Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Remembering Barbaro

I've been a horse lover for as long as I can remember - just ask my mom. When most kids begged for a dog, I wanted a horse. As a child, I lived for movies like National Velvet and as an adult, I've watched Seabiscuit more times than I can count - and can't get through it without shedding a tear.

Even though I've never been lucky enough to attend a Kentucky Derby, every May I watch with anticipation as the race day approaches and those beautiful animals take to the track. I also sadly watched as Barbaro faultered in the Preakness.




Barbaro was euthanized Monday after complications from his gruesome breakdown at last year’s Preakness, ending an eight-month ordeal that made him even more of a hero than he was as a champion on the track.

“Certainly, grief is the price we all pay for love,” co-owner Gretchen Jackson said.

On Sunday, a day after Barbaro’s fight for survival had reached a critical point, his doctor compared the various injuries to a “house of cards.” One part falls, and the rest start to crumble.



At 10:30 on Monday morning, Barbaro was given a heavy dose of a tranquilizer and an overdose of an anesthetic and put down. Those who loved him did everything humanly possible for eight months to keep him alive and free from pain. In the end, it was that love that forced them to make this painful decision.

Barbaro can now run free.

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