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  Discussion on Horse Breaks Leg - Looking for Possible Explanation
Author Message
Member:
canter

Posted on Sunday, Jul 27, 2008 - 8:07 pm:

Hi DrO,
Wasn't quite sure where to put this...so apologize if in the wrong place. We sadly lost an old Paint horse at the barn yesterday. He had to be euthanized due to a broken leg.

This was a 33 year old Paint gelding, who, altho a bit underweight, was otherwise very happy and healthy. The owner had been struggling with his weight for a while, but finally found a feed he would consistently eat and he was gaining and really regained the bloom in his coat in recent months.

The break was to the upper inside of a rear thigh - it had punctured the skin, but with minimal bleeding. I saw the horse mid afternoon; my daughter and I gave him and others some treats and as we were leaving, all horses were fine. Two to 3 hours later, the BO's daughter found him with the broken leg - a vet was immedietely called and they gave him love and treats and then put him down when the vet arrived.

Of course, we are all second guessing what happened and looking for answers. Due to the placement of the break and minimal bruising around it, we don't think he was kicked by his pasture mate. What I wonder is this: Do old horses get osteoporosis, like some people do as they age? Given his picky eating habits of late, could his bones have become thin enough that as he levered himself up from a nap or a roll, that the bone shattered?

I know you hate "could have..." questions, DrO. I'm wondering if you've seen anything like that happen. I am saddened by his death and am hoping I can provide some answers, and perhaps comfort to the BO, who owned the horse. They are understandably very devastated at the loss.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Jul 28, 2008 - 6:56 am:

My condolences FranC,
It is possible to suppose that after a bout of "poor doing" the bones become softer but have not seen any reports on age related osteoporosis in horses. However you see tibial fractures fairly commonly in horses, usually with no history of why it happened.
DrO
PS: I don't hate "is it possible?" questions FranC but often I don't find them useful. The problem with these questions is though the answer may often be "yes it is possible" which includes the very large subset of unlikely or unknown possibilities.
Member:
lilo

Posted on Monday, Jul 28, 2008 - 10:45 am:

So sorry to hear about the loss of the Paint due to a broken leg. We had to put down a relatively young gelding due to a broken leg, and it was so sudden and devastating. My condolences.
Lilo
Member:
canter

Posted on Monday, Jul 28, 2008 - 12:41 pm:

Thanks DrO and Lilo for the condolances, and for your response DrO. I will pass them on to the owner. I certainly missed this old Paint's sweet face this morning when I went out to ride.

As useless as it is, I can't help but thinking that perhaps if I had stayed a while later at the barn, I could have prevented the injury...or could I have possibly missed it when we visited? Not very productive thinking, I know.
Member:
paul303

Posted on Tuesday, Jul 29, 2008 - 9:44 pm:

Know what Fran? Probably nothing could have prevented it. I lost a hale and hearty QH around 2002. Walked out to the paddock in the AM and found him with what looked like a bullet hole in his chest ( he was around 12 ). We even called the forest rangers in - convinced that someone had been hunting carelessly close to homes and horse farms. This was a sane, level-headed well trained QH gelding - I adored him. My vet thought it looked like a bullet hole....sent us to the clinic.... where the x-ray showed a broken humerus - one of the shortest, thickest bones. It was a compound tortion fracture???!! The perfectly round bone punctured through the chest and went back in...leaving a perfectly round hole. He was able to get around quite well for a day and a half, until my vet returned from an AAEP conference. The covering vet was swamped and reluctant to come out if the horse was "up, eating, and fairly comfortable".....I've never forgiven myself for that day and a half....

If there is something "right" about this "old Paint's" situation, it is that he was released from suffering so quickly.
Member:
canter

Posted on Wednesday, Jul 30, 2008 - 8:15 am:

Wow, Lee. What a strange and awful thing to happen to your QH! I can understand your agony for that day and a half...but how were you to know? Even the vet thought it looked like a bullet hole.

When I found out about Dally on Sunday morning (the owner ran out to tell me as I went to get my horse for a lesson), she was VERY gratified to learn of when we had been out there on Saturday. The timeline seemed to confirm that he indeed had not suffered long and it was a big comfort to her.
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