Barbaro breaks leg at Preakness

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by dmek25

i would agree but the odds are still very minimal as far as survival.and we still are talking about an animal arent we?any human should be saved no matter what the cost,but we are talking about a horse(or maybe i should say racehorse,because that is the issue)can we agree to disagree?this conversation is taking up too much time that we could be talking about the skins

I have absolutely no idea why you keep insisting that the odds of survival are so minimal. They currently sit at 50/50.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200....ap/index.html

The whole point is any horse with a broken leg could be given the same chance to regain health as he is getting, IF THE OWNER WOULD SPEND THE MONEY ON SURGERY. If each horse's owner paid for the treatment Barbaro was getting, the odds would be a lot better for those horses. And that's my point, it's a shame what's happening to the OTHER horses who are deemed not worth saving from a financial standpoint. Barbaro's getting exactly what he deserves.

And we're going to have to disagree on the horses and humans should have different standards point. Your whole argument is basically saying "it's not a human, it's a horse, so let's not let the owner make any money off of this, and let's put the animal down even though he has a 50% shot at surviving." It makes no sense, and seems downright mean to me.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by EEich

Horsey wheelchairs... you've really though this one through. You should stop now.

It was a joke EEich. Obviously there are no wheelchairs for horses. Nice sense of humor.

[SkinsLove24/7]

It was a joke EEich. Obviously there are no wheelchairs for horses. Nice sense of humor.

Everyone knows a horse with a broken leg uses horse crutches...because how the hell would they turn the wheels of the wheelchair??...genius

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by EEich

I'd like you to explain the procedure that they use to keep a horse off it's feet and pain-free.
The leg was broken in three places... the doctors put rods and 23 screws in the horses leg... something they wouldn't normally do for a horse, unless it was guaranteed to return millions of dollars in stud fees. It was a hugely complicated surgery and they're still not sure that the horse will be able to bear the pain.

Dude, he walked back to his stall after the surgery, and now he's flirting with his bitches:

"Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro is making progress from surgery on his broken leg, even showing an interest in mares"

So you'd rather not even give him a chance to bear the pain and survive? Your value of life is startling.

I fully agree that the owners are only in it for the money, but you seem like you'd rather see them lose out on the money than see Barbaro survive. That seems twisted to me.

There's no guarantee the horse will be able to bear the pain. But there's also no guarantee that he won't be able to bear it. So you give him a shot.

[EEich]

Dude... they had a huge amount of local anesthesia in that leg.... you expect that to be dripped into his little horsey leg for 6 weeks? He'll end up the equine version of Ricky Williams... they'll have his mane in dreads. He'll be racing in Canada.
(how's that for a sense of humor?)

You'd better be a vegetarian before accusing me of not valueing life.

[12thMan]

I'm glad to see this thread has taken on a lighter tone.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Dude, he walked back to his stall after the surgery, and now he's flirting with his bitches:

"Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro is making progress from surgery on his broken leg, even showing an interest in mares"

I think the real problem is, if that leg isn't strong enough to allow him to mount, what's the point? Giggidy-giggidy-gew!

[BDBohnzie]

i guess barbaro's gonna have to learn the Mare on top position...

[dmek25]

well,since you insist.it is totally ridiculous to spend that much money on a friggin animal when millions can not get the proper care that they need.sure,the owner has his own money to spend as he pleases but cant he think of a better way to spend it.thjs is the point,the only reason he is spending it is because of the stud fees,period.i have swampland in jersey to sell you if you think for one minute he is doing this out of his pure kindness for the animal.i guarantee that horse had surgery faster than if you or i walked into the emergency room.tell me if something is wrong with that picture

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by BDBohnzie

i guess barbaro's gonna have to learn the Mare on top position...

That will only lead to depression. The horse was a born winner and if he can't dominate every horse in his path he won't know what to do with himself.

I can just see it, a year or two down the road, Barbaro all drunk off old oates and grains in some crappy barn in middle America telling any colt who will listen how great he once was, crying everytime it rains because the screws in his ankle hurt. "I was the best that spring, I could've been the greatest of all time, but Baltimore if filled with potholes!!! Damn them, why did they have to spare my life, I'm nothing!!!" A goat will walk in, "keep it down horse, you're crepping out the regulars!" What a sad future.

But man, if they get that leg healed up, he will be the biggest pimp on the block, mad bitches for life. I hope he gets his strength back.

(anyone have a job opening for a sociology major with no great skills? I really should not have this much free time on my hands while at work.)

