Barbaro euthanized

[puckloo39 5,686]

http://sports.yahoo.com/rah/news?slug=ap-b...p&type=lgns

Sad ending to a valiant struggle by this brave colt. As a born and raised Kentuckian, I watch horse racing and have followed this saga. What a shame, he fought so hard. The owners were going to bring him home to live out a comfortable life on their farm, but it was not to be.

This makes me sad, I love animals.

[Hockeytown Red Wings 245]

I love animals too, but I'm kind of sick of how "special" the media made him out to be. He was no different than any other horse they make into glue, dog food, etc.

[Jedi 1,865]

Very sad to see, indeed.

[betterREDthandead 58]

It's a horse. I was pulling for Barbaro too, and I was disappointed he didn't make it, especially considering the really unfortunate break of bad luck that brought him here in the first place. But I can't understand the people that get all caught up in it and write letters to the horse and stuff. Not like, "Dear owners of Barbaro, sorry about your horse, hope he makes it OK," I mean more like, "Dear Barbaro, Love you, get well soon, signed, your biggest fan!"

And, pardon my ignorance on horses, but, they can lie down, right? I'm sure there's a good reason, but why don't they just keep the horse off its feet 'til it heals? Obviously having to bear half a ton of weight is bad for healing.....why not keep him hoisted in a sling when he's not exercising or have him just park it in the stables for a while instead of standing all the time?

[Hockeytown Red Wings 245]

Actually I dont think Horses do lay down. They sleep on their feet right?

[eva unit zero 271]

It's a horse. I was pulling for Barbaro too, and I was disappointed he didn't make it, especially considering the really unfortunate break of bad luck that brought him here in the first place. But I can't understand the people that get all caught up in it and write letters to the horse and stuff. Not like, "Dear owners of Barbaro, sorry about your horse, hope he makes it OK," I mean more like, "Dear Barbaro, Love you, get well soon, signed, your biggest fan!"

And, pardon my ignorance on horses, but, they can lie down, right? I'm sure there's a good reason, but why don't they just keep the horse off its feet 'til it heals? Obviously having to bear half a ton of weight is bad for healing.....why not keep him hoisted in a sling when he's not exercising or have him just park it in the stables for a while instead of standing all the time?

Horses sleep standing up.

[puckloo39 5,686]

It's a horse. I was pulling for Barbaro too, and I was disappointed he didn't make it, especially considering the really unfortunate break of bad luck that brought him here in the first place. But I can't understand the people that get all caught up in it and write letters to the horse and stuff. Not like, "Dear owners of Barbaro, sorry about your horse, hope he makes it OK," I mean more like, "Dear Barbaro, Love you, get well soon, signed, your biggest fan!"

And, pardon my ignorance on horses, but, they can lie down, right? I'm sure there's a good reason, but why don't they just keep the horse off its feet 'til it heals? Obviously having to bear half a ton of weight is bad for healing.....why not keep him hoisted in a sling when he's not exercising or have him just park it in the stables for a while instead of standing all the time?

I didn't get into the get-well card thing, either, but Barbaro was a beautiful animal, and special. He never lost a race, and finished 6 lengths ahead of the also-ran in the Derby. I am not sure when that has happened before, but certainly not in my memory. The owners and vets treated this horse like a the special athlete he was, and tried to save him, for no other reason than they appreciated and loved him. They knew he'd never race again. He was slated to live out his life, stud or not, in comfort on their horse farm.

Anyway, the reported $1.2M raised in a fund for Barbero's care paid for a rehab area, exercise pool, and improvements to the veterinary surgery clinic where he was treated. They did keep him in a special sling, by the way, that's pretty standard for such large animal injuries. Horses sleep standing up because the pressure of their weight when they founder (lie down and can't get up) can cause damage to internal organs. They can lie down, of course, but normally do not when they are well.

[mannysBETTER3434 1]

I love animals too, but I'm kind of sick of how "special" the media made him out to be. He was no different than any other horse they make into glue, dog food, etc.

I agree. I love animals (well not cats, but thats besies the point). The media coverage was a little out of control

[superstarsingh 23]

Its quite sad, they media played such ridiculously to get stories.

[hawkupaloogie 0]

And, pardon my ignorance on horses, but, they can lie down, right? I'm sure there's a good reason, but why don't they just keep the horse off its feet 'til it heals? Obviously having to bear half a ton of weight is bad for healing.....why not keep him hoisted in a sling when he's not exercising or have him just park it in the stables for a while instead of standing all the time?

yep, horses can lie down, and often do inorder to get their REM sleep. in this position, they're flat on their sides, with their legs stretched all the way out. it looks pretty funny, and they typically only do it when there are multiple other horses around inorder to have someone keep watch for predators. they also take many cat naps on their feet, which is much more common to see when strolling around a barn.

the reason that they don't just lie the horse down during a serious injury like this is because the horse simply weighs too much to put that much pressure on their organs for so long on their side. they also may develop bed sore-like lesions. inorder to keep all that from happening, they'd have to keep getting the horse up and down, which is not only hard to do with such a large (and typically stubborn when it comes to repositioning) animal, but takes a lot of energy from both the trainer and the horse. the sling is typically the ideal choice when you have the money to use it.

now, frankly, IMHO, it was the right thing to do to put barbaro out of his misery. laminitis alone is a horribly painful condition. it typically causes foundering (sinking of the bones of the interior of the hoof). founder is also found in horses who are severly overweight, and in horses that have been used excessively on hard ground (termed road founder). to have it in three feet is almost a certain death sentence. when you add in an abscess in the other hoof (which often is cronic, reappearing in the same foot every 6 months), and broken bones in his lower leg, there wasn't much his owners could do for him, no matter how hard they tried. throughbred racing, in general causes a lot of leg problems, as horses' knees aren't fully developed until they're between 4 and 6 years old. typically, a horse starts racing at 2 (which is why racers are called "fillies" and "colts" - they're still babies); problems are bound to happen.

i don't understand the letters to barbaro, though. i've been riding horses for 9 years, and a horse owner for 6. horses are awesome to be around, and will bond to the people they see often, but they couldn't care less about the rest of the world. i guess it's good just to help the people.

if you want a real horse tragedy, check out the PMU mares.