Sad news just off the wire:

Barbaro, the winner of last year's Kentucky Derby, had to be put down. He had extensive leg surgery after injuring himself and he fought back bravely but the injuries proved too much.

He was put down this morning.

Oh, what a shame. He's been on the news here the last couple nights. I kind of figured with all the work they were doing on him that it didn't look good. At least he's not in pain.

Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro euthanized
Co-owner Roy Jackson says colt put down this morning
By Dan Gelston
The Associated Press
Originally published January 29, 2007, 12:34 PM EST
PHILADELPHIA // Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was euthanized Monday morning after complications from his breakdown at the Preakness last May.

"We just reached a point where it was going to be difficult for him to go on without pain," co-owner Roy Jackson said. "It was the right decision, it was the right thing to do. We said all along if there was a situation where it would become more difficult for him then it would be time.

From what I saw in this morning's paper it didn't look good. In retrospect I wonder if it had been more humane to put him down when he was first injured, or at least when he developed the hoof disease, sparing him all this time (almost a year) suffering. I can't help but wonder if the owners' greed in putting him out to stud took precedence over treating this poor animal more humanely.

I had a feeling that they were going to have to put him to rest when I read the story about his injuries the other day. Such sad news.




Don Cardi

To quote: Ralph Cifaretto: It was a f*****' animal! A hundred grand a piece. My kid's in the fuckin' hospital! I don't hear you complainin' when I bring you a nice fat envelope. You don't give a shit where that comes from! Don't give me that look. It was a f*****' horse! What are you, a vegetarian? You eat beef and sausage by the f*****' carload.


I'm sorry, but I dont see the big deal. No disrespect intended, I just dont see why this got so much coverage as it did. I guess the owners feel bad and are hurting but hearing how all these people sent cards and gifts to him is so weird. Oh well.

Oh I'm sure that had something to do with it. Any lesser horse would have been put down the day it happened.

I feel for the horse, but to be honest I really think that if the insurance companies hadn't gotten so heavily involved and the owners weren't salivating over potential stud fees, they would have put him down right after the Preakness.
But I guess that's business.

Nice.

Personally, I value an animal's life as much if not more than that of a human. Plus, had this horse NOT been subjected to the will of humans it would still be alive.

I can't believe anyone thought it would survive. I thought the cardinal rule of horses was that once they broke their legs that was it, dog food.

To quote Tony Soprano : "WHY'D YOU DO IT? as he punches and chokes Ralphie until he's lifeless.

Animal or not, it's sad news.


Don Cardi

I know its sad for the owners, but I didnt know the horse so I dont feel "sad." Now that doesnt mean I wouldnt be said if one of my dogs died, its just hard to feel sorry for something you never knew, well at least it is to me.

No disrespect intended.

Sad news, to be sure. A thoroughbred is a magnificent animal, and Barbaro was a champion among them. While noone is equating the loss of the horse to a loss of human life, it is still unfortunate to see.

True it was an animal, but he was a great champion, and a beautiful horse....a great athlete who, metaphorically, died on the field of play. I think of it as if some great work of art were randomly destroyed. Obviously it is not equivalent to human life, but it can make us sad just the same.

Obviously that's your opinion, and thats ok. But there are plenty of ppl in this world who put more stock in an innocent animal life than that of a human. Animals don't have much free choice when forced into the human world, most humans DO have choice.

I'm not saying I would ever want to have to choose between the two, but I value the life of an animal EQUALLY to that of a human. I'm obviously not alone in that belief.

Yes, like those animal rights activists who go around smashing people in the head just because they're wearing a fur coat!



Don Cardi

You're definitely not alone, and that saddens me even more than the fact that Barbaro died. Sure it's sad to see a champion with seemingly endless possibilities go down like that. But it IS a horse. It reminds me of those news stories that come up all the time where an animal is abused somehow and it receives donations from people who feel sad for it, even though there are millions of children around the world who are dying that nobody cares to help.

I am sad to see Barbaro put down, but to say his life was worth more than a childs life is absurd to me.

Watching the news conference yesterday with the owners and vet was very sad. The vet was breaking down in tears describing how Barbaro was upset and obviously in pain. The owner said grief is the price you pay for love. Ain't that the truth.

IT'S A F*CKING HORSE!

I mean Jesus, ESPN has been treating this death like the passing of an ex-President or something. Hell, I bet even Gerald Ford's ghost is pissed himself!

Is it sad? Sure, but its nothing ground-shattering. Its not Diana getting crushed at a Paris tunnel in 1997. Its not JFK getting his brains splattered across the hood of the Presidential car.

Too bad for Barbaro, but our loss is Arby's gain.

I think that every person who sends in money for an abused animal should have to spend time working with abused children or crack babies. Pretty sure that would put things in perspective.

To get back on topic, I'm sure it wasn't just greed that had them hang in there with Barbaro all this time. Didn't Seabiscuit come back after breaking his leg? Or was that just made up for the movie? Maybe there was hope.

I don't see that anyone here put the death of this horse on a level with or higher than the death of a human being.

Is it tragic when a human being loses his life? Absolutely. Does the death of an animal compare to the death of a human being? Of course not. However that does not mean that a person cannot be sad and mourn the death of an animal.

I just don't understand the implication here that some have put the death of this horse as being more sad or tragic than the death of a human being.

What's wrong with having compassion for an animal?

Just because I may show compassion or sadness for the loss of an animal does not neccesarily mean that I hold that animal higher than a human life.



Don Cardi

I don't agree. Not at all.

