Who feels sad about Barbro

It's sad what happiend to him ! :(

Once again, it looks as though I have to remind everyone that Barbaro died from a DISEASE, NOT from the fractures. His owners made the decision try to save the colt because they LOVED him- he was like their son would have been, in a way. Like parents everywhere, they wanted to do the best they possibly could for him, regardless of cost. His possible future earnings in the breeding shed had no impact on their decision either- Gretchen Jackson publically stated more than once that they never even knew if the colt was potent. I have seen so many responses to questions like this that are so critical of the Jacksons, Dr. Richardson, and their trainer, Michael Matz, that it makes me sick sometimes. People keep trying to imply that saving the colt was all about money. IT WASN'T, plain and simple. I was fond of Barbaro too, as were millions of other people- and his brave fight for life, in the face of such incredible odds, captured the attention of the whole nation for a while last year.

But what everyone needs to remember is that Barbaro died of a disease. Laminitis is a terrible illness that kills an estimated 100,000 horses a year in the USA alone. In Europe, where horses are used for more sports than just racing, the numbers are even higher. Poorly understood by the medical community, laminitis has multiple causes, and is believed by some to be a kind of endotoxemia- that is, a condition caused by a toxin that is produced in the body and carried through the bloodstream to the horse's feet. There are others who believe that the disease has a genetic component to it that makes some horses especially vulnerable. Whatever theory proves to be true, the fact is that right now we don't know enough about the cause of the problem to really have effective treatments for the disease, let alone a cure. That's one of the most important things that has come about as the result of Barbaro's illness and death- public awareness of laminitis and its devastating effects is at an all-time high, and millions of dollars have been raised for research into its causes. Some of that money wil also go to finding treatments that will work, and perhaps a cure one day.