My then toddler-sized daughter J. cried and cried, tears streaming down her little face, when they loaded the leggy thoroughbred into the trailer one Saturday morning to take her off to her new home with a wonderful horsewoman who has a much better understanding of and appreciation for this fiery breed than I. But what I really need, I told the puffed-up little girl, as she sniffled and looked at me accusatorily with pained eyes, is a horse who's a little more mentally solid for the trail. Not one who will run mommy off of a mountain peak at a hundred miles an hour in a panic.

It took a few days before J. was no longer mad at me for selling The Super Model.

In the midst of the barrage of news about violence in the Middle East, I find that, even though I'm not a thoroughbred aficionado by any stretch of the imagination, I will stop and listen for any news of Barbaro, the Triple Crown favorite who broke down after bolting from the Preakness starting gate. I am as hopeful for the recovery of this magnificent thoroughbred from laminitis as I would be for one of my very own horses.

Journalist Linda Robertson writes, He is fighting for his life. So why has Barbaro's heart captivated so many? He is, after all, a horse.

Her answer is sentimental. But, that's OK with me. I like it.

He is a hero unencumbered by human flaws. At a time when so many of the people we look up to let us down, Barbaro doesn't lie, cheat or manipulate. In a world boiling with hate and revenge, he's not cruel, greedy or power-mad. After he won the Kentucky Derby, he was happy to receive pats on the neck and extra oats. His innocence prevents disillusionment. He gives and gets unconditional love.

I'll keep watching.