As some of you may have heard, Barbaro was euthanized this morning. What makes it even sadder is this statement from his owner:
Gretchen Jackson admitted during a May 24 news conference that the couple may have broken the golden rule of horse ownership.
“I’m very afraid so,” she said when asked if they loved Barbaro. “One of the things that one is supposed to do when one becomes a horse owner is to not fall in love with the animal, because it’s so painful when something like this happens. Yes, we’ve experienced this before to a greater and lesser degree.
“It’s part of life. There are losses and births again. With each loss, we have to pull ourselves together and look to the future of another great racehorse.”
You know, people who own horses for racing suck, and I’m not fooled by Gretchen’s “We loved him” bullshit. What they loved was the potential for stud fees, which some estimated could be as high as $30 million. Like Kevin Noonan wrote,
“So why did we care?
Maybe it’s because people understand that animals are dependent on us and, at the same time, vulnerable to us. That was true in Barbaro’s case, as humans exposed him to the dangerous sport that cost him his life and humans spent countless hours and millions of dollars trying to save that life.”
While I’m at it, people who own any kind of animal who think of it purely as meat or a machine (I’m talking to you, Moroccan donkey owners) suck.
Aimee
January 29, 2007 at 4:33 pm
I need to go home and hug my dog now.
Felix
January 29, 2007 at 5:01 pm
I tried to hug my cats, but they were like “Duuuude, it’s our afternoon snooze time, what is your PROBLEM?” Right there is the big difference between cats and dogs!
Don Veto
January 30, 2007 at 1:58 am
You can own a dog, but a cat will own you. Very sad about the horse.
Cat In Rabat
January 30, 2007 at 6:31 pm
It is possible that they genuinely loved the animal …
Felix
January 30, 2007 at 6:52 pm
Possible, but I think there’s a huge difference between someone who owns a horse for personal use, and a breeder/owner whose main goal is prize money. Knowing the danger to the animal, I just don’t think I could ever see eye to eye with someone who participates in horse racing.
Maryam in Marrakesh
January 31, 2007 at 7:58 pm
I agree! Our donkey, Lucky, was purchased for 500 DH when seen being beaten on the street. Aaaaack!
Felix
January 31, 2007 at 9:41 pm
Maryam, seriously, could you be any cooler? We’re going to have to start a “Cult of Maryam” soon!