(photo by R. Donnell, NY Times)

The champion horse - Barbaro, winner of the Kentucky Derby, - was euthanized yesterday after eight months of trying to heal his shattered bones.

Despite my deep love and respect for horses peoples' reaction to the death of their hero is still stunning... maybe even exagerated... but very interesting.

Here are readers' comments from "The New York Times":

http://news.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/01/29/barbaro-is-euthanized-after-struggle-with-injury/

For example one reader writes:

"Barbaro’s death deeply saddened me and my thoughts and prayers go out to his owners, the surgeon and medical staff who cared for him. Barbaro was a true champion in every sense of the word. He blessed us with his beauty and dignity and grace His spirit and will to live were truly inspirational.I held out hope that there would be a miracle and he would survive, despite the overwhelming odds against him. Animals teach us so much about life, love, compassion, kindness and responsibility. We are all interconnected in the web of life. May Barbaro rest in peace and may he continue to inspire us all."

"VALIANT, BEAUTIFUL BARBARO–YOU ARE AN
INSPIRATION! YOUR FIGHT TO BE FREE OF PAIN WAS LONG AND HARD–MAY YOU REST IN PEACE. ENCOURAGEMENT AND SUPPORT FOR THOSE WHO LOVED AND CARED FOR YOU!!"

And another:

"It’s always sad to have a great spirit extinguished but I think they tried everything they could. I just hope he had a chance to go outside and enjoy his last day with the sky and the grass."

The other comments are rather different:

"This is a horse. Just because he was a special horse that won a race, is no reason to expend this much emotional energy. We shoot horses every day and do worse to other animals. Barbaro had bad luck. Children in this world, people in Darfu, people in Baghdad are treated much worse with less care than we are giving a horse."

"an all too common tragedy…barbaro is simply the public face for many horses who needlessly suffer for human’s greed."

Euthanasia is forbidden among people, but not among horses. Maybe it is time to rethink it.