Thoughts on Barbaro

[Barbaro06]

I tried to capture some of my thoughts on Barbaro. Here goes:

It’s the morning after Barbaro’s death. It feels like the day after the Preakness--I know what has happened, but it still hasn’t fully sunk in. It will, eventually.

I think back to his Derby win. I picked him to win---I liked his name, his looks…I just plain liked him. When he won in such a convincing manner
I got a funny feeling. “He could be the one, “ I mused quietly in my mind. The Triple Crown drought will be over---twenty eight long years of near misses---this is the horse to quench our thirst! I walked on clouds: I felt as if I was the one on the muscle, ready to conquer the Triple Crown.

Alas, it was not meant to be.

Barbaro was a fighter. He gave us hope. He blessed us with his beauty, intelligence and grace under the worst of circumstances. He blessed us with compassionate owners and jockey who did all they could to save their beloved colt. His plight brought forth a surgeon who toiled to save his patient and his staff who worked tirelessly to keep Barbaro comfortable and happy to the very end.

I have followed horse racing for almost thirty years now. I have cried over the losses of Secretariat, Go for Wand, Northern Dancer, Alydar and countless other horses whose names are all but forgotten. Barbaro’s passing will haunt me for awhile perhaps because I believed so strongly in him winning the Triple Crown.

Thank you Barbaro, the Jacksons, Dr. Richardson, Michael Matz, Edgar Prado and the crew at New Bolton. Thank you for giving me something to believe in!

[bean]

I LOVED that Horse

Les

[WarHorse]

Very well put, 06. Thank you for posting that.

[Barbaro06]

You are welcome. I am trying to capture my passion for horse racing and horses and share with everybody. I could not let what I felt go unsaid.

[angelsprite]

Barbaro06,
I'll include you in my thoughts and prayers about Barbaro too. It's hard not being able to check the updates. It got to be a habit. Check e-mail, check on Barbaro, check my website, every morning, in that order.
I know you're probably feeling just down in the dumps, like I am. Me, I get upset and want to work to make things better for other horses. I always figure, we can't turn back time, but we might be able to change a future horse's destiny. Hopefully, New Bolton will be able to use what they've learned from this to do that.
Also, maybe it will spur folks to really look at racing for future horses.
But, for now, I am just sad. I was really looking forward to my first stallion selection that popped up with Barbaro as the best option.

[Barbaro06]

Thank you AngelSprite. I actually had a friend call me today and ask how I was doing in regard to Barbaro's passing. I thought that was so kind. She knows I am really into horses and horse racing. It was a pleasant surprise this afternoon.

Times like these make me reflect on the beauty of horses and how they give 110% for us. Now we wait and see how his little brother turns out...he's a yearling now and still has not been named.

[ZiaLand]

Loved your thoughts, Barbaro. Very beautifully put.

I watched the televised story they did on Barbaro on Good Morning America. They said a full sibling to Barbaro will be born this spring. I hope they do a news story on that, too.

Laurie

[Barbaro06]

Oh boy, two little brothers! They asked the Jackson's on Larry King what are they going to name the full brothers to Barbaro and they said they might use the names of the other foxhounds in the painting they have. That's where they got the name Barbaro from and there's six hounds in all in the painting. Roy said that one name had already brought them luck, why not use another....

[majxmom]

I've cried quite a few tears reading all the beautiful tributes to Barbaro. What a tragedy....but still....it took me a long, long, time to shake off the news of Ferdinand's death. That's the one I'll never get over, thinking of him working his way down the chute, saying to himself, "Wait a minute, you don't understand who I am!"

[Laurierace]

I've cried quite a few tears reading all the beautiful tributes to Barbaro. What a tragedy....but still....it took me a long, long, time to shake off the news of Ferdinand's death. That's the one I'll never get over, thinking of him working his way down the chute, saying to himself, "Wait a minute, you don't understand who I am!"

That was a heart break of another type. That was the ultimate betrayl. This was the ultimate act of love and kindness.

[rascal]

Yesterday I was reading the many tributes on the Tim Woolley Racing site and there was an afternoon posting by a woman named Linda. She said she had inside information that the public wasn't aware of regarding the miss-start out of the gate and then the reloading of barbaro into the gate for the race. It didn't sound good, although she didn't give details...so today I'm feeling angry as well as upset like so many thousands of others over Barbaro's death.

The fight to save him by the Jacksons and entire New Bolton team was valiant and loving...they did everything humanly possible to heal him...he fought so hard and so long to live. A month ago I thought he would survive and have a happy life. Now I will always have a nagging doubt as to whether this tragic accident could have been prevented altogether at the start of the race. It's a sickening feeling.
Rascal

[bean]

Where is the note from thislady on the Tim Wooley site?

Les

[rascal]

It was on the site yesterday afternoon. There are literally thousands of posts on the site. I should've taken down all the info plus the time stamp. Really upsetting.

RIP and run free beautiful Barbaro!

[horsenuts]

Yesterday I was reading the many tributes on the Tim Woolley Racing site and there was an afternoon posting by a woman named Linda. She said she had inside information that the public wasn't aware of regarding the miss-start out of the gate and then the reloading of barbaro into the gate for the race. It didn't sound good, although she didn't give details...so today I'm feeling angry as well as upset like so many thousands of others over Barbaro's death.

The fight to save him by the Jacksons and entire New Bolton team was valiant and loving...they did everything humanly possible to heal him...he fought so hard and so long to live. A month ago I thought he would survive and have a happy life. Now I will always have a nagging doubt as to whether this tragic accident could have been prevented altogether at the start of the race. It's a sickening feeling.
Rascal

That's just "grassy knoll" bull$hit.. the same type $hit you read regarding every tragedy the world has known from the stabbing of Caesar to the JFK assassination to Pearl Harbor to WTC being an "inside job" by the US Govt. All of it including Barbaro's unfortunate mishap, is PURE UNADULTERATED BULL$HIT.

[rascal]

Well, something just did not look right to me when Barbaro was being led back to the gate to reload and I mentioned it to my husband at the time. Wish I had slow motion pictures of his walk...I will never know. But I'll bet Barbaro knew.

I really appreciated all the updates that TimWoolley gave on his website over these past months. However, many of the people posting there are going on and on and on and almost seem to be in love with their grief. They are dealing with pain unrelated to the loss of Barbaro. Life goes on. You just get up, pull your boots back on and get on with it already!

Hopefully, out of all of this there will be good things happening in the racing industry, anti-slaughter/abuse and medical areas of treating equine injuries as well.