Dear Dr. John,
I have read with a lot of concern about the seven horses that died leading up to the Kentucky Derby last week. I am hoping that you might shed some light on why the horses died and why they could not be saved. Apparently, when racehorses seriously injure their legs, they usually need to be put down. Why can’t they have surgery and be healed like dogs and cats? I have read about the use of illegal substances and pushing the horses too hard leading to a high rate of death in racehorses in the U.S. Is that true and what can be done about it? I.L.
Dear I.L.,
Horse racing has been around for an eternity and is seeded in culture, not only in the US but around the world. In 2019, there were 30 horse deaths in a short period of time in California at the Santa Anita racetrack, Then and now, racing officials have done a great deal to ensure safe racing conditions for the horses and their riders by checking track conditions, routinely testing blood, urine, and hair for banned substances, and more and they continue to do so.
Despite best efforts, accidents still happen, and the injuries can lead to euthanasia of the animals. Anatomically speaking, horses are standing on their middle fingers and toes and not on a broader area distributing the weight of their bodies. When horses break their legs, the bones suffer difficult fractures but more significantly, some animals don’t recover well due to the weight-bearing load and stress on the bones, the subsequent pain, and the poor healing of the distal bones. Ninety percent do have surgery, recover well, and even return to racing. The other 10% have damage to the blood supplies to the distal leg impeding healing and a horse cannot survive standing on three legs.
Sadly, horse racing has long had a drug culture within it in trying to give horses an edge to win and these animals are pushed to the limit. The good news is that the Jockey Club has had a database for over a decade looking to reduce injuries and deaths and the work is paying off with numbers coming down dramatically.
Dr. John de Jong owns and operates the Boston Mobile Veterinary Clinic.He can be reached at 781-899-9994.
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