Very premature foal

[jherold]

Oh, I agree that this foal had/has no future, but I can also see how hard it is to stop and I don’t believe the people in charge of his care are evil and intentionally cruel.

I had a dog with chronic orthopedic issues that developed horrible GI issues. I called a halt when they wanted to ultrasound his stomach to see if he had stomach cancer. The only treatment would be to remove part of his stomach. His vet is a wonderful caring man and a great vet, but sometimes they get wrapped up on the “I can fix this” and don’t stop to think on if they should fix it.

[endlessclimb]

I think their oath may prevent them from flat out saying “this is not humane, this animal should not be alive.” Even in cases where they know it’s going to be fatal, they will do everything they can if the owner wants to.

[jherold]

Not in those words, but they can certainly suggest and make their recommendations known that the quality of life will not be good. Unfortunately, many people equate animal life with people’s lives and believe that if you would do it for your child you should do it for your pet.

[endlessclimb]

I’m confused how anyone can look at poor Seven and think that his life is going to be anything but misery.

Even without the atrocious legs, his back is not designed to be the way it is.

[SLW]

@endlessclimb

I’m confused how anyone can look at poor Seven and think that his life is going to be anything but misery.

Even without the atrocious legs, his back is not designed to be the way it is.

That is the side view that made me gasp. The hind end & back are so compromised. So sad.

[CBoylen]

I think that back is a combination of long term pain stance exacerbated by the extreme straightness of the hind (post)legs. With a little butt high growing to really emphasize how bad it is.
I can’t stop watching, it’s like a train wreck. Anyone want to speculate on why the LF tendon is so swollen? The LF fetlock and pastern also still look very unstable.

[luvmyhackney]

Oh my. That poor baby has to be in extreme pain.

[fivestrideline]

I like to think COTH is pretty realistic when it comes to horses - PETA and uneducated public, we are not. When this board all agrees that something is plain wrong, it’s usually a sign that something is wrong.

I defended her and this baby upthread when it was still an unlikely chance he could live a good life - but there was still a chance. I don’t see this EVER getting to a place where it’s fair to the animal, even with several miracles.

[endlessclimb]

I’d guess it’s from the 20 or so pressure sores the poor thing has, or from those horrendous looking braces.

[Paint_Party]

@endlessclimb

I’m confused how anyone can look at poor Seven and think that his life is going to be anything but misery.

I think his entire life has been misery. His poor body is horribly contorted and malformed from its original design and intent.

Those joints look completely unstable. I find it doubtful that he’ll ever be able to manuever around a pasture or paddock without his orthopedic braces, which I don’t believe he can wear forever. My guess is eventually he’ll suffer a catastrophic infection or stumble and fall, breaking something. And then this poor creature’s life will be over, marked by countless surgeries, procedures, courses of antibiotics and days of pain.

[Hightale]

When the vet stated that they kept his weight down as they didn’t want him to have a growth spurt I felt sick to my stomach.

[CanteringCarrot]

I know that it’s been discussed already, but I still can’t believe that vets are just…going along with this.

[fivestrideline]

Something to be said for my old-school vets growing up - they may not have had the most current education on every little thing, but they sure as heck wouldn’t let an animal suffer like this. Just because you can doesn’t mean you always should.

[CanteringCarrot]

Yep.

I mean it’s cool to marvel at the technological and medical advances that have been made, but we can’t lose sight that these are animals. I feel like it’s easy to push things too far when things are fueled by emotion or a drive to see how far we can get. The thing is, should we ever even get that far? Is there truly a need to do that?

This is an animal with certain basic instincts and thoughts. Death (especially via humane euthanasia) is not the worst thing that can happen, by far.

[StormyDay]

I gasped when I saw the front leg. Okay, they stabilized the joint. But it looks like they wrecked this poor foals’ tendons in the process. Why is it bumpy?!?
And those hocks are scary. Both look like there’s something really wrong going on there.

I almost wonder if the better path (aside for humane euth) would have been no intervention at all. Let him stand on his legs, let him strengthen his tendons when he’s a tiny foal. Theres a risk of more joint issues down the road, but I’d much rather deal with some knee arthritis in an 8 year old than serious ligament and tendon problems now.

[endlessclimb]

There were no bones in the joints, from my understanding

[good_booie]

It’s starting to remind me of medical procures during the 1800’s with a modern flair.

[StormyDay]

@endlessclimb

There were no bones in the joints, from my understanding

Oh, well that’s horrifying. I was under the impression they were just not as developed as one would like.

[Highflyer1]

There’s nothing in the oath a vet takes that preclude explicitly recommending euthanasia, at least not in the US version.

Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine, I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health and welfare, the prevention and relief of animal suffering, the conservation of animal resources, the promotion of public health, and the advancement of medical knowledge.

I will practice my profession conscientiously, with dignity, and in keeping with the principles of veterinary medical ethics.

I accept as a lifelong obligation the continual improvement of my professional knowledge and competence.

[moonlitoaksranch]

The way his front left leg bends backwards with the brace off is very scary looking. The sores, the malformation of the bones and joints…why are they keeping this animal alive? Again, I suspect breeding, which would be a terrible idea.

An animal habituated to pain will not know anything else. Seven doesn’t know what a pain free life feels like. He doesn’t even know what a low pain life feels like. That doesn’t lessen his suffering. It just means that, as a biological system, he is maintaining life. I would not call him thriving. In fact, he is severely stunted and will never reach anything close to normal size. Delaying his growth by restricting feed intake is what breeders of mini pigs and mini cows do. Is this really the best they have? Is this vet really representing her university well by prolonging and even encouraging this to continue? I don’t believe she is violating her oath, but she may be in need of her university’s ethical review board (they should have one). This is really experimentation, not veterinary treatment. As with every animal experimentation, a review should be done to ensure the experiment is beneficial to add knowledge and not prolonging or causing suffering (!).