Another research project foal

This guy graced my feed this morning and I ask what sort of life will this baby have? At least this rescue has the word euthanasia in their vocabulary but still. Raising him as an orphan with 3 legs and no chance for any prosthetics makes me think he won’t be around long.

Humans are the cruelest creatures on earth.

That’s disgusting.

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Since there is no context here, I just want to add that I’ve seen the full posts, and the rescue has clearly stated that they are monitoring quality of life and will not hesitate to let the foal go as he gains too much weight to support himself or struggles to get up/move around. He’s something like 3 days old, and was born with an undeveloped front leg (so it was not removed, it just didn’t grow beyond the earliest stages).

Apparently he’s doing surprisingly well for now, and is happily drinking from a bucket and moving around, including getting up and down.

If the caregivers are attuned to any signs of stress or pain, I don’t think an immediate euthanization is the only path forward. They seem aware that his life will be short and that the quality needs to be there for it to continue.

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What–and I cannot stress this enough–the actual eff.

Everyone KNOWS this baby horse cannot survive. Waiting for it to fail is cruel. Why would anyone want to see suffering before making the call.

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Oh, same rescue, they had one the other day where there was a SEVERE leg break, and instead of euthing on the spot they let the horse have a couple of days of being loved.

I was so mad I had to walk away from my phone for a bit. Of all people, proper rescues should know better. Absolutely disgusting.

Edit: The horse’s name was Dawn. They were even hawking for donations for her. Really classy. Note they had the vet see her and xray her leg, but didn’t euth right then and there. They have deleted a ton of comments, but if I recall correctly she was trailered even after they were 100% sure of the severity. Gross.

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But if the end game is euthanasia, what is gained by letting it survive until it can’t? It’s 3 days old. Now is as good a time then ever. Oh wait, cases like this generate big donations :wink:

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Agreed, there is no reason to let the horse have a bad day, it’s just human selfishness at play here.

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I’m not saying it’s the decision I would have made, but I’m thankful that the context is that this seems to be a case of “give him a few days/weeks of a pleasant enough life before putting him down” vs “keep him going at all costs for as long as possible”. For some people, maybe knowing that they gave a horse a few days of being loved is important, if the quality of life is there temporarily. Again, not saying it’s the decision I would have made, but I don’t think this one is as bad as it might look at first glance.

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We have the incredible gift of foresight.

There is zero chance this horse will survive.

The flip side of this:

Is that this horse will experience the pain and terror of “not being able to support himself” and “struggles to get up/move around.”

EVERYONE here knows that is coming. Everyone.

Requiring that this foal suffer before allowing it to exit this life is so so so cruel.

Giving this foal the GIFT of a peaceful end without asking it to SUFFER FIRST is kindness.

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They typically aren’t able to euthanize right at the auction grounds, hence hauling out.

Right or wrong, RRR has also helped numerous horse (now pasture sound as a minimum) that plenty of people wanted PTS immediately instead of giving them a chance. Yet those horses are now thriving & happy.
Not saying I always agree with their decisions, but I’ve been proven wrong in a couple cases in which the horse ended up being fine.

You are correct, they do ask for donations for all of their horses, even those destined to be PTS, as even euthanasia & disposal costs money.
However if you would rather not be asked to donate, it’s quite simple to just not follow them on their social media account.

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They did not euth her after the vet saw her, either. She was allowed to continue for several days in order to experience “love.”

They got absolutely trashed about it in their comments and defended their decision.

You can see that I don’t follow them. However, they are prolific and popular, so the algorithm shows me their stuff often. I also was often looking at the stuff with Asombro, which I am sure feeds into the algorithm.

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I unfollowed this rescue yesterday after the initial post about this poor creature, they hadn’t said what the issue was, just that the owners wanted it to have a chance (but not so much that they’d allow it to stay with its dam).

Now I’ve seen this I’m glad I unfollowed and do not have to see the inevitable played out l.

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They were able to fix those other horses issues enough to leave them pain free or pasture sound. There is no way to create a 4th appendage of any sorts for this baby. There is no “plan” except just to wait and see what happens. That to me, is not acceptable.

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This seems rather cruel to this poor foal.

We have a somewhat local rescue that my mom and I both supported and loved going to their open house events. Then they rescued a horse with a broken leg that they were trying to raise money for, so it could have surgery with no guarantee that the horse would survive the surgery. At that point, I stopped donating to them because why? Probably because people who didn’t know better thought yes, we can save this poor horse. It was a long time ago so I don’t remember the exact details of the injury but I never supported them again. This feels like the same thing but with a foal.

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I too blocked after the mare with the broken leg. They let her suffer for a night waiting to see a vet, then hauled her to the vet, then hauled her home. On that broken leg. There’s not enough pain meds in the world that could justify the torture they put that mare through, so that they could “love” her.

This foal is sickening, and honestly, I would hope that their vet calls animal control and didn’t encourage not euthanizing immediately. We all know the end here. Why are we going to wait until the foal is scared and struggling, rather than letting him go when he is still bright and happy. It’s disgusting.

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I’m conflicted a bit.
This is the rescue that took in Asombro & eventually gave him back to the breeder.
But this baby & the mare who was most likely oblivious to the “love”, don’t seem to be from the same school of thought re: QOL

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My reply that you quoted was in response to a comment regarding a different horse. Not the foal.
I haven’t said anything regarding my feelings one way or another about the foal.

Money.

They get money from clicks, likes, sharing, donations, etc.

Its horrible to exploit this poor baby or any animal like this. It’s cruel.

Same thing with Baby 7. Its a click money magnet.

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I made my opinion known in the comments. I guess worst case they delete it but honestly WTH is wrong with some people.

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If you read all the comments,
there were 2 or 3 people who knew of mature 3 legged horses
Who not only survived but thrived- all were born with only 3 legs.
I say see how he does. They’re searching for a nursemare now so that’s a. Positive.
This rescue usually goes above and beyond to make the right call for the animal and they do take some tough cases.

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