Why do we still kill racehorses?

THE English thoroughbred racehorse is one of the most beautiful animals on the planet. Yet if it were being designed by computer rather than having its evolution controlled by man down the centuries, the thoroughbred would surely look somewhat different.

Those thin legs with their myriad bones would definitely be sturdier, you would think. They certainly would not break so awfully as the cannon bone of Rewilding did on Saturday during the King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.

The horrific scenes of the horse trying to carry on running with just three useful legs cast a shadow over the big race, and rightly so - the day that racing treats equine fatalities with equanimity is the day that the sport signs its own death warrant.

No doubt many people will wonder why, in this age of instant treatment and exhaustive and successful rehabilitation processes, Rewilding could not be saved.

On close examination of the facts, however, it is clear no operation could have saved Rewilding, who would probably have gone into shock and died in agony within minutes if not anaesthetised and taken in a racehorse ambulance to the nearest veterinary hospital.

Why did that not happen? The vets at racecourses are highly trained and have diagnostic guidelines which they follow.

They always have the ultimate call on whether to save the horse or not, and in recent years veterinary developments have meant that more horses have been kept alive who would previously have been put down.

Vets attending stricken horses hate cannon bone injuries because they are usually always fatal, as is the case with shoulder, neck and spinal injuries. A lot of other injuries, for example to fetlocks, pasterns and hips, can be treated, often with very good results.

In a cannon (shin) bone break, however, if the fracture is so bad that it cannot be splinted, or if the blood supply to the lower leg has been ruptured by the fracture, then euthanasia really is the only humane thing to do.

The cannon bone has no protective muscle, just a sheath of tendons which, if torn by the fracture, are irreparable. No splint or plaster cast will work if the fracture is too bad, and even then, because a horse needs to exercise even slightly to keep its bodily functions going, the chances are that the horse will suffer a lingering death in its box. A horse forced to rest by lying on its side is vulnerable to fluid on the lungs, and fatal constipation.

Horses can sleep standing up, but their 'rest' position is on all fours with their legs bent at the knee - impossible with a bad leg break.With the broken bone and sliced tendons, the horse will also be in agony and unlike a human, a horse cannot understand its pain and predicament and its natural inclination is to stand - which only worsens the fracture and leads inevitably to death from shock or infection. Similarly, a horse's instinct is to attempt to stand up as soon as a general anaesthetic wears off, undoing the work of a lengthy operation on a broken bone in the leg.

The vets would have judged that Rewilding's broken bone was so badly fractured that it could not have survived even the trip in the horse ambulance.

Experts on the scene said the vet's verdict on Rewilding was unavoidable. Tim Morris, director of Equine Science and Welfare at the British Horseracing Authority, explained: "Rewilding suddenly and completely unexpectedly suffered a major fracture of the lower part of his near-fore.

"The horse was caught and examined by the vets immediately, and the decision was made that humane euthanasia was the only option. That was done professionally by the vets on the scene. It is a great regret, but it was the right decision for the horse."

Make no mistake, if Rewilding could have been saved, he would have been, not least because as a Group 1 winner he was worth millions in stud fees.

Equine medicine is progressing, and the Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies near Edinburgh is a leading force in the field, but no one there would claim that vets will any day soon be able to treat all racing injuries.

The question remains: is racing as safe as it could be? Well, horse welfare across the sport is rigorously and effectively policed, both by the British Horseracing Association and the RSPCA which has not hesitated to bring prosecutions against even high profile owners and trainers.

There are up to 14,000 horses in training in Britain, of which around 400 die each year in accidents on the tracks and gallops. Many more die of illness, while those who live and race are given better treatment than any animal save a pet pooch at Crufts. Racing people care about their horses, and race them because that is what the species does - it's no good for anything other than racing. Without the sport, the species would cease to exist.

There is another unavoidable fact about racing - accidents will always happen in a sport where half-ton creatures race at 30mph and more.

More can always be done to cut accidents. Much research is needed, for instance, into claims that inbreeding is making the actual skeletons of horses more fragile.Meanwhile, there will be a quiet and thorough inquiry behind the scenes into Rewilding's death, and any lessons about the safety of the ground or the animal's preparation will be learned and reported to the industry for action.

That is as it should be, for when it comes to reducing equine accidents, the only thing that the racing world can do is everything.