<sniffle> I’m glad I’m not alone in that!! Who could see that and not be moved??
Many, many thanks to VB and contacts for keeping us updated. I too check in at least once a day and am so glad to know everything is going as well as it can.
Update 105 (or whatever it is): No news yet for Barbaro this morning. Tim spoke to Michael Matz’s crew and they had not heard anything yet, which seems to be coming more of the ‘trend’ lately (aside from yesterday morning). I will endevour to get a more concrete update later when I call Peter Brette.
Update 104: Spoke to Peter Brette late this afternoon (Thursday). Barbaro is continuing to do well and is getting more comfortable in his new cast.
VB, you’re doing an outstanding job of keeping us all updated. Many thanks to you for this 
Barbaro Makes Another Stride in Recovery
By BLOOMBERG NEWS
The Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro had the cast changed on his broken right hind leg and the plates and screws that were inserted three weeks ago appear to be working.
The first cast, which was placed on Barbaro’s leg after four hours of surgery May 21, was removed under general anesthesia, the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine’s New Bolton Center said in a news release.
“His leg looks excellent,” Dr. Dean Richardson said in the release. He added that the incision had healed well and that the graft was taking.
Richardson implanted a plate and 27 screws to help the ankle fuse a day after Barbaro broke down during the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore.
“All of the implants look unchanged,” Richardson said.
Barbaro, a 3-year-old colt, remains in the intensive-care unit at the hospital in Kennett Square, Pa.
[U][B]Trainers, owners hold dream of discovering another Barbaro
[/B][/U]ELKTON, Md. — Stall 11 in Michael Matz’s barn at Fair Hill Training Center is filled again, a symbol of the need to search for another potential superstar after the loss of what was almost surely a once-in-a-lifetime horse.
The new bay-colored occupant bears a resemblance to the previous resident, Barbaro, and he should. He is a half-brother to the Kentucky Derby champion who continues to fight for his life after his racing career ended when he shattered his right hind leg in the Preakness Stakes on May 20.
Barbaro and Man In Havana are from the same dam, La Ville Rouge. But Matz and his top assistant, Peter Brette, know that may be all they have in common.
“It’s very unfair for him,” Brette says of the inevitable comparisons that will be made once the 2-year-old is ready to race. “If we told him who he was, he wouldn’t come out of the stable in the morning.”
As determined as Matz and his staff are to move on and to make the most out of the 75 horses they still have in training, they do so with the sobering belief that another Barbaro will almost surely never enter their barn again.
he colt captured the imagination of fans and non-fans alike when he dominated the Derby by 6½ lengths to extend his perfection to 6-for-6, only to suffer a catastrophic injury after a few strides in the Preakness.
“He could very well have been Seattle Slew or Secretariat,” says Matz, naming two of racing’s legendary Thoroughbreds. “We’ll just never know and we’ll never know how it happened, either.”
Matz will always be convinced that nothing other than the accident could have kept Barbaro from becoming the first 3-year-old since Affirmed in 1978 to sweep the Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
“I thought the horse was going to win the Triple Crown,” he says without hesitation. “As easily as he won the Derby, the way he trained, I thought he was head and heels over the other horses.”
Brette, who rode the son of Dynaformer every morning, is equally convinced of that. “Unfortunately, people really didn’t get to see how good he was,” he says. “The Kentucky Derby was just the start, not the end for him. He was just going to get better and better.”
Brette says the regular visits he and Matz make to Barbaro as he recovers at New Bolton Center in nearby Kennett Square, Pa., help to ease their pain only somewhat.
“They say there’s a reason for everything,” he says, “but we can’t come up with anything at the moment.”
Matz views the enormous setback as part of their high-risk, high-reward business. “It was unfortunate that everything we worked for with Barbaro was lost in 30 seconds,” he says. “But it happens.”
