Rocky the 3 legged foal has finally been euthanised!

[AintNobodyHereButUsChickens]

Only a year too late. Not sure if anyone in here follows the page but about a year ago at a Rocking R Ranch and Rescue in America, a 3 legged foal was born and they kept him alive until yesterday. He caused a lot of controversy online, people saying he should’ve been put down at birth and people on the other side saying he was a ‘miracle from god’ and was clearly happy, loving life and you couldn’t prove he was in pain 🙄 which, true, but horses are NOT meant to have 3 legs, because they carry the majority of their weight on their front legs and to have only one leg at the front puts a huge amount of strain on his bones and muscles!

Sounds like he was kept alive while he still had a good quality of life and was euthanised when he did not. I follow a page where there was a similar story with a premature foal called Seven. He got to about a year or so before he was in too much pain to enjoy life.

So we should be getting rid of all people and animals who don’t have the right number of limbs because it causes strain on bones and muscles and not as they are ‘meant to be?’. I’m not talking miracle from God but no way I think any being should be euthanised unless we believe they are in extreme pain and can’t have any good quality of life. Which is highly subjective as people/animals in pain do have capacity to be happy. The two aren’t mutually exclusive.

This is about a horse, not a person.

OP has explained why this is wrong - it causes extreme strain on the animal’s front leg.

Totally agree, the poor creature looked absolutely deformed when I last saw about him a couple of months ago. Horse people will all agree!

I think any being should be euthanised unless we believe they are in extreme pain and can’t have any good quality of life.

We're talking about animals, not people. By the time most animals are showing any signs of pain, they've already been suffering for a long time.

The poor animal should have been euthanised after it was born. Keeping him alive was a selfish decision, done for the content and donations. He probably never knew a day without being in pain.

Don’t get me wrong, there are tonnes of animals who can, and do, live long and happy lives with only 3 legs. Horses are NOT one of them. They are simply too big and heavy for it to be safe and comfortable. There’s a reason prosthetic limbs for horses are considered to be deeply unethical. Yes, people have done it, but it leads to a life of pain, misery and likely a catastrophic injury from a bad fall which then leads to them being put down in a great amount of pain and fear.

A year too late imho.
Perhaps something with short, stout legs may have managed, like a mini shetland? Unlikely, probably.
but not this type of horse.

I’m no expert on horses so I’ll defer to your experience on the mechanics of this disability for a horse. The increased risk of a catastrophic injury like you mention is not something I considered, so perhaps I was hasty in my comment.

But unlike pp I don’t see a huge distinction between people and animals. Many humans and animals experience constant pain and suffering to different degrees, but can have a meaningful life with happiness despite this. Because happiness and suffering are states of mind rather than inevitably the same for each being in each situation. Obviously it’s harder for us to assess how happy animals are which is where these issues become debates, but people in close relationships with animals usually have a good sense of how happy and content they are.

Awful people. He was kept alive to make money from.

Such a pitiful life, the poor creatures must have only known pajn. A 3 legged horse isn't right. This is completely different from other animals or people. It would have caused huge issues internally too, this isn't just a bit wobbly, can't jump around issue.

I work in a vets practice and i can't agree that an animal in pain is happy, even drugged up to the eyeballs with pain relief which is another aspect altogether.
Euthanasia isn't only justified for extreme pain either , quality of life as a whole has more relevance.
I have worked in this field for decades and thankfully the majority of people have their pet put to sleep at the right time but i have seen cases where the owner is adamant that keeping the pet alive at all costs is the right thing to do ,really they aren't doing this for the pet but for their own selfish needs and i can't find the words to express the contempt ,anger and sometimes hatred i feel for these misguided selfish idiots.

When you consider a horses main defence is flight , even if that horse knew no different as he was born missing a limb, his brain would still be on "Flight Mode" which he couldn't accomplish .

Very sad for this poor creature not to have been euthanised at the start and hopefully the people who kept him alive for their own gratification will think hard .

I have noticed a huge increase in keeping animals going on beyond their time , especially watching a high profile specialist on TV who has great technical knowledge and an urge to try things .
I often think "just because it CAN be done does NOT mean it should be done " be done"

Thanks for posting. I was aware of the foal and hope he had a peaceful end. It didnt look like a miracle to me

Wow, I hope you don’t work at my vets practice. I’m sure you do lots of wonderful work. However people can have different opinions about the experiences and feelings of animals. Ultimately we infer things and don’t know. I do agree some people will project their own needs onto animals at times, but contempt and hatred for the people you are helping seems quite sad to me.

Equines of any size and shape are evolved to be herd animals, moving and interacting with companions of differing ages, each has a role within the herd. They are not evolved to live in a small pen, utterly dependent on humans to meet all their needs. Their quality of life depends on living as naturally as possible. This poor foal has had a very compromised QOL for a year. The compassionate act would have been to pts soon after birth.

I didn’t know about this case, but his front leg looks deformed too? He must have found getting up and lying down incredibly difficult. I can’t imagine his short life was enjoyable at all.

I stand by my words , people who treat animals abusively for that is what it is when you drag on and on an innocent animal that needs nothing but a peaceful loving end deserve contempt.
We are always professional but also human , our priority is always the pet , always, and as i said the majority of people do the right thing for their beloved pet , but the ones that don't deserve to be judged.
I hope i don't work at the practice you use too.

The wonderful caretakers at Rocking R Ranch only kept him alive until his quality of life was in jeopardy and did an amazing job! He was obviously sent here to pass a message from God which I see was sorely missed by anyone with derogatory comments! I’ve been a horse lover and owner my entire life and I’m so glad Rocking R Ranch shared Rocky’s story with us all! My heart goes out to them as this is a tremendous loss! Rocky’s message was received, so he was called home! Rest in paradise sweet angel! 😢💔🌈🐎🙏🏻❤️

Really !
If you believe in God then you would see this as wrong, jeeping an animal in pain, and not able to participate in normal behaviours as abhorrent and totally wrong

I'm with you OP.

My mare is recovering from a hindlimb lameness and it has been so difficult and painful for her. I can see how much extra pressure the opposite hind leg was taking and that is with a hind leg. Plus this was a short, temporary lameness that she will fully recover from. Nothing like a the pressure put on the body due to a front limb being missing.

As that foal grew, his body would have got heavier and heavier. It's utterly heartbreaking, but horses have evolved in such a way that a missing limb is catastrophic. Non horse people don't understand about complications such as stress laminitis. This isn't like a pet cat. A horse that can't move freely, is not a happy horse, the quality of life just isn't good enough.

It's just how it is.

I found this video as I hadn't heard about Rocky until reading this thread.

No, they won't. Horse people talk to their vet, then to the specialist their vet recommends. They have the test done, talk again to the vet and the specialist and follow their advice. Exactly as Rocky's owner did.

I had a horse that went blind in one eye. Then he had a serious head injury, followed by anemia and an issue with his liver. He was 24 at the time and it would have been the easiest thing to put him to sleep; surely all horse people would agree?

On the other hand my solid as a rock Welsh section D, without a sick or sorry day in his life, refused his breakfast on January 8th this year. By dinner time he had been put to sleep. That's what responsible horse people do.

Religion always seems to cause pain and to say this poor baby was sent by god as a message just shows how fucked up it is.

Always relieved to see an animal released from suffering and pain, just a pity it took so long. RIP little one 💔

Totally agree .

That's a lot of words to say, I kept an animal alive who was in pain and suffering, because I could use him to make content and get donations.

That poor animal probably never knew a single day without pain, and he should have been euthanised shortly after he was born.

@Whinge Where's your evidence?