It has Finally Happened....Barbaro Euthanized...SAD DAY !!

[EastTexasGal]

By DAN GELSTON, AP Sports Writer 13 minutes ago

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. - Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was euthanized Monday after complications from his breakdown at the Preakness last May.

"We just reached a point where it was going to be difficult for him to go on without pain," co-owner Roy Jackson said. "It was the right decision, it was the right thing to do. We said all along if there was a situation where it would become more difficult for him then it would be time."

Roy and Gretchen Jackson were with Barbaro on Monday morning, with the owners making the decision in consultation with chief surgeon Dean Richardson.

It was a series of complications, including laminitis in the left rear hoof and a recent abscess in the right rear hoof, that proved to be too much for the gallant colt, whose breakdown brought an outpouring of support across the country.

"I would say thank you for everything, and all your thoughts and prayers over the last eight months or so," Jackson said to Barbaro's fans.

On May 20, Barbaro was rushed to the New Bolton Center, about 30 miles southwest of Philadelphia in Kennett Square, hours after shattering his right hind leg just a few strides into the Preakness Stakes. The bay colt underwent a five-hour operation that fused two joints, recovering from an injury most horses never survive. Barbaro lived for eight more months, though he never again walked with a normal gait.

The Kentucky Derby winner suffered a significant setback over the weekend, and surgery was required to insert two steel pins in a bone — one of three shattered eight months ago in the Preakness but now healthy — to eliminate all weight bearing on the ailing right rear foot.

The procedure on Saturday was a risky one, because it transferred more weight to the leg while the foot rests on the ground bearing no weight.

The leg was on the mend until the abscess began causing discomfort last week. Until then, the major concern was Barbaro's left rear leg, which developed laminitis in July, and 80 percent of the hoof was removed.

Richardson said Monday morning that Barbaro did not have a good night.

Brilliant on the race track, Barbaro always will be remembered for his brave fight for survival.

The story of the beloved 3-year-old bay colt's fight for life captured the fancy of millions and drew an outpouring of support unrivaled in sports.

When Barbaro broke down, his right hind leg flared out awkwardly as jockey Edgar Prado jumped off and tried to steady the ailing horse. Race fans at Pimlico wept. Within 24 hours the entire nation seemed to be caught up in a "Barbaro watch," waiting for any news on his condition.

Well-wishers young and old showed up at the New Bolton Center with cards, flowers, gifts, goodies and even religious medals for the champ, and thousands of e-mails poured into the hospital's Web site just for him.

"I just can't explain why everyone is so caught up in this horse," Roy Jackson, who owned the colt with his wife, Gretchen, has said time and again. "Everything is so negative now in the world, people love animals and I think they just happen to latch onto him."

Devoted fans even wrote Christmas carols for him, sent a wreath made of baby organic carrots and gave him a Christmas stocking.

Although the get-well cards and banners eventually will fade or be trashed, the biggest gift has been the $1.2 million raised since early June for the Barbaro Fund. The money is put toward needed equipment such as an operating room table, and a raft and sling for the same pool recovery Barbaro used after his surgeries.

The Jacksons spent tens of thousands of dollars hoping the best horse they ever owned would recover and be able to live a comfortable life on the farm — whether he was able to breed or not.

The couple, who own about 70 racehorses, broodmares and yearlings, and operate the 190-acre Lael Farm, have been in the horse business for 30 years, and never had a horse like Barbaro.

As the days passed, it seemed Barbaro would get his happy ending. As late as December, with the broken bones in his right hind leg nearly healed and his laminitis under control, Barbaro was looking good and relishing daily walks outside his intensive care unit.

But after months of upbeat progress reports, including talk that he might be headed home soon, news came Jan. 10 of a serious setback because of the laminitis. Richardson had to remove damaged tissue from Barbaro's left hind hoof, and the colt was placed back in a protective sling.

On Jan. 13, another section of his left rear hoof was removed. After Barbaro developed a deep abscess in his right hind foot, surgery was performed Saturday to insert two steel pins in a bone, one that was shattered but now healthy, to eliminate all weight bearing on the ailing foot.

This after Richardson warned last December that Barbaro's right hind leg was getting stronger and that the left hind foot was a "more formidable long-term challenge."

In the end, the various complications from the breakdown at the Preakness were too much.

