Posted on 01/30/2007 9:40:32 AM PST by Kitten Festival
Why should we feel so much grief at the loss of one horse? After all, this is a world in which horses are sacrificed again and again for the sport of humans. Barbaro was euthanized yesterday, eight months after he shattered his right hind leg at the start of the Preakness Stakes. After an injury like that, most racehorses would have been put down minutes later. But every race is a complex equation a balance of economics, athleticism, equine grace and conscience. Conscience often comes in last, but not in this case. Barbaros owners gave that horse exactly what he had given them, which is everything. It was the very least they could do, and yet it seemed truly exceptional in a sport that is as often barbarous as it is beautiful.
Barbaro was exceptional because he won the Kentucky Derby and looked as if he might have a chance at the Triple Crown. But nearly everyone who met him also talked of the life he displayed, a vivid presence that was so much more visible to us because it happened to belong to a winner.
Humans are not especially good at noticing horses, but Barbaro was easy to notice. And if his life caused us to pay attention to the possibilities of all horses, his death should cause us to pay attention to the tragedy inherent in the end of so many horses. Barbaros death was tragic not because it was measured against the races he might have won or even against the effort to save his life. It was tragic because of what every horse is.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
But clearly we do...or this thread would not be here.
Har, har, that was funny. Did Michael Savage weigh in on this story yet? I heard one comment on his show, inviting people to call in and talk about "the horse". Savage often talks about his dog Teddy so he would have more sympathy for animal stories than Rush or Jim Quinn (of the warroom.com, Pittsburgh Talk Radio 104.7 and satellite radio), Jim was railing against the tears for Barbaro this AM.
I can't wait, but doubt he'll have a huge funeral and beg for sympathy cards.
But if course they did, but out here in the West, horse meat is still prized by some (not me).
So true. I salute my parents for always having a dog around as I was growing up. It turns a child into a more responsible and loving adult, after learning by example to empathize with animals first.
Oh, I've had horse a few times myself, but I still think burial on the farm is most likely.
I recall as a child, visiting Roosevelt's house at Hyde Park. His father, James, had kept horses and some of them were commemorated with plaques in the barn on which their tails were mounted. We're planning to go back to the Hudson River Valley soon; I wonder if those tails are still there, forty years later.
Would you say the same thing about the players of this Sunday's Super Bowl game? They're only slaves in the arena, no better than Gladiators, whose only reason for existence is to make the team owners money?
I'm sure he won't, but you know he LOVES that cat.
Yes, now that's Bullet is stuffed, he is the greatest dog of all. When we were all little Roy Rogers fans back in the 60's, my cousin named his golden palomino Trigger and his family's German Shepard Bullet. Bullet was one mean SOB. Very protective of the immediate family. The only thing Bullet hated more than a snowmobile was anybody on a toboggan being towed behind it. He didn't like horses with riders all that much either.
I don't know what horse was the "Greatest Horse of All Time" but I do know that horse was neither a performer or a race horse.
It was a fearless war horse that some lucky cavalryman rode into battle after battle.
You've gotta love a horse that enjoys trampling a foot soldier.
I like to think of myself as multi-dimensional. Can one do both?
We had a promising two year old SB filly, she became ill and we found that at one point she had swallowed some twine. It became calcified in her intestional system and she was gravely ill. We had to make a choice, put her down or do a very expensive and complicated surgery, that would prohibit her from every racing. The vets from OSU called on Christmas Eve, asking for our decision as she had reached a critical stage. We opted for her to live, she survived the surgery but never raced. WE never had any regrets.
Those that knew Sam said he was a fighter with spirit and a joy to be around.
Sam was last seen alive loitering in the vicinity of a disreputable downtown roach motel.
God loves horses, too.
Job 39:
19 "Do you give the horse his strength
or clothe his neck with a flowing mane?
20 Do you make him leap like a locust,
striking terror with his proud snorting?
21 He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength,
and charges into the fray.
22 He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing;
he does not shy away from the sword.
23 The quiver rattles against his side,
along with the flashing spear and lance.
24 In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground;
he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.
25 At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, 'Aha!'
He catches the scent of battle from afar,
the shout of commanders and the battle cry.
That doesn't mean that we should be cruel to animals or that God doesn't care for all of his creation. Whether it's Barbaro the Horse or Sam the Roach, God cares for his creation more that we possibly and can He knows what's best for all His creatures.
But it's abominable for the New York Times and other abortion promoters not to show the same compassion for the agony of aborted babies as they do for this deceased celebrity/horse.
LOL!
"God cares for his creation more than we possibly can and He knows what's best for all His creatures."
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