Stable Eyes
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Barbaro After an 8 month struggle to recover from his Preakness injury, euthanasia was the final finish line for a magnificent horse. How great was he? He ran 5 races.
He won 4. The In a period of 7 months he earned $2,203,200 dollars. Will his life and tragic end shed some light on the race horse industry? I think it does, and I think most will turn their heads away in shame and/or denial. It seems so ironic that the Thoroughbred
industry was one of the only equine industries to support a ban on horse
slaughter in Once Barbaro won his maiden race in October of 2005, he raced every single month with the exception of December (he went 42 days between races) and March of ’06 (he went 55 days between races at that point - in preparation for his attempt at the triple crown). The length of time between the Kentucky Derby and Preakness is only 14 days. Will anything be learned from the tragedy of Barbaro’s life? Unfortunately, I doubt it. He followed in almost the exact same hoof prints as the great racing mare, Ruffian. She was also a superb athlete that had to be destroyed after breaking her leg during a race, in spite of heroic veterinary efforts to preserve her for breeding. Traditions die hard, and in order to embrace change, one must admit that there was something wrong with the old way of doing things. That never happens without tremendous struggle. As long as horses need to be fed and cared for twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, and the odds against crossing the finish line in the money remain high; those horses that do win the money are going to be ran as often and as hard as they can until they physically can not run anymore. That’s how the bills get paid. It’s a cold, cold world on the race track.
MSNBC has a wonderful slide show (click here), as well as two video clips of the network news announcing the end of Barbaro's battle that include scenes from the Derby and Preakness.
The following links and reports were posted to the Racing Stable here on Stable-Eyes during his ordeal: > **Update on the Preakness Tragedy as of May 24, 2006. "He is stable and happy," Richardson said Wednesday afternoon. Barbaro's pastern bone was shattered in more than 20 pieces. Doctors inserted a plate and 27 screws to repair the severe damage."
> The Horse.com reports additional screws added to Barbaro's pastern. July 2006 article #7177
> The fracture healing - but laminitis may end his life. MSNBC Associated Press July 13, 2006
> The champion gets to see daylight and graze a bit! The Horse.com August 2006 Article #7403
> Still making progress The Horse.com October 2006 Article #7854
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