[Northern Rancher]

He sure fought the good fight that's for sure.

[IL Rancher]

sad day but it was time.. Heard a quote from the owner the other day that led me to believe that the time was very, very near. Can't remember but it was to the affect that Barbaro had been through enough or something like that..

Still sad, wish it hadn't come to this.

[katrina]

[Mort]

He was undefeated going into that race, broke down, ended up losing his life, Sad day.

[Judith]

It was time, it is unfortunate that his owners were so selfish as to prolong this champions suffering. Did they do it for the horse?, they may have thought so, but he was injured in May of last year, that is a long time to hurt

[Skrewk]

Keep in mind this is just my screwed up opinion. But I have wanted to say this for sometime, I just felt it was best to wait until it was over. I would still have felt this way even if he had gotten to a point that would be considered recovered

I know this may not be the popular opinion but I say, its about time, I mean no disrespect to the owners, the veterinarians or even Barbaro.

Having said that I know there will be many horses that will benefit from what the veterinary world learned from treating Barbaro, but at what cost to him. In my opinion horses shouldn't be asked to bear their weight on 3 legs, some species can, dogs and cats run around on 3 legs pretty well even people can get around on 1 but horses are different, their other limbs break down under the excessive strain as evidenced by Barbaros ultimate demise. There is no doubt that this horse was very special and strong willed to have come so close to making it to a level that could be considered as recovered.

But I cant help to think that the owners wanted to be able to breed him, $$$$$$$$$. I will not be the least bit surprised to hear that they saved a tissue sample in order to clone him at some later date.

I guess I'm alot more cynicall than I realized

I really do feel a strong bond with my horses but that bond actually helps make it a little easier when I have to put a friend and business partner down when their quality of life becoms difficult to bear.

All this having been said my hats off to a horse that could battle that hard to recover, and to the owners that struggled with, and were able to eventually make the difficult decision to put him out of his misery.

I realize this may really P O some people If you want to call me dirty name do so in a PM to keep the rest of this community civil, I welcome anyones arguments who knows you may make me eat my words.

Thanks for listening to my rant
JD

[OldDog/NewTricks]

I'll bet the collected Millions$$$$$$$ Sperm From Him to pay Vet Bills and more

[IL Rancher]

Oh.. I think a lot of the battle did have to do with how much he was worth alive as a stud. Its tough, becasue there were signs here and there that he was doing better but I think everyone knew it was a one and a million shot for him to recover.. Problem is with most of the positives a negative was soon to follow...

I don't know when the "right" time to put him down was, with dogs you can see it in their eyes a lot of time, at least in my experience, you can see when they just want peace.. My wife saw a lot of this when she worked at a shelter, dogs and cats that were deathly ill and they all agreed that there was a time when the animal would let you know.. I am glad that he is not hurting anymore... Beyond that, I wish he would have had to suffer less by either getting better or getting his wel earned peace sooner.

[IL Rancher]

TB's can only be registered if it is natural service so I doubt his semen is worth all that much except to produce some grade horses... At least that is what I remember reading back when this happened.

[Judith]

Couple of points from a TB breeders point of veiw.

1. TB studs must be able to cover live. AI is not recognized by Jockey club.

2. He only had 7 starts! This to me is not great, fantastic for a race horse as he pulled in over 2 million. But not as a sire, you want a racehorse breed to his sire Dynaformer who had 30 starts and proven progeny.

3. There is rumor ( red flag :rumor alert ) that he had severe conformation faults as a foal that were corrected surgically. This poor horse never had a chance, in nature his deformities would have kept him from redlining, ending in his catastrophic injury.

4. Would you breed to a stallion that had to have surgery to improve his conformation?

These are just some points that have come up on the TB forums that I frequent. I think they are all valid. The KY industry has been corrupt for some time but I believe that there should be full disclosure if a foal has had conformation correction surgery. I personally would be REALLY angry if I paid big bucks and found out the stallion I thought had good legs was actually born really crooked

[Skrewk]

Judith,

Couldnt have said it better, as a matter of fact i didn't.

My only differing thought is that if they froze semen or a tissue sample they may be able to wait until the rules change and since $$$$$$$$$$$ makes the rules eventually they probably will.

WOW I am a cynicall B@$!@&#