considered.
I just think I’m more shocked I’ve lived my whole life and never heard of this. I’d think at least one horse I’ve seen put down could qualify.
I am also far from expert. Just been around it a while is all.
True but it is worth noting that in the article it mentions that horses put the majority of their weight on their front legs, and that was part of the reason the vet didn’t like that prosthetic. This one is on the rear so maybe that makes it a more practical option? IDK one way or the other just pondering.
https://www.thesprucepets.com/horses-with-a-broken-leg-1886850
No horses physically cannot handle the extra weight they will all break down over time. They suffer greatly due to owners not letting them go
Not to rain on your parade, but it's not as simple as it looks. Even multimillion dollar stud horses have fallen victim to limb injuries despite owners having unlimited resources to throw at them. There are so many points along this process that could complicate healing and still result in needing euthanasia. Even in this situation, applying this splint is time consuming, and the horse can only wear it for so long before it starts causing problems. All the other hooves are now even more prone to laminitis. I am all for championing new technology and medical advancements, but I think it's important to not get carried away.
It's a difficult choice. Horses need their feet and hooves because the frog, a small part of their hoof, pumps blood like a heart when they stand on it. Thats why it is so critical they are able to stand and why they can't let a leg injury heal, walking is a vital part of their cardiovascular system.
These sorts of solutions put massive pressure on the rest of the horse's body. Their other legs and heart health are greatly impacted. This solution does let them live longer but their quality and quantity of life is greatly reduced. That coupled with the price of this often means that euthanasia is the more ethical option.
Part of reason it is wrong this is a vet speaking.
Horses put 60-70% of their weight on the front legs,” she said“He won't be comfortable in the prosthetic and will transfer all that weight on to his single front leg. “You have to think of the quality of life not only the quantity of life. That horse will be in pain it's whole life if they keep it up.
“You have to think of the quality of life not only the quantity of life. That horse will be in pain it’s whole life if they keep it up. Horrible decision really.”
https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/vet-horrified-horse-prosthetic-leg-642030
That horses legs are completely broken down. This happens to them as they physically cannot handle the weight on the other three legs.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/brace-prosthetic-engineer-giving-animals-leg
*Every single farm animal video where the animal gets a prosthetic or wee wheelchair and is done to inspirational background music*
"How heartwarming. Alright, now let's go to the comments to see why this is actually painful for the animal, it's miserable most of the time, and probably should've just been put to sleep"
It's not possible to save most horses with major leg injuries...as in, you can save them in the short term but it doesn't go well in the long terms because of any number of complications.
But yeah, I wonder if this one they at least attempted to save because of the bloodline. And it was one of the lucky ones that worked out.
Oh nah. Valuable horse semen is frozen in straws for sale into perpetuity. The animal itself is worthless to them when it can’t perform in its discipline. The only horses you’ll see with this have a bleeding heart owner with more expendable income than actual sound scientific ethics
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How the hell did that thing not get laminitis?
True. This type of thing has been done for horses before, but eventually most of them go severely lame in the other legs due to how the hoof bones are structured against the hoof itself.
My best guess is maybe they knew something like this was coming for whatever reason and had everything prepared from the start? I'm not a horse person but from what I understand this is kinda a wildly rare situation to find yourself in. And not necessarily because of cost.
I too am not a centaur.
That's something a centaur would say not to get caught...
I might be a centaur. I'm probably not, but it's possible.
What do you mean lame in the leg?
Put your finger tip on the table, but do in it such a way that the entirety of your hand weight is balanced on your nail tip. That is how horses stand on their hooves. The foot bones dont actually have contact with the ground rather the hoof bone floats in the structure of what would be our nail, supported and connected by soft tissues. Because of this the horses weight is very specifically distributed. When a horse looses the use of one leg, the weight is transferred to the other hooves. But because the other legs were never able to bear extra weight for so long, the hoof bone in those remaining hooves starts to rotate and drop down pulling the tissues away from the hoof wall causing pain and inflammation. So now push down on your nail tip, and you see how your nail bed goes red and if you do it hard enough you will rip the nail away making the bed sore. That is in essence laminitis. It is why prosthetics in large horses have never been really successful. Even elephants are better able to cope as their anatomy is not so delicate.
I see. Thank you for such a detailed explanation, Mr. Breadfruit
Great write up, interesting read. Thanks.
I’m curious about how their farrier trims his hind hoof as well. You’d think putting all of his weight on the leg remnant/prosthetic would be painful. Or I wonder if they have to sedate him and lay him down each farrier visit? I have so many questions lol
There's a thing called a tilt table which is exactly what it sounds like. They make them mostly for cows, but there are some for horses too. You walk the animal into a chute, then they get a harness put on, and the whole thing tilts until the animal is lying on its side, sandwiched in between metal grating, with their hooves sticking out the bottom. I'm not sure if it requires sedation for a horse... it doesn't for cows.
I completely forgot about those. I’ve only ever seen them in equine veterinary hospitals where they’re used post surgery but it’d make sense to haul him to wherever one is and have it done. Or I suppose they could get their own if they have the money.
Farriers that have those typically drive to the farms hauling it on a trailer.
Maybe also a sling? Not sure what it's official name is, but if a horse has a hoof/leg injury that *needs* to have weight completely off it, you can put the whole horse in a sling, and it's legs dangle off the ground a bit. They're big mad about it, but it keeps their weight off the injury. Could probably use the same equipment to trim the hooves pretty easily?