He says the national prominence that Barbaro brought has given him the opportunity to significantly expand his operation. He is not open to that, though, because he wants to remain an everyday, hands-on presence for his horses.
Man In Havana shows potential but is not close to reaching the starting gate.
“He’s a lot more backward than Barbaro was,” says Brette, who has exercised the son of Quiet American. “He’s very backward and weak at the moment. He’s going to take a lot of time, that’s for sure.”
Man In Havana and Barbaro share the same owners, Gretchen and Roy Jackson. The Jacksons also own a full brother to Barbaro. He was born on March 15 this year and is growing up and stretching his legs at Mill Ridge Farm in Lexington, Ky.
“He has a little more white on his face than Barbaro does,” says Roy, adding that La Ville Rouge is again in foal to Dynaformer. The Jacksons hope that the same bloodlines might produce another wonderful result but also realize that pedigree never guarantees anything.
“They’re all individual horses,” Roy says. “You just don’t know.”
Still, the Jacksons, Matz and Brette continue to dream.
“We’re all pretty optimistic people,” Roy says. “It doesn’t do any good to sit around and feel sorry for yourself. You’ve got to get on with things.”
From Tim’s Blog:
Update 107: Just spoke to Peter Brette who has just visited Barbaro (after morning work friday). He is doing well, and apparently listening to some country music!
Update 106: a couple of nice articles have been posted in the comments. The first: Trainers, owners hold dream of discovering another Barbaro (thanks Ernie) notes the enormous loss the tragedy is to the Barbaro team. The following is an excerpt:
Brette, who rode the son of Dynaformer every morning, is equally convinced of that. “Unfortunately, people really didn’t get to see how good he was,” he says. “The Kentucky Derby was just the start, not the end for him. He was just going to get better and better.”
Brette says the regular visits he and Matz make to Barbaro as he recovers at New Bolton Center in nearby Kennett Square, Pa., help to ease their pain only somewhat.
The second article discusses the visit of two soldiers from Fort Benning: FORT BENNING: Soldiers visit Kentucky Derby winner (thanks Edie) which I am assuming is the same visit we noted in update 52. It includes the following:
Why a flag?
Because both women felt that the fact Barbaro tried to continue racing despite his obvious pain reminded them of the wounded soldiers they see every day, many of them severly injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Update 108: Just spoke to Peter Brette who reported that Barbaro had another good night last night (friday night). He continues to do well, of course with a long road ahead.
update saturday, 8:40 am PST
VB, thanks for the updates.
To you Bobby I am still jingling for you!
Update 109: Barbaro continues to please everyone with his progress. Just spoke to Peter Brette this afternoon (saturday afternoon). He may visit tomorrow morning, so if so will try to get an update before leaving San Fran. I asked Peter about the origin of his name (someone asked in the comments). Apparently Barbaro is named after a foxhound of Roy Jackson’s family. There is a painting of the hounds that includes Barbaro, and apparently his new full brother may be named after another of the hounds.
Barbaro Bright-Eyed
Barbaro Looking Bright-Eyed, Happy One Month After Ordeal
NBC10 (Philly) (AP) ^ | 6/18/2006 | Staff (AP)
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. – His coat gleaming and muscles rippling, Barbaro still has the look of a champion.
Exactly one month after the Kentucky Derby winner’s life-threatening breakdown in the Preakness Stakes, the colt remains cooped up in the intensive care unit at the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals at New Bolton Center.
But he’s making such steady improvement – and looks so splendid – even surgeon Dean Richardson can’t help but smile when discussing the world’s most famous equine patient.
“This horse has had a remarkably smooth progression of events; he’s just done everything right so far,” Richardson said. “He’s a lively, bright, happy horse. If you asked me a month ago, I would have gladly accepted where we are today.”
In his spacious corner stall, Barbaro walked around with head held high, sporting a new fiberglass cast that protects the catastrophic injuries to his right hind ankle at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore on May 20.
