Sometimes, bad things happen.
2006-05-20 // 3:58 p.m..
By the time you read this, if you're a either watching the TV/News or the Horse Races, you'll already know... but that's the way Blogging goes- we hear about something, and we Blog about it. Feh.
We have more reason than some to follow horseracing now, and this is exactly what I mean when I say that in horses, /nothing/ is a gaurentee. The most unexpected thing can happen, and blow everything to dust just... /because/.
Barbaro, the horse who had run undefeated to this point, had a pretty good chance at winning the triple-crown. He was a VERY competative animal, with that 'no WAY you're getting in front of me!' attitude.
During the second 'leg' of the triple crown (before he became the contender that War Emblem had) he just... broke down.
They call them 'Breakdowns' and range from Mild, to Serious to Catastrophic- Barbaro was running allright for the first few good lengths- and then suddenly, those back legs were everywhere- and he tried to run on THREE legs. That horse does NOT give up.
Fortunately, his Jockey, Edgar Prado, pulled him up just before the first turn, and they got him into an 'equine ambulance'... but that is by no means a gaurentee of survival.
In the past, a lot of racehorses lost their lives right on the dirt, shot for a broken leg- then came the days of the 'horse ambulance' in which the horse would WALK or be drug in, and then euthenized behind the closed doors of the vehicle.
Nowdays, people don't think the same way anymore- the Equine Ambulance is a place they really CAN stablize and begin EMT-level work on a horse, and Barbaro was splinted and lightly sedated before he was even removed from it- and even then, it was really only minutes before they had an X-ray and knew he'd broken his ankle in two places.
A career-ending event, but by NO means an automatic death sentance as it once was.
Nowdays, they have Equine Hospitals like Maryland University has- where Barbaro is being taken, even as I type this, for surgery to correct the break.
Long past now, the days of shooting a horse for a broken leg- now even this terrifyingly complex double break (one above and one below the ankle joint) is leaving Barbaro a fighting chance at survival and still- glory as an Unbeaten racehorse who would be revered as a stud horse of considerable value. The HORSE matters, but the value is part of what saves them- without the intense pools of money that go into sports athletes of any species, there would be less research and development of effective, SPEEDY methods of treating them.
The big hurdle for him will be that such breaks cause damage to blood vessels, and he runs risks (just like a human would) from both the transfusion, and the possible damage to blood supply to the rest of the limb. (in this case the hoof)
Ironically, even that kind of damage might not claim his life. Horses nowdays can choose from a variety of prosthetic limbs... and Barbaro's owner has a lot at stake if there's even a chance that the horse will survive both injury and rehabilitation with his personality and abilities to survive.
I'm not trying to downplay or hype up the events that happened- I'm just saying... both the Cap'n and I remember the days when a horse would have been shot, like it was a worthless peice of meat... and nowdays, it's not just animal 'rights' or 'sentimentalism' that makes people think differently. It's just a whole new WORLD now. A whole new attitude overall... about what constitutes 'value' and what does not.
Thoroughbreds cannot be used to stud unless they 'live cover'. So put to rest any thoughts of the horse doomed to a life of being a sperm factory. (chuckle) It doesn't happen that way. They also command MUCH higher prices if prospective breeders can see them walked, or even worked out a little, even into old age... Seattle Slew covered mares right up untill a couple weeks before he died of old age. (I bet some of you don't even realize he only passed about two years ago! He lived a LONG, Long life...)
In fact, when we went to buy 'Baby', our own TB, her stable mate was a horse called "Alex", who has himself been in a similar situation- his injury did not occurr on the track, however. His injury happened at home, when he was being lead around his trailer to his stall- he lept over the trailer joint between truck and trailer, and ripped open his poor belly from front to groin- it very nearly killed him, as you might imagine.
Unlike Barbaro, "Alex" didn't have much breeding value, and he wasn't a world-famous racer. He did, however, have an OWNER. A real live, hands-on, OWNER. Not a company, not a stranger who was paid to keep him... this is one of the things so many people do not know about Horse Racing. It's made up of PEOPLE... people who love the animals they have. VERY MUCH.
We inquired about "Alex" when we were there, because hey, there's two of us and why not offer to buy him if he were going up for sale too? But OH NO... no no no... we were informed that his rehabilitation had been long, and emotional, and something... happened, during it. You know what I mean- it's that moment when a Horse just GRABS your heart and HOLDS onto it.
"Alex", we were informed, was /definately/ not for sale... he was going to die right there at home, in however many years it took for him to live out his life, happy and healthy. Right in his OWNERS stable, within sight of the dining room window.
That's what it MEANS to own Racehorses, if you're a breeder or a private owner... They give their hearts for the art of trying to WIN... everytime five to 20-something horses enter that gate, only ONE will /WIN/. And they WANT that win as much as we do... they want to COMPETE.
Even now, Baby's owner is detaching a little from her- making his peace with his choice to sell her to the Cap'n, knowing she IS his Baby already (and mine!)... with promises and a handshake on it, that she will always be 'kept in touch' and that she'll put more foals on the ground, and not be left alone in a pasture to never be ridden again- the last thing a horse like that would want- to go from a life of daily handling, touching, workouts, riding- RACING... to nothing. To a life of standing around, without contact.
If you're an animal rights person, you might see this race as proof that it's a horrible thing for the horses involved- if you're a Horse breeder, owner, trainer... you CRIED.
Because whatever else they are to the general public, they're FRIENDS to us.
Listening to: TVG and updates in email on Barbaros.
Consuming: Cola and tiny chocolate chip cookies.
Today my t-shirt should read: "All he wants to do, is WIN." -Brabaros' trainer.
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