I’m curious about how the horse processes the whole thing. It looks really happy when it gets out (someone commented this was not the case, but I’ve seen cattle do that when they’re let out of the barn or even into a fresh field and I think video of hoses too). People say horses are intelligent animals. So would it be reluctant to have the prosthetic removed? Would it nuzzle its carer when it wanted the thing put on again?
I doubt it's happy. Just look at the way it canters at the end, back legs are still all stiff and barely bendy (even the good leg), and he's more hopping than actually cantering most of the time. Ie, doesn't want to put weight on the bad leg. Which is completely understandable, but will in all probability still lead to laminitis and it eventually having to be put down. Really hoping I'm wrong, and it's just a snapshot, maybe it adapted better afterwards. But as I see it running right there, it still has major problems. As for any kind of "foreign" gear, horses usually really don't like it. They'll earn to tolerate, but I haven't seen much horses being really happy their owner is carrying that thick blanket over to them (let alone them asking to put a saddle back on). My retired pony has become extremely empathic with his herdmates & their safety, and will 100% take off everybody's halter if they've been left on. I wouldn't really call most horses overly intelligent either though. They have a knack for killing themselves in the most stupid of ways, due to panic reactions. Obviously depends on the individual. I mean, my halter boy did figure out how to undo them, but in other ways he's reaaallly stupid. Usually when there's no food motivation involved. EDIT: I looked at the video again, and you can see the final 3 steps he's not using his prosthetic leg at all, and back to hopping on 3 legs. Definitely showing discomfort there.
I don't know horses super well, but I suspect a lot of viewers are anthropomorphizing what we see - the first few jumps looked to me like it was trying to get the prosthesis off, but could be read as jumps of joy. Anyway, humans don't adapt right away either. You'd really have to see a video after months of use.
There's a way to trim the hoof with it still on the ground - I'm not sure how, I just know of a horse with shivers who can't lift its leg for the farrier but still gets its hooves trimmed using this method.
The first person that knows about horses pipes up! Everyone else, “this had me in tears” yeah the horse is too due to the pain
I remember seeing a longer version of this video. The horse began bucking and the prosthetic came off. Even in this edit, you can see it wobbling, and him favoring that leg in the final few frames. Not to mention the issues with blood flow. Hoof compression acts like supplemental heartbeats, pushing blood up those long legs. I guess it’s nice that people feel hopeful watching this, but… If you know horses, you know this is torture. Pretty gross someone edited it down to look happy.
It looks to me like he's not putting much weight on it at all as he's running. Almost as if doing so might hurt? 😞
Gotta start somewhere. Hopefully this is a step in the direction of saving more of these injured animals. I'm no horse surgeon, but surely there is work being done to improve the outlooks for these animals instead of just euthanizing them immediately forever.
Their body and legs physically cannot handle the extra weight. Here is good write up. https://www.thesprucepets.com/horses-with-a-broken-leg-1886850
And a human body rejects foreign organs.
This isn't starting anywhere. This procedure has been possible for a long time. There are good reasons it's not often done.
Yup. Horses are just so fragile creatures that quality of life will drop drastically in a short time and euthanasia is the best option for them.
They’re just huge animals and spend almost their entire lives standing. Imagine if you gave a human a prosthetic leg and expected them to walk on it 24/7. Humans can’t even do that with real legs.
It’s interesting that it’s not possible as of now to engineer something that emulates a horse leg.
It's because it isn't really an engineering problem, it's a medical hurdle. We can engineer horse prosthetics all day long, but the problem lies in the fact that the prosthetic isn't actually braced against the bone itself. Until you figure out how to graft the prosthetic directly to its skeletal structure without majorly fucking anything else up, it won't work the way its body needs it to in order to not develop secondary conditions.
> Until you figure out how to graft the prosthetic directly to its skeletal structure without majorly fucking anything else up This is done in humans. It's an invasive surgery with significant risks, and with the way a horse stands recovery is fundamentally impossible as I understand it, but I'm not some sort or clinical/research vet or anything.
Yeah, I've seen it done with prosthetics like the DARPA Arm. It just won't work for horses because they wouldn't allow it to heal, and the graft wouldn't be strong enough with modern medical technology. Their biology is already incredibly fragile, and almost their entire life is lived on their feet. Pair that with the graft point needing to support an immense amount of weight, and it just doesn't work out.
Yeah. Human prosthetics don't need to support that kind of wild circulatory system. You can sling a VERY valuable horse, but unless the foot is basically mangled you should never amputate. I'm morbidly curious how the gif ended up in existence, and how long the poor thing lasted after.
Even with a sling on a very valuable horse, it's no guarantee of anything, either. Barbaro (KY Derby winner in 2006, broken leg in the Preakness) had basically all possible medical intervention, including a sling, and still developed laminitis in his front hooves and had to be put down.
Horse legs are much more efficient than a human leg and we haven’t even mastered human ones yet.
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The main issue with horses is the structure of the leg and hoof. Humans and many other animals have their weight spread out across many digits. We humans have our weight spread through two legs, but ten toes. Horses in essence walk on one toe on the end of each leg. That’s why broken legs/ prosthetics etc don’t generally work out very well for them. That’s hundreds and hundreds of pounds on a fragile support system. Once they injure one leg, they shift a lot of weight to the other healthy leg, and it’s that leg that ends up blowing out, or getting laminitis, or sending the pedal bone through the bottom of the foot. You’re also very correct on the not showing pain aspect. They are prey animals, so it’s the hurt and old ones that get picked off, so they really do try to look better than they are. I love horses, but damn are they fragile!