Once a visitor stepped inside his cubicle, the bay colt approached with eyes bright, ears up and barely a hitch in his step.
He eagerly devoured a handful of sugar cubes, followed by a peppermint for dessert, then shook his head up and down and gave a little whinny as if asking for a second helping.
“When someone walks in the door, he’s ready to head out – not because he’s bored or frustrated, but because he’s full of energy,” says Dr. Corinne Sweeney, the hospital’s executive director who sees Barbaro nearly every day. “He’s been full of energy since he came in here and he remains that way.”
Barbaro is working on a new life, and these days he’s the master of his domain in the six-stall ICU. Mares have come and gone since his arrival, and Barbaro has flirted with many of them. In the neonatal ICU – elsewhere in the building – Barbaro’s former mare-next-door was tending to her premature foal. Over the weekend, a stallion replaced the mare as Barbaro’s new neighbor.
The day Jazil won the Belmont Stakes – June 10 – ABC Sports visited Barbaro and put him on television. There was even a TV set placed in the ICU. Would Barbaro watch the Belmont?
At first, he seemed interested: When the call to the post sounded, the 3-year-old colt walked to the front of his stall, ears pricked and head up, Sweeney said. By the time the field turned for home, though, Barbaro had turned away, walked to the back of his stall and relieved himself.
For the most part, Barbaro is a cooperative patient.
“He’s very personable; he knows his job,” Sweeney said. If someone comes in to groom him or clean his stall, "he kind of moves over as if he’s saying, `OK, I don’t want to fight you. You’re just trying to do your job.’ "
While Barbaro appears friendly, frisky and a bit feisty – a note on his stall door read: Caution: Bites. He’s got a long road to recovery, and the staff at the New Bolton Center knows complications could develop at any time.
Months of healing remain before the cast comes off for good and decisions are made about Barbaro’s future, but Richardson was feeling better after fitting the colt with a new hock-to-hoof cast last week. His left hind leg has been fitted with a special shoe and support apparatus to ensure his weight is evenly distributed.
Most encouraging was Richardson’s first look at the 18-inch incision he made to piece together three broken bones with a titanium plate and 27 screws.
“I was thrilled to see the incision had healed fairly well,” Richardson said. “There’s not a lot to see in X-rays after just three weeks, but everything looked fine. We’re very encouraged.”
The only visible blemish on Barbaro is the blistered skin on his left side, caused by the sling used for his initial surgery, and then again when the cast was changed. As with humans, wearing a cast is not the most comfortable thing in the world.
“Horses aren’t usually capable of taking a pen or a coat hanger and guiding it down there and scratching it,” Richardson said. “All he can do is stomp his foot.”
The day after the Preakness, Richardson and a team of doctors performed perhaps the most complex surgery of the surgeon’s career – a five-hour plus procedure. Afterward, Richardson told a hospital conference hall full of reporters that Barbaro’s chance of survival was a “coin toss.” It could have been a lot worse.
Ten days later, he revised the figure to 51 percent, calling Barbaro an elite athlete and a model patient who knows how to take care of himself.
Today, Richardson is guardedly optimistic. He says the odds are “going up,” and adds: "Until he actually walks out of the hospital with no cast on, the radiographs look normal and he’s bearing full weight, it won’t even jump to 75 percent.
“If and when that happens, it will probably creep up … and when I decide it’s time to leave the hospital, maybe I’ll finally admit that something worked,” he said.
The next major concern is the healing process: Will the bones heal before the hardware begins to loosen?
“He’s a large active horse and the metal really isn’t meant to bear the weight for a very long period of time,” Richardson said. “There’s always this race between healing the fracture and continued structural support from the implant. If they start to fail, that could be a problem, so that is a continued concern.”
Owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson, who live down the road in West Grove, Pa., are daily visitors, as is trainer Michael Matz. They remain amazed at the colt’s ability to handle so much adversity.
