# Why do they shoot horses? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 21, 2006, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597 "2006-05-21T01:45:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597/21 "2006-05-21T23:28:35Z")
Nitpick: The singlular of “testes” isn’t “teste”, it’s “testis”. I’ll (grudgingly) tolerate English plurals to Latin nouns, but not back-formed English singulars. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2006, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597/22 "2006-05-21T23:29:48Z")
> [@rocking chair](#): > > poor ruffian. 31 years of vet med has improved chances for horses. ruffian came to laying down in a padded stall. no sling, no pool. even with the team she had with her, it is hard go overcome herbivore instinct. she had a 10% chance, her owner decided to give her that chance. unfortunatly it didn’t work out for her. Ruffian’s injury was much worse. Even today, they couldn’t have saved her. At least with Barbero, the hoof stayed where you expect a horse’s hoof to be. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597/23 "2006-05-22T00:27:55Z")
'tis true. she had cuts and hemor. she was in very bad straits going into surgery. amazing how some horses really touch you. 31 years later and we are still heartbroken over ruffian. and go for wand… some just really capture you as soon as you see them. barbaro has that something as well. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597/24 "2006-05-22T02:34:18Z")
so far so good for barbaro. he is out of surgery and on his feet. now it is up to him to stay calm and recover. ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597/25 "2006-05-22T02:37:58Z")
> [@rocking chair](#): > > so far so good for barbaro. he is out of surgery and on his feet. now it is up to him to stay calm and recover. [Linky](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060522/ap_on_sp_ot/rac_barbaro_surgery) Check out the picture. That’s just plain silly. ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597/26 "2006-05-22T02:51:11Z")
> [@DxZero](#): > > [Linky](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060522/ap_on_sp_ot/rac_barbaro_surgery) > > Check out the picture. That’s just plain silly. Of course, they changed the photo. [Here](http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/sp/050206kentuckyderby/im:/060522/483/8ab95934c31944d783eaca26b2ba9f95;_ylt=AtDDX6pd6jp4KFs8.pRDWFaMKsMA;_ylu=X3oDMTA5bGcyMWMzBHNlYwNzc25hdg--) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597/27 "2006-05-22T02:55:45Z")
> [@rocking chair](#): > > 'tis true. she had cuts and hemor. she was in very bad straits going into surgery. > > amazing how some horses really touch you. 31 years later and we are still heartbroken over ruffian. and go for wand… some just really capture you as soon as you see them. barbaro has that something as well. Very much so. Ruffian was just a great horse. I actually had a bet on her that day (at OTB, not at the track). The race just stunned me, and the image of her hobbling around still gets to me. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597/28 "2006-05-22T03:13:04Z")
Oh, that’s so sad. Too bad there aren’t horse anti-anxiety meds to give them while you keep them immobile. So, so very sad. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597/29 "2006-05-22T03:13:29Z")
watching the philly news, they showed pictures of him in operating theatr, recovery, and the xray. amazing surgery. the vet.s at bolton will be going over this surgery for years. amazing. earlier today while discussing barbaro and horse injuries; they showed film of ruffian winning one of her races. it was good to see her running. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597/30 "2006-05-22T03:14:24Z")
> [@groman](#): > > Solution: Send the horses into orbit in a special horse rehab center with special variable-speed revolving part that can simulate different gravity strengths for gradual physical therapy. > > Right now that’s preposterous. In 500 years? Maybe not. Or just set the bone and inject a few nanites. And I assume they don’t make horse-sized versions of those doggie carts. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597/31 "2006-05-22T03:16:12Z")
I just remembered-don’t we have a poster here named Ruffian? ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597/32 "2006-05-22T04:21:02Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Very much so. Ruffian was just a great horse. I actually had a bet on her that day (at OTB, not at the track). The race just stunned me, and the image of her hobbling around still gets to me. Ruffian I saw on TV at home, and that was bad. Go For Wand, I was at a race book, and of course, it was on the big screen. Those [images](http://www.angelfire.com/realm2/classical0/gfw.html) are burned indelibly in my mind (graphic warning). But I still go. DD ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597/33 "2006-05-22T04:37:30Z")