I'm thankful that some people send money in for abused animals. I'm thankful that some people volunteer their time in taking care of abused animals. They, like us humans (some of whom are showing non-humanity with their lack of compassion here) are God's creatures. For better or worse we've domesticated them for one purpose or another. We've become their caregivers. Do I think we should give all our time/money to animals instead of poor/homeless/hungry humans? Of course not. But I am thankful that some take these animals seriously.

I have to laugh when I see discussions like this turn into a "human-or-animal" debate. It doesn't have to be "either/or". Its a question of showing simple compassion to an animal. But thats just me.

In regards to Barbaro - he was a beautiful animal with a great athlete's heart. I'm terribly saddened that he had to be put down.

DC, I'm just criticizing the complete absorption of the news media over a single horse's death.

Thing is, if it was a Triple Crown winner like say Secretariat, then it would be deserved. But it was just a Derby-winning horse.

As for animal/human debate...well, I'm willing to swing both ways.

SC, I apologize if my remarks sounded cold. I didn't mean that people shouldn't take care of abused animals. I believe that they should. That's why all of my animals come from shelters, and not from a breeder.

What I don't understand is the few "fanatics" who would place an animal ABOVE a human.

And as far as feeling bad over the death of Barbaro, of course I feel bad. He was a magnificent animal, and it was a loss. My reaction, however, is based on the same sort of people who cry over the death of any celebrity. I can feel bad that these people will no longer be able to make a contribution to the world, but let's face it. They are STRANGERS.

SB, tell that to Yankees fans when their player-heroes finally go down.

Well, I guess I don't count b/c I said that twice.

Sure, I hold the life of an animal to be as important as a human. Personally I don't like ppl very much, so personally I would take an animal over a human anyday, that's me. Hopefully the Earth's axis will never be so tilted and the world skewed that I would have to make that choice. (Some of you will argue about anything, who's life, Timmy or Lassie? Debate!!)

Animals who are running around in the wild and get snatched up by a tiger die A NATURAL DEATH!!! I'm NOT lamenting over these. I'm lamenting over innocent animals who are FORCED into 'OUR' world and die b/c of it. I can't understand killing an animal like Barbaro so a bunch of jackasses can dress up in tacky clothes and sing 'My old Kentucky home.'

****

Charles Goodnight was maybe the most famous Cowboy ever, he was the first to drive cattle from Texas to Montana. He had only one child, to whom he never acknowledged was his b/c it was an unplanned birth and what he called the greatest mistake of his life. The two had an unspoken understanding but Goodnight never actually told his son that he was his father, he did however give him his horse. A reporter later had the gusto to ask, "You gave him your horse? Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to give him your name?" To which Goodnight replied, "Sir, I put much more value in the animal than I do my name." That's a true story.

Where have all the cowboys gone?

Sorry ICE, it was an oversight on my part. If you want to value the life of an animal as equal or above human life, that is your right. The bottom line here is that no one should ever criticize another because they may be upset or mourning the death of an animal. I don't see anything wrong with someone showing some compassion, be it for a human being or an animal.


Don Cardi

Thank you moderator for granting me this right. It's more of a common sense matter to me though personally. Man has not always been as blindly-glutonous w/ the Earth's natural environment as the 2007 version. In pre-Roman Germanic times the unnecessary cutting down of a tree could result in death. The unnecessary death of an animal could bring the same.

Exactly. People cry in the movies, and reading books, even watching television shows. People get excited or saddened depending on the outcome of a sports event, or how their favorite team places in the final standings. This doesn't mean the value of a sad enging to a movie or an unfavorable result in a game is equal to the death of a human it is simply something that strikes at the emotions. People such as myself are saddened by the death of a horse we had never even heard of before the Kentucky Derby last year, are touched by the entire story. The point is many put an emotional investment in the survival of this particular horse and when he was put down people felt a loss.

While I believe the the death of a human is more tragic than the death of a horse, but for those of you who are outraged that we would mourn a horse, I suggest this: get today's paper and read through the obituaries. Unless you know who the person was you will go through them and more likely than not, you wont feel much sorrow at all. That's because you dont know who these people are, and you had no emotional investment in their lives. Does this mean their deaths are not sad and even tragic to their friends and families?

I'm not granting you any rights. I don't have the power to grant anyone any rights. But what I do have is the ability to see sarcasm when it is flung towards me, especially when it's flung by the same person in two different topics on the very same day. Then I have the right to tell that person to save their sarcasm for somebody else over on some other internet board.

This is the second time today that you've replied to one of my posts with your sarcastic remarks.

If you have a problem and want to continue this discussion, then please do so through a PM. The rest of the people here do not need to spend their time here reading your smart ass remarks.


I grant you the privilege to PM me!



Don Cardi

You tell me I have the right to believe something like I just told you that I want to drape myself in velvet and wet myself all day. Just b/c you don't agree w/ me doesn't mean you have to jump in and give me the ol 'hey guys, Ice does have the right to feel that way.' Would you like me to start jumping in on your thoughts and reaffirming to you that you have the right to believe them? No, I think you know very well that you have that right. Just b/c I don't agree your thoughts I NEVER demean them by using the ol 'Cardi has the right to feel that way.' If I reaffirmed these rights to YOU everytime I disagreed with YOU, I would have to quit my job.

As far as the other topic? You said that Frank Pentangeli drinking out of a water hose reminded you of YOUR Italian family, and that since FFC is Italian, this water hose drinking must be an Italian cache. Then, several others confirm that water hose drinking IS a part of Italian culture b/c of all of the gardens. Ok, I was wrong then, all apologies. No need to get those Italian panties of your's in a wad. You taught me something new today, and a good deed never goes unrewarded. Thnx!

Well, this discussion about a great horse has turned into horse shit.