‘Here Comes Barbaro’

Posted by SHAUN MULLEN, TMV Columnist in Uncategorized.
Jan 30th, 2007 | 8 responses

Barbaro is gone, but his historic victory in the 2006 Kentucky Derby lives on. Please click here for a pole-to-pole video of that great race.

8 Responses to “‘Here Comes Barbaro’”

1. Gray says:

   January 30, 2007 at 4:16 am

   Shaun, this is the third story here about this pampered horse in a single day. Don’t you think that it’s enough already?
2. Shaun Mullen says:

   January 30, 2007 at 4:25 am

   Gray:

   I love horses. I had a relationship with one horse that was very close, kind of like mind melding on the old Star Trek. Horses are, in their own way, more advanced than the people whom they permit to put saddles on them.

   From today’s New York Times:

   “Humans are not especially good at noticing horses, but Barbaro was easy to notice. And if his life caused us to pay attention to the possibilities of all horses, his death should cause us to pay attention to the tragedy inherent in the end of so many horses. Barbaro’s death was tragic not because it was measured against the races he might have won or even against the effort to save his life. It was tragic because of what every horse is.

   “You would have to look a long, long time to find a dishonest or cruel horse. And the odds are that if you did find one, it was made cruel or dishonest by the company it kept with humans. It is no exaggeration to say that nearly every horse — Barbaro included — is pure of heart. Some are faster, some slower. Some wind up in the winner’s circle. But they should all evoke in us the generosity of conscience — a human quality, after all — that was expended in the effort to save this one horse.”
3. Gray says:

   January 30, 2007 at 4:44 am

   Ok, I see your point, though I have to admit I’m not able to fully comprehend it. Horses are nice looking animals, but why all the hype?
4. Michael van der Galien says:

   January 30, 2007 at 4:55 am

   Horses are nice looking animals, but why all the hype?

   Seems to have been quite an important animal / inspiration to quite some people I assume….
5. jammer says:

   January 30, 2007 at 8:49 am

   I dont quite know why I was so taken with this horse and his struggle to live, and why I was so sad when he had to be put down. I must confess it is a bit mystifying to me. On the other hand, I have had pets and had to put them down, and anyone who has done that is a sucker for the sadness accompanying such an act. And I think that the fight that was fought for the horse gave everyone hope because it was a good fight for the right reasons. The horse is a true innocent in all of this, a form of purity without corruption, and does not deserve to die serving human sporting interests. And the notion that so many people could love and pull for the horse gave us a reflection of ourselves, and our “better angels” that we liked and treasured. Plus there was the hope that Barbaro could transcend the awful reality of life, that bad things happen to good people, and good animals, and we hoped that through his success in beating the odds of reality it would inspire and lift us. Finally, the heroic work of Dr. Richardson and all of the caring people at the New Bolton Center was also an inspiration and a further example of the good that people can do, serving good causes, when they are not totally preoccupied with doing rotten things. So those are my humble thoughts for what they are worth.
6. jammer says:

   January 30, 2007 at 8:53 am

   One more add to my previous post, here is a link to an article that says it all better than I can.

   http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16879922/
7. Shaun Mullen says:

   January 30, 2007 at 9:09 am

   Jammer:

   Your thoughts on Barbaro are echoed by the great writer and horse lover Jane Smiley:

   “Did he want to survive? It seemed as though he did.

   “In a great racehorse, the heart and mind do the running, and the body tries to hold up.”
8. kritter says:

   January 30, 2007 at 3:33 pm

   I loved Smiley’s quote. Why do humans assume they are the only ones with a strong spirit or mind? Barbaro was smart enough to shake his sling when he was in pain so that the vets would get him off his feet, and would shake in the sling when he wanted them to get him out of it. RIP Barbaro.