This past year the world fell in love with a horse, Barbaro. The former Kentucky Derby winner was injured in the Preakness Stakes and battled for 8 months until he finally was put to rest. His courage and eagerness to live have inspired many and a large group of people are calling him a legend. Here is a link to one article about the admiration Barbaro has drawn.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=derby

Now while I definitely am a fan of animals and admire the struggle that Barbaro went through I am not quite sure this should be front page news. No offense but we are talking about a horse right? The death toll for soldiers in Iraq just went above that of the victims of 9/11 and we are plastering Mr. Ed's face all across the newspapers. There certainly seem to be bigger topics to deal with.If you want to call the horse a fighter go ahead. A survivor? Absolutely? But a hero? I think we need to hold off on using those words. I

 t seems that we throw the word hero out far too often in our society. Maybe this comes from the media who want to place importance on any topic to draw a viewer's attention. Barbaro's death is sad, there is no doubt about it. But I think perhaps it is time to lighten up a little and not put Barbaro in the same ranks of King Leonidas and the Spartans or Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.

I think an old sitcom said it best. A horse is a horse, of course of course. That is all it is.

 ALSO, HERE IS A LINK TO A VIDEO MY FRIEND AND I MADE IN RESPONSE TO THE OVERKILL THAT PEOPLE MADE ABOUT BARBARO. IT IS MEANT IN FUN.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6GcIs3iKmw