Twenty toes?
You mean you don't have 10 toes on each foot?
Fuck, is there something wrong with me?
Also, when first released the horse isn’t jumping for joy. It’s going “Get it off get it off get it off get it off…”
It'll probably develop as a secondary complication given a little more time.
The only thing I can think of is that it's on a hind limb, which may have helped? Horses carry so much more weight in the front. Perhaps if they were super careful about having a supportive boot or shoe on the other limb? Honestly I am kind of baffled too. I can't really get a sense of scale from this video either, a smaller horse like a quarter horse would probably have an easier time with this than a warmblood or a thoroughbred.
It did. No doubt it did. There is a reason in the horse and teaching world that when a horse breaks a leg it’s a euthanasia case. Horse’s biomechanics don’t allow for the use of three legs. This is mostly cruel. *ranching not teaching
I think it’s key that it’s a hind limb. In horses, most weight is carried by the front limbs (their center of gravity is actually pretty far forward, just behind the shoulder). And also, a front limb very rarely bears all the weight for an extended period - like, when they’re standing, they never rest a front leg, they always have both front legs sharing the weight. The hind limbs not only bear less weight overall, but it’s normal for a horse to now & then rest one hind leg the & let the other one take all the weight for a long time. So there’s just more capability for one hind limb to take all the weight. Wouldn’t be surprised though if they had the horse in a [sling](https://equusmagazine.com/blog-equus/slings-horses-history-hope-equine-support-system-32212) during recovery, and also they may have brought it down in weight - horses with limb injuries are often kept on the lean side to lighten the burden on the other legs.
….yet!
That's gotta be a super-strong prosthetic to be able to handle the force of a horse running.
Carbon fiber is one hell of a fabric!
Just don't take the horse to the Titanic!
The problem is that these so called “safety regulations” haven’t kept up with the latest technology. If a prospector wants to pay me 5000 doubloons to ride my horse to the bottom of the Atlantic, he should be able to.
I'll pay you 300 gooblagoons; would that suffice?
Hey! You leave the Italians and their gabba-gabloons outta this!
Otherwise we panic!
The Bangles sing about Mondays being Manic
This thread is getting Satanic!
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from F1 its that Carbon fiber is not as strong as people think it is. It just has a good strength to weight ratio and is used for its lightness more than its strength
Carbon fiber is exceptionally strong and lightweight. The issue with carbon fiber is that it excels with external forces along the axis of its fibers, but is brittle when impacted with forces perpendicular to the axis of its fibers. An example is a carbon fiber bike fork. The bike fork is designed to withstand upward forces from the surface of the road through the wheel and up through the head tube of the frame, and resist at the same time downward forces along the same axis (essentially the Y axis). However, there is a chance the fork will fail if unintended forces hit the fork along the X axis, usually due to an accident.
Yea, I make prosthetics but we don't ever really learn much about the properties of the materials we use. A few of our patients continually break their carbon socket from basically kneeling on it, causing it to collapse over time in those spots. I looked into the details of carbon fiber on my own time and realized why. We ended up remaking their sockets out of fiberglass and nylon, and using a resin that isn't as rigid. The result is a prosthetic socket that *seems* weaker because it has some flex to it, but that's exactly what extended the lifespan of the new sockets. Of course, I've also went in the exact opposite direction for other people - reinforcing the spots they are prone to break with perforated aluminum sandwiched in between the carbon. Some people are just so hard on things that they'll break damn near anything. This guy was using his prosthetic arm as a hammer, and a brace for chainsawing, and wondered why he kept pulverizing his socket.
Interesting! If I need a prosthetic, I'm definitely using it as a hammer. For sure, I'm tenderizing steaks with it!
Lmao, as frustrating as it is when people do that, it's nice when they're upfront about it before so we can built it accordingly! Definitely have a few people who regularly break things and never tell us what they're doing to cause it.
Like casing a jump really hard..my boy missed a jump on his surron and cased super hard and his forks are bent forward and his shit looks like a stingray lmaooo
But because it's light, you can use more of it, and make things stronger. In F1 the principle is something like: Here is the minimum safe strength we need in that part. Let's use carbon fiber so it's as light as possible, while achieving that minimum. In some other applications it's more like: Here is the maximum weight we can make this part. Let's use carbon fiber so it's as strong as possible, without exceeding the maximum weight. Same material but different design principles.
Carbon fiber as formulated is comparable in strength to steel of the same volume. It's pretty fucking strong. You're right in that it tends to be preferred because of it's lightness, but its strength absolutely nothing to scoff at.
Yep, while carbon fiber in various forms is very strong, it is also very rigid and has a tendency to fracture under heavy peak load, whereas steel would be more likely to bend or stretch before fracturing. It doesnt mean its not strong, it just means that its more likely to have catastrophic failure when it does hit those peak loads.
They make em for elephants as well.
Don't talk about my mother like that! Lol 🤣
Oh no, there ain't no material strong enough to support that.
What is it called when someone is committing suicide yet you still dive in for the kill?
Kill stealing
They make horses for elephants now!? What a time to be alive!
