this post was submitted on 10 Oct 2024
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Science Memes

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Cheeky (mander.xyz)
submitted 1 day ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 109 points 1 day ago (4 children)

To add on why broken legs are fatal: its because horses are so big, that even with a sling, they cannot support themselves well on 3 legs. And lying down is also not an option as their own weight will crush their internal organs if they stay down for too long.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 hours ago

I thought horses not being able to lie down for long was just competition horses! It's all of them?

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 day ago

Also their blood gets pumped through their hooves, and to much weight on one hoof can impede blood flow through their body.

[–] [email protected] 59 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Oh, wow, I had always thought that shooting a horse with a broken leg was an act of brutal expedience, not mercy.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 17 hours ago

It's sad, but it's common medical practice in modern horse hospitals:

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 day ago

Also, don't they need to run to move food through their digestive tract? Or to force themselves to cough if they have something stuck in their lungs? I think there is some sort of dependency of basic functions that relies on the movement of their lungs/stomach going back and forth while running that they can't easily do if they just stand in one place all day