“If that was me in that stall, I don’t think I’d have as good an attitude he has,” Roy Jackson said. “He just seems to know he’s got to go through this. It was the same thing with his racing. He knew what he had to do and did it.”
Barbaro won his first five races, then blew away his rivals in the Kentucky Derby by 6½ lengths. He was being hailed as the next Triple Crown winner before the Preakness, and a misstep a few strides out of the gate nearly cost him his life.
But now, hopes are high for Barbaro. He still receives e-mail at www.vet.upenn.edu/barbaro/ and cards, flowers, stuffed animals and posters keep pouring in.
“I just can’t explain why everyone is so caught up in this horse,” Roy Jackson said. “Everything is so negative now in the world, people love animals and I think they just happen to latch onto him. People are looking for a hero, for something positive. The fact that he’s gotten through this and is a fighter, people seem to relate to that.”
The Jacksons will be spending tens of thousands of dollars as Barbaro wends his way toward recovery. If he is able to breed – male thoroughbreds must stand on their hind legs during breeding sessions – he will be able to pass along some of his regal genes. But even with a full recovery, Richardson said Barbaro always will have a hitch in his giddyup. That is not a bad thing, though.
“Actually, he could run around, he could trot, but he wouldn’t have a symmetrical gait,” Richardson said. “A best scenario is he would have an asymmetrical gait but would be absolutely comfortable.”
Thoughts of a Triple Crown – Matz will always believe Barbaro could have been the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978 – have been replaced by a more pastoral vision.
“I hope he heals up so he can at least be out in a field and have some grass and be in more of a natural environment,” Jackson said. “That’s what we’re hoping for.”
The Jacksons are not alone.
“It’s impossible for us to thank everybody who has supported the horse as he goes through this,” Jackson said. “It’s meant the world to all of us.”
Maryland Commission to Review Running of Preakness, Barbaro’s Injury
by Sandra McKee
Date Posted: 6/19/2006 10:18:45 AM
Last Updated: 6/19/2006 10:18:45 AM
In its review of information at its regular monthly meeting concerning the injury to Barbaro, the Maryland Racing Commission has decided to review the stewards’ tape of the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) to determine whether they can shed further light on exactly what happened to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner.
Barbaro, who won the Kentucky Derby by the largest margin in 60 years, broke his right, rear leg shortly after the start of the Preakness at Pimlico Race Course May 20. Barbaro continues to recover at the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pa.
His surgeon Dean Richardson has said the injury appears to have been caused by a “catastrophic misstep.”
But Maryland Jockey Club president and chief operating officer Lou Raffetto told the commission a frame-by-frame review of the stewards’ tapes shows there may have been an incident between Barbaro and Brother Derek.
“We can’t say 100 percent because it is in shadow,” Raffetto said. “But it appears just as the horses are entering the shadow something happened.”
Raffetto had the film played, frame-by-frame, for the Baltimore Sun in his Pimlico office May 14. This is what it showed:Brother Derek got a late start from the gate and was behind and to the right of Barbaro as they headed down the track. At about the eighth pole, Barbaro appears to have an open path to the front, but for some reason swerves to his right, into an opening for which Brother Derek is aiming.
When Brother Derek’s jockey, Alex Solis, sees Barbaro directly in front of him, he sits back and pulls hard in an effort to slow his horse. Just as the horses enter a shadowed area, a side view shows Brother Derek’s right front leg and Barbaro’s right rear leg coming close. The shadow, however, obscures a clear image of whether their legs came in contact.
But in the next frame, Brother Derek’s head is pulled strongly right, Barbaro’s head comes up and his jockey, Edgar Prado, realizes something is wrong and makes his first effort to pull up his horse.
Because the tape is not definitive, Raffetto said he did not make it available to the public. But realizing there are many fans who would like a clear answer to what happened, he informed the commission to see if they wanted to further study it.
At the commission meeting a discussion followed Raffetto’s statement.