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by dmek25

well,since you insist.it is totally ridiculous to spend that much money on a friggin animal when millions can not get the proper care that they need.sure,the owner has his own money to spend as he pleases but cant he think of a better way to spend it.thjs is the point,the only reason he is spending it is because of the stud fees,period.i have swampland in jersey to sell you if you think for one minute he is doing this out of his pure kindness for the animal.i guarantee that horse had surgery faster than if you or i walked into the emergency room.tell me if something is wrong with that picture

Well, Dmek25...if it was simply about the money, they could have laid the horse to rest and collected literally millions and millions from the insurance company. And trust me, they could have and still may. The 50/50 chance of survival they are giving Barbaro is extremely optomistic.

I really think the owner was and still to some extent is distraught over this whole incident. To say that the owner and the trainer are saving the horses' life to capture the stud fees is totally presumptous on our part.

We must remember, these people have been around horses for most of their lives. This is what they do - this is what they know.
Many of these people loved horses long before they became wealthy, and still do.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by dmek25

well,since you insist.it is totally ridiculous to spend that much money on a friggin animal when millions can not get the proper care that they need.sure,the owner has his own money to spend as he pleases but cant he think of a better way to spend it.thjs is the point,the only reason he is spending it is because of the stud fees,period.i have swampland in jersey to sell you if you think for one minute he is doing this out of his pure kindness for the animal.i guarantee that horse had surgery faster than if you or i walked into the emergency room.tell me if something is wrong with that picture

Commy!

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Wasn't Barbaro's owner an Olympic equestrain rider? Considering the way he practically sprinted to the track right after the horse stopped on Saturday, IMO he has more invested in that horse than just money.

My roommate in college had a race horse (actually his uncle did, but he had a vested interest in it) and he was depressed for like a month when they had to put it down following an accident on the track. The horse had been doing well, I think it had just won a big race the week before, and he was making my friend a good deal of money, but that wasn't why he was so upset.

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

Wasn't Barbaro's owner an Olympic equestrain rider? Considering the way he practically sprinted to the track right after the horse stopped on Saturday, IMO he has more invested in that horse than just money.

My roommate in college had a race horse (actually his uncle did, but he had a vested interest in it) and he was depressed for like a month when they had to put it down following an accident on the track. The horse had been doing well, I think it had just won a big race the week before, and he was making my friend a good deal of money, but that wasn't why he was so upset.

This is all I'm trying to say - there's much more than financial consideration involved here. And what's being lost here is the fact the horse has no say in the matter. The owner and trainer basically have to come to a very emotional decision to save the horse. Unlike a human athlete, the final decision rests with the individual, an animal is at the mercy of someone else making the decision.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by dmek25

well,since you insist.it is totally ridiculous to spend that much money on a friggin animal when millions can not get the proper care that they need.sure,the owner has his own money to spend as he pleases but cant he think of a better way to spend it.thjs is the point,the only reason he is spending it is because of the stud fees,period.i have swampland in jersey to sell you if you think for one minute he is doing this out of his pure kindness for the animal.i guarantee that horse had surgery faster than if you or i walked into the emergency room.tell me if something is wrong with that picture

And now for a semi-serious response: why don't you put spaces in between your punctuation marks and the start of your next thought? Just curious.

And now for a serious response: there's a lot more demand for human healthcare than for animals. We were just talking about it, most owners put the animal down in these situations. Veterinary surgeons have better availability than our docs.

I think money is the main motivator, but unless he's a complete robot, the owner is feeling bad for the horse and doesn't want to see it die. And I am not so cynical to think that he's not feeling anything for the horse.

And besides, what would you have the owner do with his money? Provide healthcare to all the underinsured in our country before providing it to the horse? I guess by that logic we should just tax everyone who can afford healthcare so that there would be enough tax revenue to provide healthcare for everyone. Then nobody would need a good job with good benefits. And pretty soon we'd be basking in the glow of communism. That sh*t doesn't fly. Some people can afford it, some can't. You want to give people opportunities to afford it, but the rich shouldn't have to pay for it.

Healthcare is not a basic human right in my eyes. It costs money for doctors to do what they do, and for Pharm to make drugs, and for nurses to wipe your ass. Healthcare is a privelege, and you should have to earn it.

Maybe if so many Americans stopped dropping out of high school, they'd have the skills to be able to hold down a job that actually provides solid healthcare benefits.

Alright I'm getting way too political and have probably pissed enough people off already. Barbaro is priveleged, he's got an owner who's willing to spend the money. In a horse's case, it's a raw deal for those horses with owners who aren't this able to pay. The horses obviously can't do anything about it, it's just luck of the draw. The difference with people is they can do something about it. They can go to school, get trained, get jobs, and earn their healthcare benefits.