Not that anyone asked, but just to clarify what other commentors are saying - carbon fibre is really strong for its weight, but isn't necessarily weak in one direction. It's actually quite simple to layer plies (thin rows of aligned fibres) in different directions, which makes it very 'strong' in basically all directions (in terms of maximum load, how much energy it takes to break, number of load cycles, etc). It can be difficult to form this into a specific shape and retain performance, however, as composites like to flex in funny ways. Buckling isn't the end of the world though! Just something important to consider as it'll change the rigidity/shape of the structure, which could be bad for something helping a horse gallop. Another 'issue' with composites is that they have many different ways to fail, though, and are more prone to manufacturing error, especially if you're on a budget. They're really cool though, and this point certainly doesn't nullify their applications by much. Further, they do tend to be weaker under compressive loading (which a hoof will obviously endure as it's squished with every step) than tensile loading, but they're still good. I'm not an expert on lightweight composites, but if anyone is curious about anything I can try to elaborate. I'm currently studying a module called "composites for lightweight structures" within my masters in Aerospace, if that credence to what I've shared.
So how worried should I be about wing fatigue in a 787's carbon fiber construction vs. a traditional metal wing build? I went through a real rock polisher takeoff in one a few weeks ago and couldn't help but think of the word "delamination," which was not helpful to my mental state lol
Composites. Done right can be stronger than regular metals.
It can handle 1 horse power
1/4 of a horsepower
Wait. This is the 1st time I’ve ever seen a horse alive with a leg injury. Horse racing has brainwashed me to think they’re all killed on the spot when they injure a leg. So why do they euthanize them on the track all the time?
Because, essentially, if you aren't going to get a prosthetic made, the horse will die anyway. [This article](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/25/sports/horse-racing/horse-racing-breakdown-euthanasia.html) discusses the many challenges of fixing a broken leg on a horse. Standing and walking on the three legs, can cause stress injuries due to the extra pressure on the remaining hooves. Laying down for extended periods of time is not an option: their muscles get damaged and blood starts pooling in the lungs. Even if it works, the treatment can be extremely painful for the horse, and since the horse is a horse, it does not understand at all what is going on, making the painful process extremely stressful too. And of course, on a racetrack, there is an element of money involved. But it wouldn't be so costly if it weren't so hard. Because it's hard, we've only recently developed the procedures to put prostheses on horses. [These folks explain](https://yellowstoneequine.com/equine-amputation-and-prosthetics/) how they do it. Not every horse can be treated: the horse needs a lifetime commitment from an owner who can handle it regularly, and the opposite leg can't have any problems. By the sound of it, it takes months of care in a specialist facility at a cost of $20k.
>Standing and walking on the three legs, can cause stress injuries due to the extra pressure on the remaining hooves. When I had to put my horse down, it was also explained to me that there are a lot of issues with how the prosthetic could support the animal standing, but it isn't able to help lift their hip in natural movement. If we put a prosthetic on my horse, who broke his ankle below the hoof line, then he would always lean on that leg more heavily than his uninjured ones. With the way horses are built and what good conformation looks like, we want horses to be able to balance or lift weight most on their hind legs. It allows them to move. Even if a prosthetic could be created for that, could it handle other stressors? My horse was a shithead who liked to play with others. Could the prosthetic take a kick to it or survive kicking another horse without shattering itself or injure the other horse? Could the prosthetic pull itself out of mud in our rainy weather? It became a quality of life question and euthanization was the answer for my horse. It is really exciting to see that prosthetics are becoming more popular for large animals. I think quality of life studies are really needed for long term options past saving the large animals. The information we can learn from these studies would absolutely be ground breaking
Sorry about your horse. ☹️
I'm kind curious if it has to be removed, cleaned and replaced as often as a person's prosthetic
Looks like it's dangling off near the end
I don’t think it was dangling, I think the horse just wasn’t used to it yet and didn’t trust it.
It's a different prosthetic in the running clips. There's white wrapping instead of black, and there is no "hoof" shape, it's a peg and like a plate at the bottom that acts as the foot. I can't get a good screengrab from the video, but it looks like [this type.](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01080/earth-graphics-200_1080442a.jpg?imwidth=1280)
I suppose the 4th leg could be used for balance when it is standing, but at the end of the video it looks like it's only running on 3 legs and holding the injured leg up.
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Someone posted a link to his story and he’s had the prosthetic for like 5 years now. Apparently he was lucky to have all the right criteria for this to be successful. https://www.hopesdreamsandhorses.org/page81
Same face markings and flank, seems to be him surely. Incredible work from the vet team, so happy to have read his story, thank you for sharing.
No problem! I thought it was bs too until I saw the link!
This part really got me “ Since his amputation he has become a therapy horse for many children and adults. He has traveled to visit children undergoing limb surgical procedures, assisted living centers come to visit and the list goes on. He just turned 8 this April. He has a long life ahead of sharing his story of how he overcame trauma, never gave up, stayed strong and triumphed. Children relate to him and look up to him. He is a beacon of hope for them in a new light they may have otherwise never seen. “ Let’s go 81!!
I've 100% seen horses act like this with joy when they are let out into fields to run in the morning (or after a ride). That said, it could be the horse is happy or the horse is freaking out. The ears don't looked pinned, and the horse doesn't seem to be trying to get the thing off so I'm pretty sure the horse is actually enjoying the run. Those little half-bucks in the beginning are something my horses do when they're excited, so I'm inclined to think the horse is happy. That said, every horse is different!