Don Amos, chief operating officer of Magna Entertainment Corp. which owns Pimlico, said while it is often better “to let sleeping dogs lie”, he felt in this case, “If there is any evidence that could help reach a clear answer to what happened to Barbaro it would be time and money well spent.”
Commissioner Terry Saxon, who was completing his eight-year term on the board, recalled the commission had been asked to review tapes of Secretariat’s Preakness victory a few years ago. Secretariat had set track records while winning the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, and debate had raged for years over whether the horse had also set one in the Preakness.
“We could have viewed that video tape until we were blue in the face and not had a definitive answer,” Saxon said. “I think it will be impossible to duplicate what went on [involving Barbaro] and that we should just leave it alone and let history decide.”
After listening to the arguments, commission chairman John McDaniel, who praised Pimlico officials and workers for the way Barbaro’s injury was handled on Preakness day, said the commission will take a look at the tape to see if anything could be gained from it.
Last month, Solis told The Blood-Horse, “There’s no way he [Brother Derek] could have struck Barbaro; I would have felt it. We were close behind him, but not that close. Getting that close to him and going that speed, if I had struck him, I would have gone down.”
Asked if Brother Derek had made contact, Prado said during a May 30 visit to see Barbaro at the George D. Widener Hospital, “Maybe he did and maybe he didn’t. It’s one of those things we’ll never know for sure.”
But the Maryland Racing Commission said it will look at the tapes to determine if enhancement of the steward’s film should be attempted.
Barbaro Making Progress; Still Has Long Way To Go
[I](AP)[/I] [I]KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. [/I] Barbaro still has the look of a champion.
One month after the Kentucky Derby winner’s life-threatening breakdown in the Preakness Stakes, the colt remains cooped up in the intensive care unit at a veterinary hospital in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
But he’s making steady improvement.
Barbaro is sporting a new fiberglass cast that protects the catastrophic injuries to his right hind ankle sustained at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore on May 20th.
While Barbaro appears friendly, frisky and feisty, the staff at the New Bolton Center knows complications could develop at any time.
Update 114: I asked Kathy Anderson (Barbaro’s Fair Hill vet) about the ‘hardware’ and what happens in the long run. She said it would most likely remain with Bobby, but would essentially no longer be serving any function. It is all necessary until the bones reknit together etc. Of course I did not really know that it was the bones that were going to take back over. That is good to know, having ridden many horses with some kind of ‘hardware’ added.
Update 113: Another good night for Barbaro last night (sunday night). I caught up with Michael Matz and Peter Brette on the way to the track this morning. We are now four weeks post surgery!.
update 9:20 am, monday morning
Update 112: Excellent article from Sports Illustrated: [URL=“http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/more/06/18/bc.rac.barbaro.amonthla.ap/”]‘Everything right so far’
Doctors are thrilled with Barbaro’s steady progress which notes many aspects of Barbaro’s recover and prognosis (thanks Lisa). Here is an excerpt:
Today, Richardson is guardedly optimistic. He says the odds are “going up,” and adds: "Until he actually walks out of the hospital with no cast on, the radiographs look normal and he’s bearing full weight, it won’t even jump to 75 percent.
“If and when that happens, it will probably creep up … and when I decide it’s time to leave the hospital, maybe I’ll finally admit that something worked,” he said.
The next major concern is the healing process: Will the bones heal before the hardware begins to loosen?
“He’s a large active horse and the metal really isn’t meant to bear the weight for a very long period of time,” Richardson said. “There’s always this race between healing the fracture and continued structural support from the implant. If they start to fail, that could be a problem, so that is a continued concern.”
New York Times is carrying the same article (thanks Lynda) as is the Bloodhorse.
Update 111: Peter Brette visited Barbaro this morning (Sunday morning). As previously, he’s looking very good. Dr. Richardson was there. They walked him around and he continues to progress very well.
Updated Sunday 11:40am.
