THE bravest horse in the world died recently. He had battled some catastrophic injuries for eight months, drawing on deep reserves of inner strength while a team of vets laboured to save his life.

His initial problem, a rear leg broken in three places, was gradually supplanted by the dozens of complications that can beset a horse unable to stand on all his legs.

He didn't bear the weight of his burden alone - his struggle had captured the hearts of animal lovers across the globe. His intensive care stall at the University of Pennsylvania was refreshed each day with flowers and 'get well' cards from every corner of America and beyond. Every hopeful sign of improvement was highlighted on national news channels and every set back sombrely reported with grave intent. A dedicated website updated news on his condition every 15 minutes.

When the end did come for Barbaro it was met with emotions ranging from sadness to hysteria. His demise leapfrogged over dead marines to be the main item on the evening news, and Laura Hillenbrand, author of the best selling novel, 'Sea Biscuit' solemnly declared that "my heart broke and 100 million hearts broke with mine because we had all gotten so connected with this horse".

But other questions hung over his death like a bad smog, like why had Barbaro been saved in the first place?

Was his suffering caused by an unconditional love that became a misguided cruelty? Did the colt unnecessarily suffer to feed a mix of scientific curiosity and the prospects of enormous earnings at stud?

His racing a career was short but meteoric. When he scorched around Churchill Downs in May of last year to destroy a classy field in the Kentucky Derby he became, arguably, the greatest American champion since Secretariat. The winning distance was the widest in the race for sixty years.

The Triple Crown looked to be a formality but the dream only lasted the two weeks it took to get to Baltimore for the second leg, The Preakness Stakes. Soon after the start of that race his jockey, Edgar Prado, pulled up his distressed mount in front of packed stands. The colt's rear leg had disintegrated. He suffered a broken cannon bone, a broken sesamoid bone and his long pastern bone was shattered in 20 places.

Many horses have been saved from life threatening injuries and the decision to try save Barbaro was not unique. When Dubai Millennium fractured a rear leg he was saved for stud by stabilising his leg by the insertion of three screws. Barbaro needed a metal plate and 23 screws to help fuse his bones.

The original intent of the rescue mission was immediately clear. The vet that treated Barbaro at the track, Dr Larry Bramlage said, "This is a significant injury, and his career is over. This will be it for him as a racehorse. Under the best of circumstances, we're looking go try to save him as a stallion." Dr Dean Richardson, the surgeon who dedicated the next eight months of his life to the single purpose of saving Barbaro was also blunt and direct in his intent. "Realistically, it's going to be months before we know if he's going to make it, " Richardson told CBS.

"`We're salvaging him as a breeding animal."

Barbaro's value as a stallion could have been enormous.

He was a far better racehorse than his sire, Dynaformer, whose fee is reported at $150,000. It is reasonable to assume that his greatest son could have earned over $20 million per year if he had survived as a viable sire.

In the eight months that Richardson gave back to Barbaro, the horse underwent more than two dozen procedures or cast changes and spent weeks dangling in a sling to avoid placing his weight on the injury. He was ultimately defeated by the onset of laminitis, a painful hoof problem that often afflicts injured horses.

Part of his legacy is a polarity of opinion. His owners reject accusations of greed.

Gretchen and Roy Jackson always denied that his stallion value was a consideration in prolonging his life despite a general view in the veterinary community that he couldn't survive these injuries. Their case is that they just loved their horse and wanted to save him.

Another view is that science became the overriding imperative in the decision chain. The doctors were learning so much from his treatment that it was beneficial to keep him going as long as possible, and there is no doubt that the experience greatly advanced the body of learning in treating such injuries. The likelihood is that Barbaro was saved for a mix of these factors.

It is of course impossible to know if he really was the bravest horse in the world.

Courage demands a choice and all his choosing was done for him. He certainly endured more than most horses are asked to bear. And there are good reasons for that.