Posted on 01/28/2007 3:00:36 PM PST by HairOfTheDog
this is why they put horses down in the first place......
I'm curious if you've ever had to make surgical decisions regarding your own horse, that would have life threatening implications? I know I have and it's not easy. There's a lot of second guessing regarding the stress for everyone, including the horse. I lost mine after 4 days of a good fight and a five digit vet bill. But others have lived when it was thought all hope was lost.
I don't think it was greed.
It has to be natural no artificial insemination
How much longer do you think this can go on?
He is a beautiful horse, but seems hopeless now
Good question. Since I'm neither one of his vets nor on the spot, it's hard to say. I have no doubt that they will continue to make decisions that are in Barbaro's best interest, though. Clearly, he must be giving them enough reason to believe that he wants to go on. Even if his owners *were* motivated by greed (which I don't believe for an instant), there is far too much pressure on them to give up and put him down for them not to do so as soon as the situation really is hopeless. Personally, I'm still rooting for him.
Fox News Alert just now: Barbaro has been euthanized this morning in Philadelphia...
The owners must be devastated. They did what they could for the fellow. So sad.
So sad! I wonder what happened to lead them to decide this? Last I heard they had put a brace-type thing on the leg that had the cast on.
So sad. I was really rooting for him. :-(
Totally sad.
They went way above and beyond the call of duty.
This weekend a couple "observer" vets were saying that he was still in excellent spirits and maintained "the desire to live", but that this new splint on the right leg had a strong possibility of causing a new fracture.
Don't know if that's what happened (we'll find out soon enough), but RIP Barbaro.
Bump.
Barbaro was a good boy.
TS -- AB
Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro euthanized
Barbaro, winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) whose battle to overcome injuries suffered in the Preakness Stakes (G1) attracted worldwide attention and a legion of fans, was euthanized on Monday morning at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center.
Gretchen Jackson, who owned and bred the Dynaformer colt along with her husband, Roy, said that Barbaro’s front feet were beginning to become affected by the limited ability of both his laminitic left hind foot and his fused right limb that was shattered in the Preakness Stakes to bear weight.
The decision was made early Monday after consulting with Dean Richardson, D.V.M., chief surgeon at the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary school.
“There was not a foot that was not affected,” Gretchen Jackson said. “He just would not lie down. He had not layed down for two days now. That can’t be good for him. He’s got to get the weight off of his feet. They were bringing him in and out of the sling, but his front feet were showing signs of laminitic changes and we just thought rather than put him through any more else. He had been good up to the beginning of this month, and then everything went.”
Barbaro, who became the sixth undefeated Derby winner in history when he won the 2006 Derby by 6 1/2 lengths, demonstrated considerable discomfort on his right hind foot over the weekend and underwent surgery to insert two pins in his right hind cannon bone in an effort to eliminate all weight bearing from the right foot on Saturday. The procedure was described as a last ditch effort to keep Barbaro comfortable enough to continue his recovery.
“Dean said, ‘The good stuff takes a long time, and the bad goes fast,’ “ Gretchen Jackson said. “That seems like that’s what it was, it went really fast. We all are really, really confident that he didn’t suffer. We know that he was pain free and we just didn’t ever want to see him…it’s an issue of pain and quality of life. If it’s not going to happen, it’s just not going to happen. We just owed it to him to give him the best.”
http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/nat...uthanized.aspx
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.