Barbaro

[Karin Kirk]

I've been sad all day after I heard that the racehorse Barbaro had to be put down today. For some reason this one has been sticking with me even though I have no personal connection with this horse. The loss of a loved animal is simply one of the saddest things out there.

Growing up it was my dream to be a jockey. I followed the Triple Crown races religiously. Finally my parents gave in and allowed me to take riding lessons and I was sure this was the start of my incredible racing career. Too bad I got way too tall, so I ended up doing horse shows, playing polo and mucking a lot of stalls over the years. I was never all that good at the sport, but I was lucky to have been able to get close to many wonderful horses - such gentle giants.

Except for the occasional trail rides when we have out of town guests, I don't hang out with horses anymore. But today's news brought back lots of sweet memories of some of those old friends.

[Too Tall]

It's a GD shame. My sympathy with the horse.

[dauwhe]

It's so sad. I don't ride, but my wife is a serious rider. I was even watching the race on TV when it happened... A friend of ours had to put down her horse on Saturday, and the week before we had to put down our beloved old dog.

Lots of broken hearts everywhere...

Dave

[Hysbrian]

So I understand and can sympathize with losing an animal, but IMHO this has received too much press. It's not really a pressing news issue, and I would guess that the owners and family would like to see less of it also.

[csm]

think of the money spent to keep the horse avail for stud being used in an inner city hospital somewhere for people to be able to get some modicum of healthcare.

[dauwhe]

I won't argue that the suffering of human beings is far more important, and that as a society we need to do a much better job. But if I were searching for money to fund that inner-city hospital, veterinary care is not the first thing I would cut. I hope it is not a zero-sum game, where the money we spend on bicycles takes food from other people's mouths...

Dave, climbing down from the soap-box...

[Hysbrian]

Sadly I also heard that they kept him alive until he couldn't mount anymore and then decided to put him down

[atmo]

Sadly I also heard that they kept him alive until he couldn't mount anymore and then decided to put him down
don't let stevep know about this atmo.

[Len J]

Sadly I also heard that they kept him alive until he couldn't mount anymore and then decided to put him down

They were "Harvesting" sperm for Artifical Insemination.........It's getler on the horses (Less potential damage to Multi Million $ horses (If you've ever seen how they breed thouroughbreds, you would understand). Owners still get the benefit.

Len

[Hysbrian]

They were "Harvesting" sperm for Artifical Insemination.........It's getler on the horses (Less potential damage to Multi Million $ horses (If you've ever seen how they breed thouroughbreds, you would understand). Owners still get the benefit.

Len

I didn't think that they were allowed to Artificially Inseminate.

[Len J]

I didn't think that they were allowed to Artificially Inseminate.

that raises t/breds.............Maybe it depends on the state, but my sense is that it is pretty common.

Len

[Karin Kirk]

Thoroughbreds have to be bred "au natural" and offspring produced by artificial insemination can't be registered (or race).

The deciding factor to put him down was because he wouldn't be able to lead a pain-free life. In fact, he may not have recovered at all based on what I heard today. From what I understand the owners had plenty of money and his potential income as a stallion was not the deciding factor. And besides, insurance covers much of that anyway.

Alas, the world is left with one less stud - a tragedy indeed! ;)

[shinomaster]

I hope they don't put Bart Wellens down on account of his broken wrist.

[Karin Kirk]

Yeah and the stud factor is significantly reduced there too.

[Len J]

Thoroughbreds have to be bred "au natural" and offspring produced by artificial insemination can't be registered (or race).

The deciding factor to put him down was because he wouldn't be able to lead a pain-free life. In fact, he may not have recovered at all based on what I heard today. From what I understand the owners had plenty of money and his potential income as a stallion was not the deciding factor. And besides, insurance covers much of that anyway.

Alas, the world is left with one less stud - a tragedy indeed! ;)

Karin:

Isn't it legal overseas?

Len

[Karin Kirk]

Isn't it legal overseas?



I dunno. A quick google search told me that it's not legal for Australian thoroughbreds, but that's as long as my attention span on this topic lasted.

I also don't know if the rules are different for other breeds of horses.

The rules are different for show horses. They don't have to be registered or purebred so they can be bred artificially.

[Ginger]

There's a very old saying that Karin probably knows: No feet, no horse.

I think less "able to mount" and more not able to stand. The bone they were worried about re breaking is rather vital to the horse's soundness. And you can only take so much tissue from a hoof before the horse just can't stand on it anymore. I suspect when they went to treat the abscessed hoof after the surgery they found too much damage from the abscess to save him.

Lack of mobility is harder on a horse mentally than almost anything else. A stuck horse, a horse that can't be mobile (in a sling or on the ground), is a horse in a panic. They'll kill themselves thrashing around trying to get mobile again. So you can't just keep them in traction for 15 weeks waiting for things to heal.

