[Lizavetta]

Why can't a horse recover from broken legs/ankles?

They're too big? Too heavy? Too what?

[Arguendo]

Or even a dislocated ankle? Unbelievable.

On Friday, a colt named Chelokee, trained by Barbaro's trainer Michael Matz, dislocated an ankle during an undercard for the Kentucky Oaks and was given a 50 percent chance of survival.

[lajollasurfer]

Too heavy; you can tell from this incident how fragile those small legs are supporting the horses weight. When repaired the blood does not flow properly unless the horse can move and with two broken ankles she was not going to move.

[waud]

Check out this link, it will answer some questions.

http://www.vet.upenn.edu/newsandevents/news/Barbaro.htm

[Uncle Hal]

According to my brother in law, who is an equine vet, they have never been able to develop a splint or prosthesis for horses. Horses like to get up and run around and if they cannot they get infections that are often fatal. If a human brakes his leg he will stay off his feet for a few weeks until it heals. It is not natural for a horse to sit around and wait for the healing process to run its course.

[Amberdawn]

1st, they break the bones, which leads to tearing of tendons, ligaments and blood vessels-there is no longer any supporting structure to the leg, and if the blood vessels cannot be repaired, no blood supply to heal the wounds. Also, if it is a compound fracture, bacteria will enter the wound which can lead to infection. If the horse manages to survive all that, THEN the problem is one of off-leg laminitis, where the horse is supporting all it’s weight on the uninjured leg/hoof. This is what ultimatley killed Barbaro. There is also the problem of colic due to inactivity-the horse is stall ridden until healing takes place. Horses were meant to move constantly while grazing and do not take well to confinement, though this can be mitigated somewhat by careful monitoring of diet and handling.