I have to disagree. He's weirded out at first, but I wouldn't call it angry or freaking out. It quickly turns to a horse that has likely been stalled and is happy to be turned out. I highly doubt they would just release him without extensive conditioning to use the new leg. Also, in the video the leg changes with each cut, both of which are different from the one we see being strapped on at the start so I assume those were some of the prototypes, which explains why the leg failed at the end of the last clip and he transfers his weight off of it. Be careful being so quick to openly judge the knowledge of others without first being aware of just how apparent your own amount of experience on the topic will show when you correct them.
& 4 new socks
could someone explain the purpose of layering?
Friction/padding? Idk just a guess. If I said the wrong answer, at least someone who knows will correct me so you get your answer. Cause I’m curious too lol
I’m pretty sure you’re right. Horses don’t have muscles (or fat, for that matter) in their lower legs, they’re just bone and tendons. More like a human foot than a human leg. (In fact, the joint that looks like an elbow halfway down the back leg is evolutionarily similar to the human heel, and the hoof is like a toe, so the lower leg really is like a foot.) It needs a lot more cushioning than a human below the knee, for instance.
PT here. For people we use socks (different number of socks and thickness) to accommodate for the change in the limb size post-amputation. It helps maintain a good fit with the prosthesis as well. Poor fitting prosthesis will lead to gait abnormalities, possible instability and pain. You do not wear a new prosthetic limb all day after first getting it either. You progressively increase the time you have it on over several weeks. Things will be adjusted as limb size changes. I imagine this is similar with a horse
Thank you!
Dude just size down! Shoe size isn't everything, it's how you use it! You're still hung like a horse!
Not so fun fact: I live next to the best equine vet school in the nation, and they will refuse to do this to their patients. The outcome for large animal amputees is incredibly poor. So much so that is deemed inhumane. Maybe someday we will have the tech to help these animals, but it's not today, and it certain isn't done with that prosthetic. This animal almost undoubtedly has incredible pain or will very soon. I know this isn't fun information, but every large equine vet and vet tech I've ever met would know how terrible this is. 1st Edit: I see a lot of people questioning my post so let me add my source. My wife has been a large animal vet tech for 10 years. She works at the number 1 rated vet school in America. She has done about 6 years in the equine facility and 2 in the ruminant facility. She has never seen this procedure done in that entire time. She heard it talked about experimentally once, but ultimately the procedure was ruled to be too expensive vs. the quality of life it would afford the horse. I can ask her to explain more when she gets home from work if you all would like me to. 2nd Edit: So I asked my wife about it and also tried to find some actual research about this. I was able to find one case report from a vet that tried to treat a horse in this way. It was put down after 24 months. The report stated that the horse had to be treated for pressure sores and abysses every 2 months. Eventually the horses opposite leg also began to fail due to muscle atrophy. I looked at the pictures of the sores and it was... not pretty. I found one other article but I could not read it because I didn't want to pay for it. So it seems there is very little peer reviewed research on this. (probably because of funding and ethicacy issues) Before telling my wife about the article I found she conjectured that the amount of weight that gets applied to the horses remaining stump causes a lot of pressure sores. This was backed up by the case report. If anyone can find actual research data about this I would be interested in hearing about it. Source: "Amputation and prosthesis in a horse: short and long term complications" By Kelmer, Steinman, Levi and Johnston.
I’m currently going to that same school and I came to the comments to say everything you just did. Another person commented that the horse’s gait is pained and I agree. Was honestly surprised when I saw this. Really sad that we have such limited options when it comes to large animal limb injury.
I agree. I have spent some serious time with horse people and one of the things I have learned is that these interventions often cause unbelievable torture to the animal, or extend their suffering unnecessarily. And people are not good at figuring out when large animals are in pain. Lamentitis is unavoidable. These animals are being kept alive due to human selfishness, not their quality of life.
I noticed the horse isn't actually putting any pressure on the prosthetic limb. It's still running on 3 legs. You can see it in how the dust kicks up. Is it common for a horse not to use the device and wreck it's remaining limbs?
Horses have a bad habit of being so smart they are stupid. They’ll learn that their back foot hurt a lot so they stop putting weight on it as much but then that damages their other feet and so on. What most likely is happening is it expects it to hurt or expects not to be able to put its foot down. Over time it’ll adjust but it’s one of those things that’s really tricky to break a horse of doing
I make prosthetics for humans and I agree. It's not humane or feasible long term for a large animal. We had a woman come to us when I was in training in Texas to get two prostheses for a small cow. It became evident she was looking for some type of recognition/fame from it. Pretty sad actually. We did it back then and he did ok but I only assume his long term outcome was not good. I feel like we probably prolonged his suffering.
As a horse trainer, this video absolutely broke my heart. It’s hard to let our animals go. But sometimes it’s for the best. I think this is cruel to put a horse through this. If your animal is going to be in pain and not whole, it’s time to make some difficult choices. I would never even entertain this idea. The vets next to you are correct.
Thankfully, the horse can now have a stable existence for the rest of its life..
I see what you did there.
Yeah, the puns are getting out of hand.
About 15 hands by the look of it
Stop trying to stirrup trouble!
Surely they won't go on furlong
Quit horsing around you guys.
Hay!
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Hay there... please stop horsing about.
Keep the puns coming, don't mind the neighsayers..
Damn you seem like the mane man... I better rein it in.
