killing of Little Blacky

All you animal defenders don't know what you're blabbing about.

The horse's fate was sealed at the point where it was done in, when it gave up, and Rooster stabbed him with his knife to keep going. The shot to the head afterwards was the best thing that could have happened to Little Blackie at that point.

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It is obvious too many of you on here are ignorant of what life was like back then? Have you read any true accounts of what life was like for people back in the 19th century? Life was hard. It was not easy. Death and suffering was commonplace. For your own education please go to the library or amazon.com and read up on some true accounts of life during the 19th century. You might just learn something.

Too many of you are caught up in your unrealistic view of animals and humans that you cannot grasp what was really shown in the film. First, Blackie was the only chance Rooster had to save Mattie. Second, Rooster knew full well that Blackie would not make it. He was a well seasoned marshal of the west. He had lived a hard life and he knew what was coming for Blackie. Third, he loved Mattie and cared for her deeply, so he did what was necessary to save her, even though he knew what this would mean for Blackie. He had a difficult choice to make, but did not hesitate. He made that choice because Mattie’s life meant far more to him than the life of Blackie, (I know that is not a concept some of the animal activists can grasp.) Being a loving adult, he did what was necessary. Fourth, when Blackie finally collapsed and was laying their dying he showed his compassion for Blackie and for Mattie by killing Blackie, rather than letting the poor horse suffer the pain that he was going through and endure possibly being eaten alive by predators such as wolves or mountain lions (again, your ignorance of life back then is immense.) Many of you are so worried about your own feelings you would rather leave the horse to be eating alive than have to see rooster shoot him. What Rooster did is called being responsible. What you are doing is irresponsible. Fifth, he acted as any loving guardian would to a child, he did what had to be done for the good of all, even while having to endure the obvious emotional distress from Mattie and his own distress from having to kill Blackie. Later on, if Mattie has any common sense, she knows he did the best and loving thing by taking the horses life at that moment, rather than leave him there to die slowly and painfully. She would eventually realize that by leaving the horse alive he would have left the poor animal open to attack from predators without any chance to defend himself while he lay there suffering in great agony.

Those humans who get all bent out of shape over Rooster killing Blackie are the animal haters. You are not mad because he killed the horse, you are mad because you don't like dealing with reality and how it makes YOU feel. Yeah, I cried when Blackie was shot. I hated it that it had to happen. Just like I cried the first time my baby son got his immunizations and screamed when the needle stuck him. Just like I cried when I had to have my dog euthanized when she broke her back. But guess what. We have to sometimes do things that we don't like for the betterment of others. I did not like how I felt when my son got his shots, but I knew it was best. I did not like how I felt when my dog was euthanized, but for her sake, I had it done. I could have left her alive to just slowly die a painful death, as you would suggest, but I made the humane and responsible decision not to let her suffer. Rooster likely did not like how it felt when he shot Blackie, but he knew it was best. Mattie, still young and a child was acting as many of you on here are, like a child who has yet to fully mature. She was not dealing with the reality of the situation for Blackie. Mattie was more concerned with how it made her feel at that moment, not with what Blackie would go through if he were left there to die. Just as many of you are more concerned about your immediate "feelings" than you are about what Blackie would have suffered if left there to die a slow and agonizing death. Unfortunately you would be ok with that as long as you don’t have to deal with how it makes you feel.

And again, I hated Blackie’s death. It was one of the most heart wrenching moments of the movie for me. However, it would be far more heartwrenching to have watched Mattie die in Rooster’s arms because he just could not put a horses life at risk to try and save Mattie. What an irresponsible and weak person he would have been if he had made that decision.

I hope that poor horse was not harmed or distressed in any way during the making of it