I remember seeing something on _The History Channel_ about a fire horse back about a hundred years ago or so, that while racing to a fire, got his hoof caught in some railroad ties while crossing the track and he kept going, so fast he tore the hoof _clean off_. But he still kept going and they didn’t even realize until they got back to the station, where of course, he had to be put down. That’s what the Go For Wand pictures reminded me of. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597/34 "2006-05-22T05:24:02Z")
**vetbridge** - I think it’s still the case that the Jockey Club doesn’t recognize offspring from AI breedings. At least when I had my mare bred the stud owner said they wouldn’t accept it. Yep, here it is in the Jockey Club regulations for registration. > [@](#): > > D. To be eligible for registration, a foal must be the result of a stallion’s Breeding with a broodmare (which is the physical mounting of a broodmare by a stallion with intromission of the penis and ejaculation of semen into the reproductive tract). As an aid to the Breeding, a portion of the ejaculate produced by the stallion during such mating may immediately be placed in the uterus of the broodmare being bred. A natural gestation must take place in, and delivery must be from, the body of the same broodmare in which the foal was conceived. **Without limiting the above, any foal resulting from or produced by the processes of Artificial Insemination, Embryo Transfer or Transplant, Cloning or any other form of genetic manipulation not herein specified, shall not be eligible for registration.** So getting sperm before putting him down would be pointless from a racing standpoint. **Guinistasia** - Yep, we have a Ruffian, and she took her name from the great horse. StG ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597/35 "2006-05-22T11:00:00Z")
no worries, guinastasia, barbaro is on some very lovely drugs right now. it’s just some animals have a laid back personality, like barbaro and some have a spunky personality like ruffian. laid back does better with this type of injury. spunky does better with infections and colds. i have a cat that really fights tranqs. she still hissed, growls, and in very slow motion, strikes out. she is a fighter. it worked well for her when she had to fight off a really bad infection when she was 10 days old. it would work against her if she had to have a long, quiet, recovery. she would fight the tranq. and the injury and do more damage. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597/36 "2006-05-22T12:03:46Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Ruffian I saw on TV at home, and that was bad. Go For Wand, I was at a race book, and of course, it was on the big screen. Those [images](http://www.angelfire.com/realm2/classical0/gfw.html) are burned indelibly in my mind (graphic warning). > > But I still go. > > DD Thankfully, I did not see it in person, but was watching live on TV. I will never forget it, either. The image that haunts me most was her groom kneeling at her head sobbing “Wanda, Wanda” over and over. I believe it was the same year, a well known steeplechase was televised, and the spectacular dapple grey named Dark Ivy came over a jump, and came down wrong… very, very wrong, and snapped his neck. These are images I wish I could erase from my mind, bu I will carry with me till my dying day. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597/37 "2006-05-22T13:38:04Z")
Is anybody else surprised that horses are so fragile? It seems remarkable to me that an animal used in a military capacity for thousands of years should go down so easily. Or is it that racehorses are significantly more fragile than cavalry horses or plowhorses or any other kind of horse? ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597/38 "2006-05-22T13:39:25Z")
They certainly do shoot horses. My wife ran into a horse a few years ago. He had gotten out of his pasture, wandered across the road to investigate an orchard, then decided to cross the road just as Mrs. R came along. Smashed the heck out of the car. I went up the road to see what was going on, and wish I hadn’t. He was standing there, the lower part of his foreleg swinging around, attached by a thread. There was a cop there, too; I went home and a while later heard a shot. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597/39 "2006-05-22T13:42:45Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Ruffian I saw on TV at home, and that was bad. Go For Wand, I was at a race book, and of course, it was on the big screen. Those [images](http://www.angelfire.com/realm2/classical0/gfw.html) are burned indelibly in my mind (graphic warning). First I’ve seen those. They are horrible; Ruffian was bad, but not like this. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597/40 "2006-05-22T13:54:26Z")
Someone on the news yesterday said one of the problems is that there are two main blood vessels that could be obstructed. So even if there isn’t bleeding, they could still have problems. My SIL spent a fortune getting her horse to the point where they wouldn’t have to put him down. But all he can really do is just hang around. She can ride him, but as far as I know, she can’t run him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-shoot-horses/357597.md?page=3)