Why are horses with seemingly minor injuries put down?

I think the other answers are good, but one thing that hasn't been brought up is the fact that an injured horse is DANGEROUS, to themselves and their handlers. Horses are prey animals and their first reaction to a scary situation is to run away. read more

Essentially, horses are put down for “seemingly minor injuries” because they are not minor for a horse. Leg injuries in an animal that large with that anatomy and physiology are unlikely to heal and likely to cause secondary injuries while healing. read more

It's also extremely expensive to get an injury like that to heal, and most of the time it doesn't, so you spend a ton of money to end up putting the horse down anyway. The front end of a horse carries 60% of their body weight. Let's say the left front leg breaks. Horse can't put any weight on that leg. read more