Barbaro breaks leg at Preakness

[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.

[dmek25]

ok, i think im done

[EEich]

No... it's because of the owner's greed that it's being kept alive.

[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

[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.

[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

[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.

[BDBohnzie]

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

[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.)

[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

[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!

[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.

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

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.

I like you what you said - it was balanced.

I've been pondering one other thing about the so called "absurdity" (and I'm not taking jabs at anyone here) of spending so much money on an animal's healthcare. In this particular instance, haven't we, and the horseracing community in particular, determined the value of this horse and all for that matter. Everytime we pay to see this horse (just using him as example) race, everytime we place a bet, everytime we tune in to see the next interview or presser we colloectively put a price on this horse.

Sure, he does the actual performing, but the general public drives up his value by pulling out it's own almighty green dollar.
We'll gladly take home a healthy day's winning from the race track, but out the other side of our mouth say the money used to save the horse's life could be better used. We can't have it both ways.

Can you tell this is touching a nerve with me