Update 110: A nice piece of humour as Barbaro responds to his mailbag: Barbaro Responds to Fans (thanks Ernie) Here is an excerpt from one of Barbaro’s letters as he discusses his retirement plans:
But don’t expect Barbaro to disappear into the sunset! I can command a pretty hefty speaker’s fee. I’m actually already in discussions to host a Dr. Phil-style talk show, and I’ve been invited to speak at the Women’s Health Forum at the Chicago Convention Center later this summer. But as for everything else, your guess is as good as mine.
That made me laugh! :lol:
Thanks again for all the super updates!
Thank you again, Tim…
Update 116: Looks like another good day for Barbaro (monday). His visitors today included Michael Matz (who I think visits most days, either coming to or from work, given how close to New Bolton Center Michael lives) and Kathy Anderson. Peter Brette called me to let me know everything looks good for the day (he spoke to Michael).
Update 115: We have added a new movie to the Fan multimedia page. Thanks Karen! Penn has added some new Barbaro pictures from June 16, thanks Superfecta.
Update 119: Another good day (tuesday) for ‘Bobby’. Just spoke with Peter Brette and they continue to be very happy with his progress.
Update 118: If you ever wonder the reach of concern Barbaro has generated just consider his updates are appearing in New Zealand media: Barbaro’s odds improving every day. This piece also includes a great picture of his new cast.
Update 117: Another good night for Barbaro last night (monday night). Spoke to Michael Matz this morning who had heard from Dr. Richardson. Peter (Brette) also mentioned that Edgar Prado and his family visited Barbaro yesterday. On another note, Miraculous Miss (Acorn filly for Steve Klesaris) is also doing well.
And finally, this article from Daily Local News (Philly): For the love of Barbaro (thanks Lisa) demonstrates the impact Barbaro is having:
New Bolton recently was presented a check for $13.5 million from Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell. The state funds are earmarked for new medical facilities at the center, including a new isolation/gastrointestinal facility and a chemical digestion building. Donations to the BarbaroFoundation now total $560,000.
The Jacksons are pleased Barbaro’s story has spurred a closer look at the horse-slaughter bill in Congress and better housing for workers on the backstretch, a debate on increasing the time between Triple Crown races and installing safer, synthetic racing surfaces.
update tuesday June 20, 8:20 am
Barbaro making healthy steps
Signs all positive on road to recovery
By Sandra McKee, Sun reporter
Kennett Square, Pa. // Barbaro lifts his head from the fresh green hay he is eating in the back of his stall in the intensive care unit in the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals. He has heard something, and turns to see who has come to his stall door at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center.
Gretchen Jackson, who owns the Kentucky Derby winner with her husband, Roy, places her hand on the bars above the door.
“Come here, baby,” she says.
On the way through the hospital, Jackson has been excited. She can’t wait to show Barbaro to his visitors, who include Kathee Renger, a friend who found Barbaro’s mother La Ville Rouge for the Jacksons, who bought her and bred her to Dynaformer to create the Kentucky Derby winner.
As she leads her guests through the routine of entry - a foot wash outside the building that houses the ICU, and putting on blue paper shoes and a hospital cloak that covers every inch from neck to ankles - she says: “He’s beginning to look like he used to. I think he’s put on some weight. He looks really good.”
And, in fact, as Barbaro approaches his stable door, he does look good.
“Why, he’s blooming,” says Renger, handing Barbaro a piece of carrot. “I didn’t expect to see him looking like this.”
If you didn’t see the cast covering the lower half of his right rear leg or the “skin rubs” on his left side, irritation from the sling that transported him from stall to surgery to recovery, you’d think you were seeing the old Barbaro - not the one fighting to recover from the broken leg he suffered in the May 20 Preakness Stakes.
In the pictures distributed in the days after his four-plus hours of surgery, Barbaro, though looking better than expected, still showed signs of having been through a major event. He seemed a smaller version of the horse everyone admired as he danced toward the Preakness starting gate, and his ribs seemed more prominent than usual.
