|
|
When an athlete pushes himself to the limits of self-distraction, it
is his decisiveness. Maybe he should be saved from himself (i.e. his
imbecility), maybe not. When a racing horse breaks down, it is yet
another example of (unconscious?) cruelty with which we treat the
animals. The very nature of the track is to treasure these animals for
their beauty, elegance and athleticism, while at the same time forcing
them against their survival limits. A thoroughbred like Barbaro does
not look like a fragile creature. But the power of his sleek muscled
body runs to the ground through a very delicate set of leg bones,
three of which fractured at the Preakness Stakes.
|
|
|
Kentucky
Derby champion Barbaro, a Triple Crown contender, sustained the
career-ending injury during the first quarter-mile of the Preakness
at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore on Saturday, May 20, 2006. The
colt suffered three fractures, one in the cannon bone above the
ankle joint, a second in the long pastern bone below the ankle joint
and the third within the ankle joint.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The
photograph of Barbaro holding his right hind leg up in the air while
his jockey leaned against him, revoked some unpleasant memories from
my childhood, the pictures which haunted me so many times in my
dreams.
It
was late fall of 1946, chilly morning with freezing drizzle. I was
waiting for a street car at an intersection in Zagreb, Croatia when,
in front of my eyes, one horse of the wagon loaded with firewood
slipped on the icy road and broke his right front leg. The horse
fell on his left shoulder, somewhat supported by the breast collar
of the wagon’s pole; the injury was so severe that a white bone
was sticking through the skin. I do not recall any sound from the
horse. However, the coachman, who did not leave his seat on the
wagon, was whipping the horse and swearing very loudly. I started to
cry and beg, as loudly as I could in my tears, not to beat the horse
because he has a broken leg. The coachman shouted at me that horse
still has three legs to stand up and even threatened to whip me if I
continue to interfere in his business. There were quite a few adults
around but no one said a word. I ran away, crying, did not wait for
a street car, and that morning I was late for the school.
|
|
|
|
|