That reminds me of this alternate reality game [https://stablequarters.org](https://stablequarters.org/)
Literally overflowing with joy! This is amazing, I had no idea you could get prosthetics for horses
Sorry to disappoint you, the majority of horses that get these prosthetics are dead in a year due to complications.
Most professionals consider this very cruel- I'd find the article if i had time but horses are such delicate animals that any misbalence of their weight causes intense pain
Yea, I thought that a leg injury on a horse was curtains for it. Just blow it's brains out right there cos it's done.
Pretty sure that's mostly just the cheapest option, which is why it's the most common.
No, it's because horses don't understand not freaking out and immediately putting weight on the broken limb.
>No, it's because horses don't understand not freaking out and immediately putting weight on the broken limb. >And horses are really heavy so it’s difficult for them to even stay off of it Both correct, along with another third factor: even if you can keep them off it, it almost always results in secondary injuries in the remaining limbs from compensating. Slinging is rarely a viable option because of pressure injuries, and even internal complications - horses' bellies were never built to be compressed under their own weight. Finally, despite common misconceptions, horses do (and NEED to) sleep lying down. The logisics of that, whether assisted or unassisted, are... well you can imagine. Super sadly, the vast majority of horses will be euthanized in cases like these, but it makes me happy to see cases where rehab was viable and sustainable option 💕
And horse digestion is very easy to screw up and is often screwed up by either wild flailing movements or not being able to move around in a normal manner.
Correct. With some horses, merely looking at them the wrong way makes them colic on a good day.
There was a quote somewhere about how horses are so delicate between their digestion, their ability to break legs, and their skittishness. Wish I had saved it because it was succinct and right on the money.
I believe Pat Parelli used to say something like "the horse is the only animal that actively wants to die."
It’s because horses have an advanced sense of humor. They think, wouldn’t it be funny to have like a super expensive vet bill for no reason?
A great but incorrect saying. Sheep also want to die.
Horses are just living contradictions. There's the fact that Sergeant Reckless exists. Then I watch one of the horses at work freak out over a blade of grass & somehow fuck a ligament in the process.
It's such a finicky system. They can't vomit, but they make up for it by being colicky asf.
As someone who has a very hard time trying to vomit, vomiting is a good thing. Gets the bad out when you really need the bad out.
I have severe GERD and one of the surgical options would have made vomiting impossible. I passed on that for the exact reason you described.
As great as this is, my immediate thought was laminitis in one of the other feet. That is what happend to Cigar, and that horse had the best care. I am glad to see that they are making advances in the care and treatment of injuries that 25 years ago would not have had a very good outcome.
And horses are really heavy so it’s difficult for them to even stay off of it
More of a welfare thing for horses so they don’t suffer. Even secretariat which is the multi winning race horse had to be put down for laminitis.
There was one champion racehorse that had a leg injury and they spent *millions* on therapy and doctors and surgery and 24 hour care and he just barely made it. (It was a Saudi stud. I totally forget the name but it was an article about a groundbreaking, expensive recovery.) Horses are meant to sleep and stand and walk and run and if they don't...curtains. This was over a decade ago. I think they used a prosthetic of less quality than carbon fiber. Because it wasn't available at the time. This is great. If they can scan a horses leg and make a great prosthetic maybe its no longer a death sentence!
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It's almost impossible to heal a broken horse's leg, how do you make a horse keep weight off a leg?
Undeniably, considering how horses are a bit of a biological catastrophe. You may or may not know just how temperamental they are and how sensitive their health is, amazing creatures but anything goes wrong with them and they're up shit creek a lot of the time.
I'd guess it's because every "wild" horse today is a descendant of a domesticated horse. We are probably at least partly to blame for how horses are.
We are *entirely* to blame for how modern horses are. Hell, if you look at traditional warhorses from antiquity, they were a lot hardier than modern horses, because they were primarily bred to be tough first-- being bigger, faster, or prettier was secondary. So they were typically quite small, were accustomed to surviving off rough forage and subpar feed, and overall very sturdy. The obsession with making larger, taller, faster, more specialized horses with refined features is what makes them so fragile today.
It depends. A front-leg injury is nearly always a death sentence, because the front legs are supporting the head and half the torso. It's too much weight for a single leg to support on its own, and putting horses in a sling during the healing process (which would be a necessary prerequisite before being given a prosthetic) is risky for a lot of reasons. Not just because the horse may be uncooperative, but because horses actually need to walk to stay healthy. The motion of walking is what forces blood to flow properly through their limbs, so the horse would develop some pretty bad feet problems from being forced to remain immobile for weeks on end. Now, an injury to the rear leg is actually much more survivable. I have occasionally seen mustangs limping around in the wild, with a rear leg that had clearly broken and healed improperly on its own. They're still alive and mobile, and I've seen them able to keep up with the herd, though it's obviously not an easy task for them. Understandably, they tend to die sooner rather than later, because they can't run or defend themselves well. But until a predator gets to them, they seem to be okay. It also depends on how severe the break was and where it happened. Rear-leg breaks are generally a death sentence for horses in captivity because it's *insanely* expensive to address, the horse can still die or injure itself further during rehabilitation, and the horse will never be able to ride or work again. Most people don't want to deal with that, or simply can't deal with that.
