I’ll tell you one thing, I almost puked Saturday after the Preakness. I went over to the stake barn where they were having a reception. I had just finished talking to my vet who xrayed and stabilized Barbaro. He was fighting back tears as he told me what he thought the prognosis was. I then walked over to where my friends were standing by the bar. In the process I had to walk past Scott Lake who was talking to three people I didn’t know. I overheard him say something to the effect of “this is such a difficult situation to be in” It took everything I had in me not to say “oh really, I thought when it happens two or three times a week you would tend to get used to it.”
Matz is a good guy, my vet is a good guy. My vet said the horse was fine going into the race, that’s good enough for me.
Great NY Times Article Today
You may not like it or agree with it but I really agree with the very last line.
May 22, 2006
We Care. But Why Do We Care So Much?
By JANE SCHWARTZ
No one wants to see a racehorse break down. The most hardened trainers and the most avid fans seem to agree on this much: A horse has to win, but nobody wants to see one die trying.
For complicated reasons involving the anatomy and the physiology of thoroughbreds, a serious injury sustained at high speed too often spells death for a horse.
That such a breakdown is traumatic for the owner, the trainer, the jockey, the groom and the exercise rider is understandable. Most of them work closely with the horse day after day. What seems to mystify people is why strangers feel the same way.
Since Barbaro’s injury early in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, the reaction of strangers to his plight — an outpouring of concern and love — raises a question with no easy answer: Why do people care so much about the fate of an animal to which they have no personal connection?
Barbaro emerged from surgery last night, but his fate remained unknown. If he survives the immediate trauma, he will face months of recuperation and rehabilitation before he can be pronounced recovered.
The image of jockey Edgar Prado leaning into Barbaro’s shoulder to help him stay upright was reminiscent of the photograph from 1975 showing Jacinto Vasquez leaning against his injured filly, Ruffian, and miraculously keeping her from going down on the track.
Ruffian was in the lead when she broke down in her famous match race against the Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure on July 6, 1975, at Belmont Park. She was so competitive that she kept running even though Vasquez, one of the strongest riders around, used every ounce of his muscle to pull her up as soon as he could.
Ruffian sustained a compound fracture of her right front leg. After enduring hours of complicated surgery, she reinjured her leg when she came out of the anesthesia and was euthanized early the next morning.
Horse racing is as competitive as any sport ever invented. Trainers use psychological tricks to try to outsmart the competition. Before the continuous monitoring of races, jockeys would poke, pull, kick and whip one another down the stretch in attempts to gain the lead.
But when their horses are hurt and have to be destroyed, it breaks their hearts.
In victory and defeat, and every day in between, horses remain wordless creatures. To those in the sport who spend their days caring for them, these thousand-pound thoroughbreds are like children — not in any sentimental sense, but in the sense that they cannot take care of themselves. They need people to provide them with water, food, shelter, exercise. The good ones are treated the way every child should be treated — with the mixture of care and discipline best suited for that particular individual.
No one who was involved with Ruffian’s treatment expected her to survive. Not in any rational sense. They operated on her in the hope that they might buy time for a miracle to take place.
There seems to be social pressure against killing an animal, even when that may be the most humane path.
When we care about someone, or some animal, our first instinct is to reject the idea of death. Most people want to leave open at least a small window of opportunity for hope.
At the medical center where Barbaro was being treated, people left signs for the colt, expressing their love for him.
Perhaps the real miracle — the one that matters to all of us, whether we know it or not — is that so many of us are still capable of caring so much.
Jane Schwartz is the author of “Ruffian: Burning From the Start,” which was reissued in 2002.
You Go Girl, Laurierrace – THERE IS NO CONTROVERSY
Originally Posted by solargal
"I would like to see punishment to the trainer when a horse breaks down. This sounds bad, but the first one a “freebie” of sorts.(Horribly sorry for the way that sounds.) For instances such as Barbaro where Matz is a wonderful horseman and it was a bad step. "
Then the same should apply to parents and coaches of high school kids in athletic events who get injured, and for the coaches of college kids who get injured.
Sorry, I just don’t agree with that unless pure abuse can be proven.
I’ve seen one breakdown at the local track so far this year - a marked improvement over previous years (knock on wood).
We have been with our trainer since the trainer was an assistant to our previous trainer. Not once in twenty years has one of our trainer’s horses broken down. Bone chips, yes. Injuries, yes (though it’s almost split between on-the-farm and on-the-track injuries!). Time off and layups, yes. Retirements, yes. Sales (at height of career and at end), yes. Breakdowns (morning or during a race), no.
I’ve worked for a trainer for several years. In all those years, only one of the horses has broken down - an awkward step while winning a race. That horse is now in retirement with the trainer.
I know another trainer whose horses rarely race at age two, and are often racing successfully at high levels (ie, stakes) in their 8th, 9th, and 10th years - astonishing. On the ONE occasion when I’ve witnessed one of this trainer’s horses break down in a race (in 1996), the trainer was with the horse immediately and absolutely bawling.
It frankly pisses me off that so many use Barbaro’s FREAK injury as an indictment of racing. It is my life and it is my passion that you are disparaging.
I know next to nothing about showing - and I keep my mouth shut. It would be stupid for me to say that if a show horse is injured while jumping a course, that rider, owner, and/or trainer should be somehow penalized, would it not?
Their horse, their decision, their money…
I’m simply dumbfounded by such a well-intended but preposterous suggestion.
“Hey Michael Matz, you’re cool so you get the exemption but that D. Wayne Lukas guy, I don’t care for so no ‘pass’ for you buddy”
“By the way, Nick Canani, you worked for Mike Gill so if ever any horse you train from here on out so much as stumbles we’ll be on you like white on rice.”
