I think it was a really stupid deciddion after they spent so much time, money, and effort on helping down the road to recovery.
2007-01-30 10:52:11 · 20 answers · asked by Anonymous in Sports ➔ Horse Racing
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Livestock_and_Farming/2000_April_May/Laminitis__A_Horse__146s_Worst_Nightmare
2007-02-02 15:25:24 · answer #1 · answered by Susan 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
While I'm sorry for the loss of a great champion, deep inside I know it was the right decision for all. The colt had developed a deep abcess in the injured hind leg, under the sole of his foot, and this was what ultimately led to the laminitis which attacked his front legs. You see, that abcess was like any infection- it was giving off toxic material. That material got into the colt's bloodstream and traveled through it to his front feet, where it caused the laminitis ( also called founder, to those of us who work in the horse business) and would also have caused the colt extreme pain. Barbaro had no legs left to stand on at that point, and keeping him alive would have been extremely cruel. His owners made the best decision they could- indeed, the only really humane thing to do was destroy the horse. This wasn't about money, it was about love. That horse was like a child to his owners- and their decision to help him was not based on his potential stud fees. ( They even publically stated, as did the vet who cared for the colt, that they didn't even know if he was potent or not. ) I'm sorry Barbaro is gone and I grieve for his owners, whom I greatly admire. I know what they faced- I have been there myself several times. I have watched horses I love die-and been present when the decision was made to put other horses down. It isn't pretty, and it never gets any easier the next time around. Think about someone besides yourself for once. Would YOU have handled the situation differently?
2007-02-06 16:55:46 · answer #2 · answered by Starlight 1 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A risky last-ditch effort to use an external skeletal fixation device on his healed right leg to address an abscess proved unsuccessful because the colt developed further laminitis in both front legs. It then became clear he could not be saved. He would have been in extreme pain it really was the only option left. RIP Barbaro
2007-01-30 19:00:54 · answer #3 · answered by gina 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have mixed feelings about the decision. This article explains some of the reasoning used by the owners in making the decision. Like you, at first I was upset but really how much pain and suffering is too much and what about quality of life, i just don't know!
http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2007/01/29/542704-sad-day-for-racing-barbaro-euthanized
2007-01-30 19:03:03 · answer #4 · answered by Silva 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It is better than all the pain we'd be suffering now, but do any of you think that if they kept in the sling a little more than what they did, the laminitis wouldn't have gotten so bad? Also, I read somewhere that he didn't want to lay down or anything, and they took it he was in pain, but could it have been him just being sore from the surgery?
2007-01-31 01:13:13 · answer #5 · answered by Alexis B 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Considering the point of it was to have him stud at some point, it would up being a lot of money spent for nothing.
Its a shame...looked like he was going to make it for a while.
It's not stupid...he was beginning to suffer.
But frankly, I know a few people that deal with horses, and a few of them thought it was all a sign of the owners having "more money than brains" to take it this far. Any other horse probably would have been euthanized before it even left Pimlico.
2007-01-30 18:58:13 · answer #6 · answered by bradxschuman 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Being a former horse owner and a lover of horses, I think it was the best decision. The horse would ahve been in pain all its life and on meds. No one could really see or fee the poor horse was in. They should have done it earlier. I really feel it was a greed of the people who owned him.
2007-01-30 19:01:27 · answer #7 · answered by The Main Man at Yahoo 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It wa the humane thing to do. He was obviously in alot of pain and discomfort. I wish the outcome were different but those type of injuries usually are fatal in race horses.
2007-01-30 18:57:52 · answer #8 · answered by SKYDOGSLIM 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
So it would have been a better decision to keep him alive in a state of agonizing pain that would not subside? Think about it.
2007-01-30 22:07:10 · answer #9 · answered by Jezabel 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He was so magnificent and powerful.Animals like that seem invincible ....but the ending to the story is sad and the same thing happens to horses every day,so sad.
2007-01-30 19:05:49 · answer #10 · answered by Tiffany 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well, it's a difficult decision to have to make about an animal you care about. Once he developed laminitis in his two good feet, I think they had to do it.
2007-01-30 19:38:58 · answer #11 · answered by Edward K 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