I think it's so sad they had to put him down. The horse had heart.

Horses conceived with AI can't be registered with the Jockey Club...but they can still be used in other competitions.

[RIHans]

I agree 100%...That horse had heart! Stud or not, a beautiful animal.

[shinomaster]

I agree 100%...That horse had heart! Stud or not, a beautiful animal.

I feel the same way about Bart Wellens. :banana:

[slowgoing]

Tony Barbarino died??? OMG!!!

[shinomaster]

Tony Barbarino died??? OMG!!!

Wasn't it Vinni?

[slowgoing]

Vinny died too? OMG!!!

Seriously, I get all of my relatives' names confused. Vinny, Tony, Rocco, Augie, what's the diff?

[keno]

From sad feelings on the death of a beautiful racehorse, to the redistribution of the money spent on the medical treatment of the horse, to the rules on the uses of AI in breeding thoroughbreds, to a lesson in veternary medicine, to the future of those unable to stand (lie down, squat, whatever the Kama Sutra reveals, I assume) at stud, and to a character from the television series "Welcome Back, Kotter" (BTW, that show was 30 years ago).

keno

[Ray]

The New Bolton center (vet arm of University of Pennsylvania) where he was being treated is about 15 miles from my place and several of my riding routes passes along a couple of sides of the property. He was bred and raised in this County, so he was thought of as a local even though he'd been based elsewhere for a while. Needless to say, as much attention as this story has gotten natioinally, it's gotten quite a bit more around here.

I too find the priority and amount of emphasis this story has gotten to be pretty out of proportion given the number of PEOPLE dying in the middle east and elsewhere, but I have the same feelings of sorrow, so I'm not down on anyone for it - just slightly mystified about how a big dumb animal with a lot of heart captures so much of our sympathy. Dollars aside, grief is certainly not a zero-sum game and I guess we have plenty to go around these days.

When things were looking bad for him back in the late summer, I'd stop from time to time, look at all of the flowers and poster folks were putting up near the entrance and say my version of a little prayer for the big guy. When he was doing better and being allowed to walk around outdoors, I'd always wonder if I saw him out in the fields, but I know he was being watched far more closely than that. Haven't been riding much over the last several weeks and probably haven't been by New Bolton in a month or more, but I'll pay my respects the next time I ride by.

BTW, they said pretty clearly on the local news that would never be any baby Barbaros, so I don't think they were harvesting anything. For sure they were trying to keep him alive to put him out to stud, but the owners seem like folks who really care about their horses too, and I don't think this was JUST about the economic return.

-Ray

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . they're kept in captivity. They are trained to the point of exhaustion. They are dressed up in riding apparel that only a fan could like, then raced in sun, rain, snow, and God knows what else for the spectating pleasure of those who don't understand and could never hope to match their athletic accomplishments. They have no time to themselves and their whole lives are managed for them. Though it's illegal, they're injected with drugs to artificially improve their performance by owners who want nothing more than winning, then when that's discovered their health and future are the very last thing considered by the people who keep professing how much they care about the integrity of the sport, even as they do whatever they can to limit the PR damage so as to keep the fans coming to the track and the money flowing in. It's disgraceful! Why, if I had Pat McQuaid alone in a locked room I'd--Huh? What was that? Oh, SH*T . . . I'm sorry! We're talking about horses, aren't we! . . . Sorry!

BBD

[dauwhe]

Ah, the New York Times editorial page says it far better than I could:

Why should we feel so much grief at the loss of one horse? After all, this is a world in which horses are sacrificed again and again for the sport of humans. Barbaro was euthanized yesterday, eight months after he shattered his right hind leg at the start of the Preakness Stakes. After an injury like that, most racehorses would have been put down minutes later. But every race is a complex equation — a balance of economics, athleticism, equine grace and conscience. Conscience often comes in last, but not in this case. Barbaro’s owners gave that horse exactly what he had given them, which is everything. It was the very least they could do, and yet it seemed truly exceptional in a sport that is as often barbarous as it is beautiful.

Barbaro was exceptional because he won the Kentucky Derby and looked as if he might have a chance at the Triple Crown. But nearly everyone who met him also talked of the life he displayed, a vivid presence that was so much more visible to us because it happened to belong to a winner.

Humans are not especially good at noticing horses, but Barbaro was easy to notice. And if his life caused us to pay attention to the possibilities of all horses, his death should cause us to pay attention to the tragedy inherent in the end of so many horses. Barbaro’s death was tragic not because it was measured against the races he might have won or even against the effort to save his life. It was tragic because of what every horse is.