I think racing already as a regulated and monitored sport should be able to better patrol those trainers who are up to nefarious practices - such as milkshaking, etc.
Still you have to treat the sport as a business and not as a kindergarten class. I for one would be offended if under this regime a trainer like Richard Dutrow is penalized for running an iron horse like Golden Man as he did in two G3 races in 24 hours and then suddenly the horse gets injured in a basic workout. The latter did not happen to GM and he runs just fine today.
I’m curious about this study. Were the 4yo’s not even started until they were 4? If so, that doesn’t seem to be a very fair test as it’s well known that early controlled work has a positive effect on development, particularly bone, that lasts a lifetime. A more fair test would be to start the 4yo group as a 2yo but just not in the rigors of race training until they were 3. Start them with long, slow concussive work, interval training. There have also been studies that prove that the type of fitness training a youngster goes through has a fairly significant affect on bucked shins and overal racing health. Some trainers follow the routine that allows the bone density to maxmize, muscle and tendon health to follow, and wind fitness to match it all so that the horse’s muscles aren’t capable of peforming longer/harder than the supporting structures.
I think you misinterpeted it. My thought is there are trainers that have 10+ horses break a leg off in races a year. There would be no special exceptions, the first breakdown(catastrophically, in a race) would recieve no penalty, but those that incurred more during a time span or certain number of races would recieve penalties.
It will never happen, because as Laurierace’s comment, there are some big name trainers that breakdown an extraordinary number of horses. Once again, this would actually be very lienant. Mornings not counting, chips, pulling up, only those falling in a race due to catastrophic breakdown would count.
Any trainer that has multiple castastrophic breakdowns in a year, is abusive. There’s your proof.
Well, you could argue also that 4 years old is still not really mature. We know that horses are not finished growing until 6 or 7 really particularly the upper joints and the spine.
I agree with JB that no one says you shouldn’t work a horse before 4 but rather building up slowly to the fitness, density and maturity at four and then asking for the racing speeds on a more mature and developed frame than you have on a 2 year old.
Read today’s press conference. I have no doubt the good doctor is correct and the Jackson’s WOULD have saved the horse even if he had been a gelding. :yes:
Here’s an exerpt from an article in today’s Sun-Sentinel…
Richardson added that the Jacksons’ main concern was for the health of Barbaro, not for the millions of dollars the colt could make as a stallion if he recovers completely.
“If this horse were a gelding these owners would have done everything to save this horse’s life,” Richardson said. “I’ve known the Jacksons a long time. If this horse had no reproductive value they would have saved his life.”
I suspected this was the case. 
For the complete article, here’s the link
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/nationworld/ats-ap_sports10may23,0,4889223.story?coll=sns-sports-headlines
One thing that I wish would be mentioned when talking about the decision to treat an injury like this, is that rather than the economic or sentimental issues, there may also be a different type of concern for the horse.
A friend of mine had a horse with a similar but lesser injury (spiral fracture to the long pastern bone, no fractures in the cannon or sesamoid). It was a mare, so there was a possibility for breeding. She was also my friend’s only horse, and as much a pet as a competition animal.
My friend shipped the mare to a vet school and had her evaluated as a surgical candidate. The vets described the recovery process - they said many months of stall rest, at least a year before they would know if she could even be pasture sound. This was many years ago, and possibly the surgical techniques are better now, but at the time they gave her a 25% chance of even being able to stand and walk in a pasture without pain.
My friend thought about this mare’s personality - she hated being in a stall, she would often run around the pasture for no reason. She was hard to catch and had to be left in her stall in the morning when the shoer was due out, and would pace and run around the stall after about 10 minutes. She was a beautiful horse, a fabulous mover and jumper, and she loved to be moving.
My friend decided to euthanize the mare rather than put her through the stress of surgery and the long recovery period with the limited odds of even being pasture sound after a year. The thought of this horse cooped up for months and then hobbling around the pasture when her previous greatest joy was simply running and jumping seemed cruel. It wasn’t an easy decision, and she spoke it over with many of us, her friends, for hours before making the decision, but it seemed the kindest for the horse.
Now, Barbaro so far has been a model patient. I’ve heard many comments about what a smart horse he is etc. And living at the track he is used to being in a stall much of the day. So far this is working for him.
But sometimes the decision not to try surgery is also done in the best interest of the horse.
I wish people would recognize this.
I think the reason people ‘care so much’ is that we all realize the horse has no choice in this matter… becoming a racehorse. Or an event horse, or a jumper, or reiner, or whatever. They are the truly innocent. The jockey knows the risks, we all know the risks when we get on, gallop fast, jump big fences, or whatever.
I hate it any time a horse gives it’s life for our pleasure, in any discipline. And it sure happens.
Which means, to me, it is up to us to be the very best stewards of them that we can possibly be.
I do and I agree with you. To me, quality of life for the horses is more important than any other consideration. Sometimes it is your love and respect for the nature of the horse itself that causes you to let them go in dignity.
Breeders/Owners
I worked for a racehorse breeder/owner whose motto was “if you can’t take care of them, DON’T BREED THEM”.
Once she spent over $25,000 to save a cheap claimer who had gotten pneumonia during a trip from FL to Maryland. Even when the Dr.'s advised euthanasia, she persisted and saved that pony’s life!
Another time, over $10K on colic surgeries (had adhesions, UGH) for an unraced, illbred (but very handsome!) 2 year old, who never did go to the track (show horse now).
So while I don’t know the Jackson’s from Adam’s housecat, I do know first hand that there are breeders out there who have enough money not to blink at writing checks to save their ponies’ lives if there is even a sliver of hope. Even for “worthless” geldings, and even when they have barnfuls of horses, and even when they are the only ones with hope. The Jackson’s seem like pure class to me!
