dead horses, and things...

My dad and I are having a philosophical discussion.

Okay, it's a bet.

Neither of of speak Spanish, but for a few random phrases.

Here's the hypothetical scenario:

New York City. The dead of summer.

One of the horses that pulls the handsome cabs in Central Park gets loose and races uptown, where it is killed by a car, running a red light.

My dad, seeing the whole thing, says "Un Caballo se mato."

I show up and say, "Un caballo esta muerto."

First of all, what's the difference between the two phrases?

Second, are we being gramatically correct?

Third, would it be any different if the dialect were Cuban, Mexican, Spanish?

Thanks for helping us out!

Dave

You should say "Un caballo murió", not "se mató"; the difference is the same in Spanish in English--he didn't kill himself (the car did), he was killed. Or you could say "Un auto mató al caballo." "Está muerto" is perfect as you put it. regarding the more philosophical discussion of what the true difference is...it's all about where you see the emphasis: in the action or the agent. "A horse died" is different than saying "The car ran over the horse", those saying "A horse died" and "A horse is dead" are, from my perspective the same thing. Does that help?