Barabaro Euthanized

[OrigamiTulip]

Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was put down today after complications from his gruesome breakdown at last year's Preakness, ending an eight-month ordeal that prompted an outpouring of support across the country. "We just reached a point where it was going to be difficult for him to go on without pain," co-owner Roy Jackson said


Read the rest of the story

[DeltAlum]

Probably the right decision, but a real shame.

[Phasad1913]

I had just started a thread about this in Chit Chat. I was so sad when I heard about this. I not ashamed to say that I cried a little. I am on my way to go hug my horse today. My condolences to the owners, although I am sure they are comforted by the fact that he will not suffer any longer. This is why I am trying really hard not to get too attached to my horse because you never know when an illness or a freak accident or injury will force you to have to put them down.

RIP Barbaro!!

[AOIIalum]

My heart aches for the personnel who worked so hard to save Barbaro and for the Jacksons who exhausted every possible option to give Barbaro a good life. Most owners just don't have the resources available to afford such treatment, but more power to them for making the decisions they did.

http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2006/de..._01292007.html

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/...RTS08/70129023

[blueangel]

The Barbaro story is so sad and so tragic. Horse racing must be abolished. It's a cruel "sport". How many know the "real" story behind horse racing?

These horses are doped up to mask their injuries. Since they can't feel pain when they're racing, their bones can shatter.

They're whipped.. Animal Aid found that sometimes they're whipped as many as 30 times during a race.

They're bred for speed-- but there in lies the problem. They have legs that are too thin and fragile for the body. At the high speeds they run, they are just accidents, lie Barbaro, waiting to happen.

Do you know what happens to race horses that no longer win? Many are sold for slaughter for dog and cat food.

Here are some interesting articles:
http://www.chai-online.org/en/campai...ng_experts.htm

http://www.chai-online.org/en/compas...ent_racing.htm

http://everything2.com/index.pl?node...&lastnode_id=0

Before heading to the track... please do some reading.

[Drolefille]

And the "Giving ad nauseam a whole new meaning" award goes to....


oh sorry, back to Heroes...

[blueangel]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

And the "Giving ad nauseam a whole new meaning" award goes to....


oh sorry, back to Heroes...

Giving the "I have nothing intelligent to add to this discussion so I must make a snarky remark" award goes to....

[macallan25]

Originally Posted by blueangel

The Barbaro story is so sad and so tragic. Horse racing must be abolished. It's a cruel "sport". How many know the "real" story behind horse racing?

These horses are doped up to mask their injuries. Since they can't feel pain when they're racing, their bones can shatter.

They're whipped.. Animal Aid found that sometimes they're whipped as many as 30 times during a race.

They're bred for speed-- but there in lies the problem. They have legs that are too thin and fragile for the body. At the high speeds they run, they are just accidents, lie Barbaro, waiting to happen.

Do you know what happens to race horses that no longer win? Many are sold for slaughter for dog and cat food.

Here are some interesting articles:
http://www.chai-online.org/en/campai...ng_experts.htm

http://www.chai-online.org/en/compas...ent_racing.htm

http://everything2.com/index.pl?node...&lastnode_id=0

Before heading to the track... please do some reading.

Concern for Helping Animals in Israel? Are you serious?

I'm not going to go on a big spiel because it is off topic......but I have a cousin in Colorado who has raised thoroughbreds, raced them, and is also a national champion equestrian rider........she is a huge animal freak and she would strongly disagree with about 98% of what you posted, especially about racing and riding injured horses. Her mom, my aunt, is also one of the top vets in the Denver/Evergreen area and would have issues with alot of that as well.

[AOIIalum]

Originally Posted by blueangel

The Barbaro story is so sad and so tragic. Horse racing must be abolished. It's a cruel "sport". How many know the "real" story behind horse racing?

Well, I grew up on a small horse farm in Kentucky. I don't recall ever doping up horses or racing them injured.

Injuries happen in all sports, not just horse racing. Unfortunately Barbaro's story garnered much attention due to the horrific way he went down and the extraordinary efforts extended to nurse him back to health. It's incredible that Barbaro responded to his treatments as well and as long as he did. It's a credit to those who were committed to ensure Barbaro with a good quality of life while in recovery, and to his owners who were financially able to make the decision on how to spend their money.

Yes, there are more thoroughbreds who go to slaughter than I might personally like, and if you want a truly tragic story we can look at Ferdinand for starters. There are some wonderful people out there like the folks at The Exceller Fund and International Fund for Horses who are working to minimize this practice.

Barbaro will be buried in a manner befitting a Kentucky Derby Champion. It's a shame, because I really thought he was going to make it.

[KSigkid]

This has been a really sad story, but unfortunately I figured that it would turn out like this. My wife (a former equestrian/horse owner) thought this was inevitable when it first happened; it's quite incredible they were able to do as much as they were for him.

[blueangel]

Originally Posted by AOIIalum

Well, I grew up on a small horse farm in Kentucky. I don't recall ever doping up horses or racing them injured.

You may not recall doped up horses, but it happens. Here are some recent stories:

The guilty plea stemmed from an 18-month investigation by the New Jersey State Police that culminated with the arrest of Ledford and three others in March 2006 in an alleged plot to fix races by injecting horses with banned performance-enhancing drugs.
http://1010wins.com/pages/189689.php...ntentId=295369

Stewart is alleged to have administered intravenous vodka shots to horses at Fonner Park in Grand Island in 2005 - before the fourth race Feb. 20, the sixth race Feb. 27, the fifth race March 11 and the ninth race April 9.