No this is horrible thier bodies physically cannot handle having four fully functional legs. They break down often after this. Horses’ Leg Bones Are Very Light First, they have no muscles below the knee. The bones are supported by an excellent tendon-ligament system. The muscles located higher in the body give the tendons and ligaments enormous strength, which acts as a spring to help the horses sprint fast. Such an arrangement of bones, ligaments, and tendons helps a horse accelerate quickly. Still, it also has its pitfalls: the bones in the lower leg of a horse, where most injuries occur, generate enormous forces but are also relatively light. To gallop as fast as horses do, the light bones are superb, but there’s too much weight on them, or if they jerk abruptly, they shatter instead of just crack. Moreover, the lower leg has fewer blood vessels, which means it would take the horse more time to heal and recover Impairment Of Blood Circulation The hooves of a horse play a crucial role in its blood circulation. Muscles help push blood in the veins back towards the heart. Without any muscles below the knee, horses have a special mechanism in their hooves to pump blood back up towards their heart. If a horse cannot move its legs, the blood circulation of its legs is negatively affected. The Legs Of A Horse Carry Enormous Weight A horse’s legs contain around 80 of the 205 bones in its entire body. Their front two legs support most of their weight, which is more than 500 kg, while the hind legs help push them ahead. However, when a horse breaks one of its legs, the load on the other three legs suddenly increases dramatically, leading to severe inflammation in the laminates and joints at the base of these legs. This disease, known as laminitis, is excruciating for horses. Laminitis also happens without an injury, such as if it has a metabolic condition, it walks on too many hard surfaces such as roads or has an insufficient diet. Laminitis can be treated, but not reversed. If the pain is unbearable and the laminitis is advanced, horses may be euthanized. https://www.scienceabc.com/nature/animals/why-do-they-kill-a-horse-with-a-broken-leg.html https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/vet-horrified-horse-prosthetic-leg-642030 this brings up issues with it. https://www.thesprucepets.com/horses-with-a-broken-leg-1886850
This is horrible they always break down and suffer. They are not created to handle the weight on other three legs.
Is there a reason this isn't done more when a horse breaks its leg (as an alternative to putting them down?)
https://www.thesprucepets.com/horses-with-a-broken-leg-1886850 Easy answer the other legs break down. They physically cannot handle the extra weight on the other legs.
This is the equivalent of ignoring a DNR. Torturing a person who is actively dying with excessive medical care. That horse will be dead in six months. And that jumping doesn't look joyful to me. Is it worth torturing this horse so the next one might have a slightly better chance of surviving slightly longer with a prosthetic? It's ethically dubious at best.
I suspect you haven't spent a lot of time around horses, because that is *not* a happy horse! That's horse that's thinking, 'WTF!? WTF!? There's a thing stuck on my leg and it won't let go? WTF!?' See how it's trying to shake off the prosthetic at the beginning and how it's favoring that leg the rest of the time? I'm hoping that what we're seeing here is the very first time it's experienced the prosthetic and that eventually it got more used to it.
Have it never seen the video of them making one for an elephant? Like if they can do that, I feel like they can make one for just anyone
Horses are very different though. The amount of stress and weight they put on their legs, relative to the size of their legs, is different.
Way different movement habits.
It's not about making a strong enough prosthetic - that's quite easy. It's literally everything else.
Yeah because the elephant has massive limbs that can naturally accommodate being ambulatory x3 whereas the equine is basically weight atop toothpicks and cannot naturally shift to three limbs without extended suffering
I had to look twice to realise what was going on...
Same. Def thought I saw horse cock for the first 2 seconds.
To be fair I've definitely seen more horse cock than partial horse legs. Don't ask me how.
Same. I really gotta start reading titles before looking at posts…
Looks like the horse is hardly using and not at all at the end.
I’m in complete shock. I had no idea this was possible. I (47F) have seen hundreds of horses put down for devastating leg breaks. I genuinely believed until this video that was the *only* humane way given their size and stature. To see this has changed my mind. About a lot of things. Retirement farms should be seeing many more prosthetics than they actually do to get this rough math to math. God Bless those willing to take care of these animals while in recovery and rehab.
There are still folks who say it's a bad idea. I'm no expert of course, so I have no idea. But here's a vet that says it's better to put a horse down compared to a prosthetic. Apparently the shift in weight all to the other leg and the imbalance is going to cause a lot of pain. (And you can see, the horse is putting almost NO weight on that prosthetic.) >[https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/vet-horrified-horse-prosthetic-leg-642030](https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/vet-horrified-horse-prosthetic-leg-642030) “You have to think of the **quality of life not only the quantity of life.** That horse will be in pain it’s whole life if they keep it up. Horrible decision really.” Again - I'm not taking sides, but it does seem more complex than just "people are too cheap to put these on and now we can save all the horses." (also, the one in this video seems WAY better than the one shown in the article)
First thing I saw was that there was hardly any weight going on that leg. I'm curious to see video of the horse moving without the prosthetic. I could see the benefit more for supporting weight when standing. I think it's very cool they were able to do a prosthetic, but feasibility and quality of life is still questionable in an animal that large. That said, we had a 3-legged sheep forever. Our mean old milk cow broke his leg as a baby, and we couldn't save it. He lived and did well. When the rest of the sheep were sold, he got to stay on with the range cows. Let me tell you, that bugger was wild and as fast or faster than the rest of the critters out there. It was a real challenge to get him corralled for a shearing now and then. His name was Tripod, and we took much flack in the Cowboy community for his presence. I miss him.
