Derby winner Barbaro euthanized

[red]

from Fox News:
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. —  Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was euthanized Monday 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."
Roy and Gretchen Jackson were with Barbaro on Monday morning, with the owners making the decision inconsultation with chief surgeon Dean Richardson.
It was a series of complications, including laminitis in the left rear hoof and a recent abscess in the right rear hoof, that proved to be too much for the gallant colt, whose breakdown brought an outpouring of support across the country.
"I would say thank you for everything, and all your thoughts and prayers over the last eight months or so," Jackson said to Barbaro's fans.
On May 20, Barbaro was rushed to the New Bolton Center, about 30 miles southwest of Philadelphia in Kennett Square, hours after shattering his right hind leg just a few strides into the Preakness Stakes. The bay colt underwent a five-hour operation that fused two joints, recovering from an injury most horses never survive. Barbaro lived for eight more months, though he never again walked with a normal gait.
The Kentucky Derby winner suffered a significant setback over the weekend, and surgery was required to insert two steel pins in a bone — one of three shattered eight months ago in the Preakness but now healthy — to eliminate all weight bearing on the ailing right rear foot.
The procedure on Saturday was a risky one, because it transferred more weight to the leg while the foot rests on the ground bearing no weight.
The leg was on the mend until the abscess began causing discomfort last week. Until then, the major concern was Barbaro's left rear leg, which developed laminitis in July, and 80 percent of the hoof was removed.
Richardson said Monday morning that Barbaro did not have a good night.

I don't know about anybody else but I really felt bad when he was hurt & have followed his story.
Red

 

[Show Heifer]

I followed this story from the moment I watched the race. I was truly hoping he would pull through. I know how hard it is to let an animal go  :'(
I hope the decision was based on Barbaro's pain and suffering, and not the insurance money or lack of stud fees.

 

[justme]

It was so sad, I just read the article.  It is refreshing that they took the animals well being in account, and not just the money.  What a shame it ended like this

 

[red]

Thanks for joining us "justme", glad you did!
Yes, i was really sad when I heard about & he's not even mine!
Red

 

[jason]

This is too bad.  It just shows how dangerous horse racing is even for the horses.

 

[DL]

It certainly was a devastating injury and I was hopeful that he would survive and thrive. He developed all the known and frequent complications of a leg fracture in a horse - I am sure he had a huge bill but I am also sure the decision was not based on $.  But I wonder if we did this horse any favors by keeping him alive since May.  I believe that he was a very special horse and that the owners had the horses best interest at heart, I also believe that the vets thought they were doing the right thing and were very emotionally involved with the horse - but did we do right by him? I don't know? How do we assess his welfare? His level of happiness? His level of pain? As prey animals horses have (in general we all know wimp horses) tremendous pain tolerance and ability to hide pain. I wondered this from the very beginning and still do - (and reading this makes me depressed! I am not usually this moribund, ask Red!) . That and 2 cents will get me a warm welcome to the board! 

It almost becomes a more global question - when is enough enough and how do we know?  In my case I believe that my animals have told me (you have to listen) - hopefully that is what went on with Barbero.

DL

 

[heatwave]

It certainly was a devastating injury and I was hopeful that he would survive and thrive. He developed all the known and frequent complications of a leg fracture in a horse - I am sure he had a huge bill but I am also sure the decision was not based on $.  But I wonder if we did this horse any favors by keeping him alive since May.  I believe that he was a very special horse and that the owners had the horses best interest at heart, I also believe that the vets thought they were doing the right thing and were very emotionally involved with the horse - but did we do right by him? I don't know? How do we assess his welfare? His level of happiness? His level of pain? As prey animals horses have (in general we all know wimp horses) tremendous pain tolerance and ability to hide pain. I wondered this from the very beginning and still do - (and reading this makes me depressed! I am not usually this moribund, ask Red!) . That and 2 cents will get me a warm welcome to the board! 

It almost becomes a more global question - when is enough enough and how do we know?  In my case I believe that my animals have told me (you have to listen) - hopefully that is what went on with Barbero.

DL

Personally, it was more of an attempt at good publicity to keep him alive and not take a shot at horse racing in general.  At the time, he was considered a threat at the Triple Crown.  I remember watching a show and they were taking shots at horse racing in general at the time, but it kinda dampered down after he was going to ok, and today all the story is just about Barabaro and not the sport.

I love animals, but sometimes you wonder if that money could have been better spent in an animal shelter or for abused horses.  That had to be a lot jack that they spent, but people in that sport have money.

 

[Show Heifer]

I have seen several interviews with the owners and his attending vet. And through MY tears (in my defense it was 3 am) I saw their tears. In fact, the vet couldn't even finish his sentence (which actually made me respect him more). So I do think the money thing wasn't an issue.
But have to agree with DL. When are you saving an animal to help your own ego, your own pain, instead of paying attention to the animal. DL knows I went through this same thing with a down heifer last summer. And it really sucked. But I am pretty sure I did the right thing at the right time. Although I was too big of a wimp to do it.  Like she said, sometimes you have to shut your own voice off, and listen to the animal. Trust me, they do tell you.

 

[Simmgal]

I agree. Animals will tell you when they have had enough and when they are in extreme pain. Even wild cattle will show you once they have had the chance to calm down and the adrenaline has subsided.

I have seen many deaths by growing up on a farm with cattle. Sometimes, after you have exhausted every alternative, they get so bad or you know that they are going to get so bad that it's just the right thing to put them down. One of my best friends had a horse get Botulism poisoning a few weeks ago, and he made the hard decision to put her down before she was in too much pain. I believe that it takes true character, love and respect for the animal in order to do what is best for them when we know it will always haunt us. It sounds like the owners of Barbaro had done everything that they could have done to save the horse, and that's all you can ask of someone once the pain reaches that point.

All of your posts have me thinking now! I wonder how many times the well being of the animal is sacrificed (in extreme) for monetary and personal reasons. Such as keeping an animal alive in a chronic condition because they are worth too much money, or you are too sad to see them go. I have seen this before, and I know it's a hard call, but sometimes you have to make it.