Reply #9: The horse has little to no chance of survival, due to infections and general health [View All]

Here's an article on it, written after Barbaro's injury.

http://www.slate.com/id/2142159/

To sum it up, basically, a break tears blood vessels and causes a high risk of infection, and in a horse the infection can't easily be treated with antibiotics because of its size and the amount of antibiotics it takes. When the horse's bones break through the skin, as happened today, the infection risk is much higher. Combined with loss of motion and support for the horse, the body is just not usually able to recover. Barbaro was a best case scenario a couple of years ago, and they couldn't save him, even with the spare-no-expense mentality with which they treated him.

It's definitely not because the horse can't race. Race horses are worth a lot of money, even after they retire (breeding, and just prestige for the owner) and most owners are very attached to them, as well. Owners who treat their horses badly are frowned upon, even shunned in the sport. There's just so little chance for survival.