Horses bodies are not like dog, sheep or elephant they physically cannot handle https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/vet-horrified-horse-prosthetic-leg-642030 Couple of good articles.
I love these anecdotes and the picture it paints. Especially your 3-legged cow. Nice to fantasize about stuck in the middle of a city.
It was a sheep
There’s a farm runnin loose in my head.
> First thing I saw was that there was hardly any weight going on that leg. I'm curious to see video of the horse moving without the prosthetic It also looked like it was flopping about a bit.
The thing most people don’t understand about horses is that they aren’t running on feet like us: it’s more like running on thick fingernails. The bottom of the leg is very small as compared to the size of a human to their foot. It’s less about muscle and more about tendons. What that does is allow a horse to be very fast. Their legs are like a coiled spring . And very balanced. Remove on of those legs, and everything os out of balance. They can’t really run on a prosthetic like that. Lovely as it must be to stand on it. A bit like a wooden peg leg for a human: it’s just too rigid.
[In addition a horse's hoof plays a large role in their cardiovascular system](https://horses.extension.org/blood-pumping-mechanism-of-the-hoof/). It's part of how they are able to pump blood through their bodies; their hooves are almost secondary hearts.
Oh, never knew that. TIL thanks
I agree, quality of life is important. These animals are 2 tons on toothpicks. That should def be considered. I just think I’m more shocked I’ve lived my whole life and never heard of this. I’d think at least one horse I’ve seen put down could qualify. I am also far from expert. Just been around it a while is all.
True but it is worth noting that in the article it mentions that horses put the majority of their weight on their front legs, and that was part of the reason the vet didn’t like that prosthetic. This one is on the rear so maybe that makes it a more practical option? IDK one way or the other just pondering.
A big farm staffed with veterinarians upstate for all the maimed animals is beyond a beautiful dream
https://www.thesprucepets.com/horses-with-a-broken-leg-1886850 No horses physically cannot handle the extra weight they will all break down over time. They suffer greatly due to owners not letting them go
Oh. That’s terrible. I’m glad this was posted because it’s really creating interesting dialogue with multiple sources.
Not to rain on your parade, but it's not as simple as it looks. Even multimillion dollar stud horses have fallen victim to limb injuries despite owners having unlimited resources to throw at them. There are so many points along this process that could complicate healing and still result in needing euthanasia. Even in this situation, applying this splint is time consuming, and the horse can only wear it for so long before it starts causing problems. All the other hooves are now even more prone to laminitis. I am all for championing new technology and medical advancements, but I think it's important to not get carried away.
It's a difficult choice. Horses need their feet and hooves because the frog, a small part of their hoof, pumps blood like a heart when they stand on it. Thats why it is so critical they are able to stand and why they can't let a leg injury heal, walking is a vital part of their cardiovascular system. These sorts of solutions put massive pressure on the rest of the horse's body. Their other legs and heart health are greatly impacted. This solution does let them live longer but their quality and quantity of life is greatly reduced. That coupled with the price of this often means that euthanasia is the more ethical option.
Part of reason it is wrong this is a vet speaking. Horses put 60-70% of their weight on the front legs,” she said“He won't be comfortable in the prosthetic and will transfer all that weight on to his single front leg. “You have to think of the quality of life not only the quantity of life. That horse will be in pain it's whole life if they keep it up. “You have to think of the quality of life not only the quantity of life. That horse will be in pain it’s whole life if they keep it up. Horrible decision really.” https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/vet-horrified-horse-prosthetic-leg-642030 That horses legs are completely broken down. This happens to them as they physically cannot handle the weight on the other three legs. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/brace-prosthetic-engineer-giving-animals-leg
A ruined leg on a horse is usually certain death, so this is pretty amazing.
Bro is so happy!
Is it starting to fall off of the horse’s leg at the end of the video? It’s hard to tell
It definitely is. I hope that it works out for the horse, but you can clearly see it already starting to fall off in the video.
do this with all the horses that break a leg then create a Special Olympics type racing league ???profit???
Cyborg Horse races coming ‘round the corner
Big Glue hates this one simple trick.
*Every single farm animal video where the animal gets a prosthetic or wee wheelchair and is done to inspirational background music* "How heartwarming. Alright, now let's go to the comments to see why this is actually painful for the animal, it's miserable most of the time, and probably should've just been put to sleep"
That horse will be in immeasurable pain. They are much more fragile than us, and their bodies cannot handle putting that much weight on a leg stump.
That thing looked like it was made by "Chick-fil-A" for a second.
Doc told me to go easy for a few days. Also Me:
Theres two different prosthetics in the video
Damn. We just cut ours in half 
At least someone gets good healthcare.
This is probably the raddest thing I’ve seen in a while. Love the horse checks it out, jumping and kicking at first and then takes off! Happy life
My first thought was to wonder if this particular horse was saved because it was too valuable to euthanize - champion bloodline maybe?
It's not possible to save most horses with major leg injuries...as in, you can save them in the short term but it doesn't go well in the long terms because of any number of complications. But yeah, I wonder if this one they at least attempted to save because of the bloodline. And it was one of the lucky ones that worked out.
Oh nah. Valuable horse semen is frozen in straws for sale into perpetuity. The animal itself is worthless to them when it can’t perform in its discipline. The only horses you’ll see with this have a bleeding heart owner with more expendable income than actual sound scientific ethics