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/other_sp...292425,00.html

And how about Dancer's Image,winner of the Kentucky Derby? He was running on "bute"-- an anti-inflammatory for his sore legs.

In horse racing, Butazolidin is commonly used to relieve sore-legged horses —such as Dancer's Image, born with "mushy" (swollen) ankles—and permit them to train without pain. A normally sore horse will usually run better if his legs do not hurt, and unscrupulous trainers have used Butazolidin to run such animals "hot and cold"—sometimes giving them the drug, sometimes withholding it, in order to vary the horses' performance and affect the betting odds.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...838365,00.html

Injuries happen in all sports, not just horse racing. Unfortunately Barbaro's story garnered much attention due to the horrific way he went down and the extraordinary efforts extended to nurse him back to health. It's incredible that Barbaro responded to his treatments as well and as long as he did. It's a credit to those who were committed to ensure Barbaro with a good quality of life while in recovery, and to his owners who were financially able to make the decision on how to spend their money.

Yes, there are more thoroughbreds who go to slaughter than I might personally like, and if you want a truly tragic story we can look at Ferdinand for starters. There are some wonderful people out there like the folks at The Exceller Fund and International Fund for Horses who are working to minimize this practice.

Barbaro will be buried in a manner befitting a Kentucky Derby Champion. It's a shame, because I really thought he was going to make it.

Injuries happen in all sports.. but they happen very frequently in horse racing because of the way the animals are bred. They are bred to have thin, delicate legs. Their legs are fragile and can't support the stress of the constant pounding at super high speeds.

Adult thoroughbred racehorses are powerful and fast animals, capable of racing at speeds of more than 50 kilometres an hour and weighing in excess of 500 kilograms. These two factors combined mean that when these horses get race injuries they sustain tremendous damage because of the forces involved.

Anatomically racehorses have strong muscular bodies, but fine almost brittle legs with the extremities composed only of skin, tendons and bone. This anatomical design requires that horses cannot lie down for long periods, and cannot rest one leg. They have been designed to remain standing most of the time andon all four legs.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/horse-...401197062.html

Have you ever been "behind the scenes" at a race track? I have. Just go and look at how many of the horses are "buted up." The horses legs shatter because they're so drugged up, they can't feel pain. Which drugs are legal in horse racing varies from state to state.

Still unconvinced? Did you know that race horses suffer all kinds of other ailments, like bleeding of the lungs from the stress of racing? Here is a "tip sheet" on how to bet on horses. Look at what it says about "medication"...

. Medication.
Lasix and Butazolidin are medications administered to racehorses. Lasix, a diuretic, is used to control bleeding (certain horses bleed from a ruptured vein - or veins - in the nostrils, the pharynx or the lungs), and Bute is an anti-inflammatory medication. Some handicappers pay close attention to a horse racing on Lasix or Bute for the first time, believing that these medications might enhance that runner's performance.
http://www.betusa.com/horses/racing_...roughbred.html

A University of Florida study found one of every 1,000 thoroughbreds who race suffer a catastrophic musculoskeletal injury.

Still think horse racing is humane?

And yes, there are people working to try to place horses, but there are also lots of groups trying to save racing greyhounds. That does not excuse the way the industry disposes of them.

Let's look at how some of these equine athletes have been "rewarded."

Remember the insurance scandal of "Alydar"-- the horse that came in second in all three races at the triple crown in 1978? An FBI investigation revealed that his leg wasn't shattered by kicking a barn door, but rather that it had been broken on purpose after being tied by a rope to a pickup truck.

Derby winner and "horse of the year" in 1987, Ferdinand was sent to a slaughterhouse in Japan.

Exceller, a horse inducted into the National Racing Museum's Hall of Fame was sold to slaughter.

As for Barbaro... I think he should have been euthanized right away. Instead, he was made to suffer through a number of painful surgeries and endure 8 months of pain.

[Munchkin03]

Oh man, this is sad. My sister and I rode when we were kids (had an Arabian that she showed), and I know that there was no way that the stable the horse was boarded at would have tolerated any doping. Even now, 20 years later, the stable is known regionally as being a class act.

As an adult, I have been to several stables for racers--and I have yet to see any doped-up horses. I doubt that Barbaro's trainers and owners would have allowed him to suffer needlessly, especially considering that they were prepared to put him down right there at the track.

[AlexMack]

Oh my god, why does every thread have to turn into a platform for someone's personal agenda?
Why don't we talk about the horrible practices in the hunter-jumper world, or western pleasure, or saddleseat?
Horses break legs because they're not fully developed when they start training and racing at 2 and 3. Did you know every thoroughbred's birthday is January 1st, regardless of the actual date? That means a 2 year old could be racing against more developed 3 year olds but still be considered 3 because he was born December 31st.

Barbaro is no longer in pain and that's what matters. For god's sake, if you want to debate horse racing, start a new thread and stop shitting up this one.

[DeltAlum]

The situation here was tragic, but not the norm. Some bad luck.

The video tape I saw of the horse walking on ESPN tonight was almost painful to watch.

The chief vet said Barbaro had his first really bad night -- not being able to stand or lay down, so the decision was made.

I glad the owners did the correct thing.

[AlexMack]

For those who are here to appreciate and remember Barbaro, here's a website with photos of his recovery.

http://www.sabinalouisepierce.com/Barbaro.htm

Because I cannot say it any better, someone else's words:

Somewhere in time's own space
There must be some sweet pastured place
Where creeks sing on and tall trees grow
Some paradise where horses go,
For by the love that guides my pen
I know great horses live again.
~Stanley Harrison

RIP Barbaro