But in his stall, Barbaro’s ears are pricked. His coat is shiny. His eyes are bright as he anticipates treats. In the course of the next 40 minutes, he will have an array of carrots, apples and peppermints. His ribs, perhaps helped by such a diet, have all but disappeared.
As he is admired, Barbaro shifts his weight to his injured leg and attempts to scratch his belly with his left hind leg.
“I think maybe the skin on his side is itching as it heals,” says Gretchen Jackson, watching closely. "You know [trainer] Michael Matz and [assistant trainer] Peter Brett come over here every afternoon to take care of his side. You can see how well it is healing.
"It has just been amazing. People are so kind and care so much. Barbaro certainly isn’t forgotten. And I know it takes them a good half hour to come up here to take care of him.
“Look at that,” she says, interrupting herself. “Look at the way he moves around to get his food. He’s so quick.”
Jackson pauses.
“You know, we were planning to race him his 4-year-old year,” she says. “Economically, it would have been stupid. But we were going to run him on the grass. He’s such a wonderful horse. You just hate to see him in here.”
Around Barbaro’s stall are handmade signs from the Jacksons’ grandchildren and Matz’s children. And there’s a get-well card from Paco, the pony that led him to the Pimlico starting gate. They are just a few of the signs, cards and gifts that have arrived for the racehorse that has captured hearts around the country and the world.
Jackson marvels at the way people beyond Barbaro’s immediate connections have rallied around him and worry about his recovery. She worries, too.
“I think he’s looking at three months or more before he can maybe go someplace else,” Jackson says. “We’re really scared to ask what can happen.”
Dr. Corinne Sweeney, director of the facility, says the main concerns now are laminitis, an infection that can occur in Barbaro’s left foot due to overuse, and the healing process. Though the bone is mending, it has to continue to heal before the screws and plates give out because they cannot support the horse.
“But there is no reason to think at this point it won’t continue to heal well,” Sweeney says.
“We just go week by week,” Gretchen Jackson says. “Last week, when they took the cast off, Dr. [Dean] Richardson said the leg didn’t look grotesque at all, that it had shape. That was so good to hear … but the job isn’t finished yet.”
Just before Jackson left Barbaro yesterday, the exit door beside Barbaro’s stall was opened for another horse, and Barbaro was obviously ready to go, too. He came to attention and moved swiftly toward the outdoor light.
When freedom didn’t come, he let his irritation be known, bucking and slamming his good hooves and his bad one on his stall floor. Jackson says she was glad to be there to calm him, and talked soothingly to her horse.
“Hey,” she says, leaning toward him. “Your breath smells really good, like peppermint.”
Barbaro flexes his jaw in a pressure-releasing yawn.
“I take that to mean he’s thinking it over,” she says.
Barbaro’s odds improving every day
<a href="http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/0606/p/099.jpg">http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/0606/p/099.jpg</a>
Dr. Liberty Getman checks out Barbaro’s new cast. It was replaced last week.
Photo: Sabina Louise Pierce/University of Pennsylvania
The surgeon who operated on Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro says the odds of the horse surviving his catastrophic injury are rising all the time.
Dean Richardson has emphasised that Barbaro is not out of the woods yet, with serious complications still an ongoing risk, but the colt is doing everything right.
Barbaro remains in a stall at the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals, and is becoming accustomed to a new fibreglass cast fitted to right hind leg a few days ago.
Barbaro shattered the lower leg in the Preakness Stakes, when he was chasing the second leg of the Triple Crown.
Those caring for the horse have found him in a good frame of mind and feisty, the latter perhaps a symptom of his long incarceration.
The key now is for the bones to heal before the plates and screw start to loosen.
Thanks so much for all these updates VB. Let’s keep jingling that Barbaro has a complete recovery.
Thanks, VB!!
I check for your updates every morning !