You would have to look a long, long time to find a dishonest or cruel horse. And the odds are that if you did find one, it was made cruel or dishonest by the company it kept with humans. It is no exaggeration to say that nearly every horse — Barbaro included — is pure of heart. Some are faster, some slower. Some wind up in the winner’s circle. But they should all evoke in us the generosity of conscience — a human quality, after all — that was expended in the effort to save this one horse.

[shinomaster]

. . . they're kept in captivity. They are trained to the point of exhaustion. They are dressed up in riding apparel that only a fan could like, then raced in sun, rain, snow, and God knows what else for the spectating pleasure of those who don't understand and could never hope to match their athletic accomplishments. They have no time to themselves and their whole lives are managed for them. Though it's illegal, they're injected with drugs to artificially improve their performance by owners who want nothing more than winning, then when that's discovered their health and future are the very last thing considered by the people who keep professing how much they care about the integrity of the sport, even as they do whatever they can to limit the PR damage so as to keep the fans coming to the track and the money flowing in. It's disgraceful! Why, if I had Pat McQuaid alone in a locked room I'd--Huh? What was that? Oh, SH*T . . . I'm sorry! We're talking about horses, aren't we! . . . Sorry!

BBD

ha ha.had me going..I was gonna make another Bart Wellens joke.

[crf]

Apparently Barbaro was getting tons of get-well mail from adults for several months. Strange thing was, the mail was addressed *to* Barbaro, not to his owners/trainers. Deadspin.com was covering this habitually in, well, slightly satirical mode.

[bulliedawg]

I didn't think that they were allowed to Artificially Inseminate.

They're not. "Live cover" is required in thoroughbred breeding. My wife's an equine vet. That's how I know this.

Also, she was appalled when she saw recent video of him with pressure sores along his left flank. She said that he must have been in severe pain, and that the sores indicated that they kept him alive too long.

[Tom]

but I work with a guy that used to play the horses a lot. A real lot. He used to hang out at Saratoga and still follows the sport and from listening to him he seems to know what he's talking about. He no longer wagers, but was watching the race where it happened with his ten year old daughter. He says that when Barbaro reared in the gate his daughter wondered aloud if that was going to be OK. My friend said that he'd seen them be more careful with a $14000 claimer, he couldn't believe they didn't take Barbaro out to check him over. My friend's sure that's when the horse got hurt.

[soulspinner]

Sounds like you had an interesting childhood Karen. Of course people are more important but that does nothimg to diminish the importance of animals to people and the losses they feel when the animal dies. Maybe someday riding again might be feasible?

[Karin Kirk]

Yeah - I can picture maybe having some old horses or donkeys or something as pets at some point. Seems like everyone with more than an acre has some sort of large animals out here. I'm not sure I'd get back into riding for riding's sake - I think I'd just prefer the companionship of some horses.

Growing up I was just insane for horses but it's an expensive sport and it just didn't fit into my parents' plan. So I mucked stalls, groomed horses and did just about any barn chore in exchange for a chance to ride. It was a very good lesson to learn. Then I went to a college with a huge equestrian program so I'd have access to nice horses and good trainers for a lot less money than it would cost otherwise. That was terrific and I learned tons there. That's where I played polo. Collegiate polo is played in an indoor arena and it's crazy rough. It's like hockey with lots of smashing into the walls and playing the ball off the walls.

After college I could not afford riding horses so riding bikes became my sport of choice to obsess over! :)

[dauwhe]

Horses are an obsession that can make cycling look economical!

My wife rides hunters, and has started doing dressage. I like to look at the pretty horses from a safe distance myself! She's talked me into going on a trail ride a few times. The first time was in Banff, and the jaded stable horse kept trying to scrape me off on the trees along the trail. I don't think I've ever been so relieved to get my feet back on the ground!

Dave

[soulspinner]

I may have to clean a few extra ones to get that frame from Dave but Im working on it. :D

[JohnS]

All this talk of horses has got me hungry. I may go to White Castle later on. :D

[atmo]

All this talk of horses has got me hungry. I may go to White Castle later on. :D
from today's paper aka the new york times atmo -

To the Editor:

An addendum should be made to your editorial’s point that all
horses deserve the “generosity of conscience” that was expended
to save Barbaro.

Just days before Barbaro was humanely put down, the American
Horse Slaughter Prevention Act was reintroduced in Congress. In
an incredible juxtaposition to the fanfare of Barbaro, more than
100,000 horses were slaughtered last year in the United States
and shipped to Europe and Japan for human consumption.

Each one of these animals suffered extreme cruel and inhumane
conditions in the transportation and slaughter process.

Surely a nation and a national press that can expend so much attention
on the life and death of one racehorse should be able to muster the
compassion to pass legislation that would end this cruelty.

Brad Goldberg
President
Animal Welfare Advocacy
Mamaroneck, N.Y., Jan. 30, 2007

[fiamme red]

Donkey's story a reminder of happy endings (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070131/COLUMNISTS04/701310795)