There's A Reason They Always Shoot The Horse

When I read the headline aloud yesterday at work about Barbaro being euthanized, then quickly followed with "and it's about 8 months too late!", I was met with some criticism...

One friend replied - "I was really pulling for the horse..."
Well - weren't we all though?

At least until he broke his leg and fell out of the race. That's pretty much the point when I stopped pulling for him.

Given the choice of reading a story about Barbaro or Britney - I'm taking Britney every time, but she hasn't done anything newsworthy this week yet - so Barbaro it is. Of course - it is only Tuesday...

I'll never forget the moment Barbaro got hurt. It was the day of my daughter's birthday party and we had a yard full of guests. I was pretty stressed out by all the people who had shown up but weren't invited, so I had sneaked into the house for a beer or a hit off my bong and to see the progress of the Preakness. The race had just finished, and my Dad was a bit flushed looking as I walked in and saw him watching the television.He was wincing and turning his head to the side when I walked into the room to see the outcome.

"Oooh! That hurts..." was all he said.

My Dad is an old farmboy and has some pretty messed up stories of stuff that happened to animals on the farm where he grew up.

He used to take me hunting, and gave me shit once when I had a clear shot at a deer - but couldn't bring myself to shoot it.

He always buried the family dog while the rest of us stood around crying.

I never saw him kick a cat when it would get in his way, but I'm not saying he never did.They were "just animals" to him...
But there is something overwhelming about seeing a beautiful, graceful and powerful animal like a racehorse being reduced to hobbling around on an injured leg.

My stomach still turns to think of that awful moment. My Dad and I watched replay after replay in silence. I had the same reaction many people had when it happened - "That's a shame - I hope he doesn't suffer much."

Well - in my opinion - he did. 8 months too many.

We've all seen the footage of Barbaro suspended in those stirrups unable to support his own weight, then later with his leg in a cast and still unable to walk normally. He was, unfortunately, still in pain and never healed properly. I'm certain the hearts of all the people surrounding Barbaro this past year were in the right place, but I'm sorry to know that Barbaro's suffering could have ended a long time ago.