One Horse Dies

The New York Times ^ | 30 Jan 2007 | Editorial staff

[najida]

I call them "One Note Wandas".

It's like "It's WRONG for you to care about that, so I'm going to MAKE you care for what I want you to care for!"

Sound familiar??!?

[StormEye]

"A horse snob if I ever heard/saw one."

I agree. I can't believe how irrational some folks get over animals. And snobbish is an apt desciption of the prevalent attitude among some the "horsey" set.

[gate2wire]

Foaled last April. Have not seen a name yet. I'm sure it will be big news if he makes it to the races.

[Slip18]

You have tears going down my cheeks with your two posts. Great horse. He's in horsie heaven with all the mares he's never loved before.

[cowboyway]

The owners kept him alive as long as they did because up until the end when his front feet foundered and the coffin bones started to rotate, he was basically comfortable.

StormEye is partially right. Don't think for a second that these owners didn't consider and take the financial risks to get the horse back on his feet in order to reap some very handsome stud fees.

"In the 1960s horse breeders organized themselves into syndicates -- groups of people who bought shares in a horse. A syndicate purchased 2000 Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus for a record-breaking price of over $60 million when the stallion was three, after his two-year racing career was over. If he lives to be 25, the average lifespan of a Thoroughbred, Fusaichi Pegasus will sire hundreds of offspring. With a stud fee of around $200,000, the stallion's syndicate stands to make a bundle.

Fusaichi Pegasus only needs to cover 15 mares a year to break even.

[ridesthemiles]

You are right. Jockey Club does not allow artificial insemination.
As far as litle Barbaros, I believe the Jacksons have a full brother to Barbaro, and his broodmare, La Ville Rouge, is in foal to Dynaformer again."

They are trying, and that is worth the chance. OTOH- John Henry was a great racehorse who got gelded very early in his life because he was a terror in the barn. Only a very few people could handle him, even as a gelding, but he was a savage stallion.
He ran races successfully until he was 9 or 10, I think.
His Sire and Dam were still alive and they were rebred to try and recreate anoth John Henry. I never did hear what the result was. His Sire was called "Old Bob Bowers", I think, and his stud fee, even after siring John Henry was still below $5000, as I recall. If anyone knows more about the attempt to get a good full brother or sister to John Henry, let me know.

[cowboyway]

That's 15 mares a year over a 20 year span to break even.

[Stoigo]

We're talking about a horse, right?
Sheesh.

[Trust but Verify]

You have no idea what you are talking about. Thoroughbred racing does not allow artificial insemination.

[Juana la Loca]

Your ignorance is astounding. Racehorses are only allowed to breed via 'natural cover,' which means no artificial insemination. There will be no Barbaro foals in the future, and even if he had survived, the likelihood that he would have become a breeding stallion would have been marginal due to his injury. The owners did what they did out of love and compassion for this animal.

Perhaps you should pack up your ignorance and cynicism and move to another thread if this one is not of interest to you.

[Cold Heart]

Couple years back my horse got startled and gave a dynamic stomp on my foot & crushed some bones. I still like my horse but I wear steel toed boots now.

Couple weeks ago my wife's horse kicked me in the nuts.

I don't like her horse anymore.

[Trust but Verify]

Well wait til Rush's cat dies.

[gate2wire]

"Couple weeks ago my wife's horse kicked me in the nuts.

I don't like her horse anymore."

LOL.

[Ciexyz]

People can grieve deeply over the loss of what others would think is an insignificant little pet, like a canary. But maybe that canary provided more love to that person than most other people in life.

God gives us these precious animals for a time and a season, and then he takes them home. But we can be thankful that He shows us a touch of His love through these animal friends.

[twigs]

Some of us have Horses and Children and love both but I guess your a little too one dimensional...

Then count me in. I love animals, but that compares nothing to how I feel about children. They are not the same thing. Our local news (Barbero is local for us) started out with a 7-minute coverage of Barbero (out of 30 minutes). His owner asked people to pray for him. Please. He had already gone; prayers were no longer needed. I'm very sorry for her loss, but her request for a horse prayer belittled both prayer and legitimate human life-and-death issues. I truly felt sorrow that this beautiful creature did not make it, but to report it in terms more properly suited to human beings is just wrong.

[gate2wire]

"He ran races successfully until he was 9 or 10, I think."

Sounds about right.
At the time, he was the leading money winner.

[Trust but Verify]

YOU are the one that sounds ridiculous! It wasn't enough to make a FALSE CLAIM that the owners kept the horse alive to get as much semen as they could from him, was it?

[gate2wire]

“We’ve taken our time with him,” Matz said prior to his Holy Bull victory. “Physically, he was ready before, but mentally, he had a lot of growing up to do. He’s a big horse, well-mannered. He’s a kind horse, nice to be around. He’s a lot of horse, though, and you can’t just have anyone ride him.”

FWIW. Quote from the trainer last Feb.

[cjshapi]

"People can grieve deeply over the loss of what others would think is an insignificant little pet, like a canary. But maybe that canary provided more love to that person than most other people in life.

God gives us these precious animals for a time and a season, and then he takes them home. But we can be thankful that He shows us a touch of His love through these animal friends."

You are so right. I've always felt blessed to have my four legged friends in my life. We should have enough room in our hearts for both humans and animals. I don't understand why some seem to believe it's one or the other.

[paltz]

bingo.