Barbaro - RIP

[Donn]

http://tammybruce.com/sadie_sydney/Barbaro.jpg

Too bad. He was a tough horse.

[Tar Devil]

Breaks my heart...

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

damn :( I was rooting for him, I was following the tuff time he was having recently :( :( :(

[brad9798]

Why couldn't they 'stud' him?

[S.V. Airlie]

Hold it.. missed something this afternoon....If the above is true.. bummer.... He was doing so well....

[Katherine]

Why couldn't they 'stud' him?To much damage, prone to abcesses, and he was in constant pain. Horses are more delicate then they look.

[Norman Bernstein]

Why couldn't they 'stud' him?

I wouldn't be surprised if they harvested some semen first... if it were at all possible.

[mariner2k]

Sad day in the horse world....

[George Jung]

Why couldn't they 'stud' him?

I actually know (maybe...) the answer to this one. They apparently have incredibly strict rules on this; if the stallion is unable to impregnate (mount) the mare, you can't use artificial insemination to achieve that foal. In the event you did it anyway, as I understand it, the resulting animal cannot be raced, nor his bloodline.
I asked that same question when his injury first occurred. Apparently there's so much money/etc. on the line, they really watch this sort of thing. Otherwise, you take a Secretariat and have 20,000 (just to make up a number) offspring as a result.

[brad9798]

Okay ... makes sense. Thanks all.

Believe me, I know horses are rather fragile ... my horse when I was a boy (Candy) kicked her stall ... hurt her leg ... never healed ...

Yep, she got it from my uncle ... while I watched. He was a horse trainer ... and a rodeo guy.

[geeman]

My wife and I have been following and rooting for him the whole time.We were shocked, but shouldnt have been I guess when it came up on the news this afternoon.Shame.

[Phillip Allen]

the answer is that he became worth more dead than alive

[garyspear]

Many in lexington morn the loss. I don't but many here do.

[glenallen]

A horse is much like a rabbit in its ability to die quickly.
Maybe because they are prey animals they lack some survival instinct once they are seriously injured. They just go ahead and die.

They should have let Barbaro go ahead and die months ago, and they would have if not for greed.

[S.V. Airlie]

Norman.. no semen collected.. Rules ( horse racing ) disallow artificial insemination...

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

Ya know I'm a total novice about horse stuff. I have a woman in my office who is a dressage (sp) rider and is physically sick over Barbaro. She has great empathy for all four legged friends as do I.

What I do not get is why must you put a horse down if it just breaks it's leg ? I mean people and animals break things all the time. Sometimes even amputation is an option to save the life. Why is a simple thing like a little broken leg so severe that the horse must be put down. I understand they may never race again but so what keep em alive and healthy and let them live out there days happy. I've seen 3 legged dogs & cats, I even saw a three legged wild deer. The deer just made due and seemed to get along fine with 3 legs. Why is a horse so different ?

As for the owner I saw a different person than you did Matt. She hand picked grass for him, spent a lot of money trying to save him when stud servicing him with that bad hind would never be profitable. One thing I do know in thoroughbreds Live Breeding is how it's done and artificial insemination is not an option. Supposedly Live Breeding improves the breed. So the owner would have made more putting the horse down and collecting on the insurance.

[Phillip Allen]

I listened to an inteview and now think I was out of line in my earlier comment...I stand corrected.

[S.V. Airlie]

Joe.. listened to the radio this morning and the scenerio was explained.. A horse obviously has very thin legs to support the entire weight of the horse..
But..
Here is what was stated..
Left hind leg broken.
Horse placed more weight on right hind leg..
Infection occurred as all the weight was on that one leg.
Infection cleared up after left leg healed but horse put most of his weight on his left hind foot.. on the bone. Inflamation occurred.
Weight distribution put more weight on forelegs..
Inflamation....occurred...
So, the horse, literally had no leg to stand on...a quote from the interview with the vet.
Result.. putting the horse down.

[bamamick]

Seemed like the big fella got hit from every direction.

Sleep well, Barbaro.

Mickey Lake

[Tar Devil]

In short, Joe, horses must be able to equally distribute their weight on all legs. Otherwise, putting excess weight on the other legs will result in laminitis and infections. They just can't live without four functioning legs.

Later,

Phil

[S.V. Airlie]

Thanks Tar.. could not remember the name of the inflamation...you got it.. to cover my butt...

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

Just seems like a tragic flaw in the species . Here you have this massive body supported by 4 spindly legs, and bred to run very fast. Talk about running with scissors. Like I said I have seen deer, also fast animals with spindly legs and a big body live on three legs. Dogs and cats I guess can cope better with he amputated weight distribution. Seems like a species designed to fail if one of those thin little legs snap as they race down a track at high speed. Shame just doesn't seem right. :(

[S.V. Airlie]

Joe.. when was the last time you saw an 1800 pound deer?

[Phillip Allen]

moose

[S.V. Airlie]

Different weight distribution....different hoof structure...
And believe me.. if a moose broke a leg.. he would not be long for this world.

[glenallen]

While we're on the subject, don't get me wrong, I feel for the horse and for the people who watched his catastrophe unfold.
But his case is far from unique. Thousands of foals are produced each year to obtain a handful of contenders for the track.

The rest are euthanized young or neutered and sold.

The survivors then begin training too young, before their skeletal system has developed to full strength. As a result, many or most are injured early and are euthanized.
What we see on the race tracks are the 2% of two and three year olds that have survived management by greedy human beings. This is true of all countries where racing is popular, not just the US.

If horses had been managed by human beings throughout their evolution, the species would have died out millions of years ago.

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

Different weight distribution...different hoof structure...
And believe me.. if a moose broke a leg.. he would not be long for this world.

Ya know I was just talking with the equestrian woman in my office and you know what she said was the real problem. Is that they are racing these thoroughbreds at TWO Years old and that there bones are not fully matured and thats why they have such a high rate of injury.

Seems kinda silly to push these 2 year old horses to the point that they could cause life threatening injury. Just so we can bet on them :(

[Donn]

If horses had been managed by human beings throughout their evolution, the species would have died out millions of years ago.

On the contrary, if not for human management, horses would have been extinct thousands of years ago.

[glenallen]

On the contrary, if not for human management, horses would have been extinct thousands of years ago.


How do you figure, Donn?

[ishmael]

It's said both Goebels and Goering were fond on pet birds while they were routinely sending thousands to death in the camps. I'm all for taking care of our fellows. I really see them as fellows, no less that human life. But this horse's death doesn't move me, particularly. I'm sorry it worked that way, but it's one death.

[Donn]

Less than 10,000 years ago, most horses were already extinct. All that remained were Asian horses and Zebras. There were none left in North America.

Man bred them for an amazing array of uses, including food, transportation, draught, communication and war. We kept them alive because they were, at one point in history, the most invaluable animal we had.

[PatCox]

Dog food, don't forget the dog food. And the boucher de cheval.

[BrianW]

Different weight distribution....different hoof structure...
And believe me.. if a moose broke a leg.. he would not be long for this world.

Very true.

In fact there's been a lot of snow in Alaska this year, and the moose die off is expected to be quite high. The moose can't hardly move, breaking through all that snow.

But ya know who's really good at running on the same snow?....

Wolves! Gonna be a banner winter for wolves. :)

[glenallen]

Less than 10,000 years ago, most horses were already extinct. All that remained were Asian horses and Zebras. There were none left in North America.

Man bred them for an amazing array of uses, including food, transportation, draught, communication and war. We kept them alive because they were, at one point in history, the most invaluable animal we had.

That does make sense.