The question is…if he’s going to KY, is he going to Rood and Riddle, a breeding operation, or KY Horse Park?
Saturday Monring ~
Update 1277: Congratulations to two Philadelphia-area sports writers for winning Eclipse awards for documenting the Barbaro story: Dick Jerardi and Mike Jensen.
Thanks, Alex.
And, as you have read/heard/seen, that hasn’t been announced yet.
Update 1278: Another comfortable night for Barbaro (friday night). Mrs. Jackson just called (10:10 am) as I was grazing and currying Hawty Creek. Mrs. Jackson had just visited Barbaro and while he was lying down as she arrived, he was soon on his feet.
Thanks, Alex.
Update 1279: The Daily Racing Form has an article on the new cast on Barbaro’s left hind foot: Barabaro gets cast to stabilize hoof. Not only do we learn that this was somewhat of a routine procedure for the circumstances, but also how the cast was applied:
Jackson said that the procedure to put the cast on Barbaro’s left hind leg did not require anesthesia and was performed in the colt’s stall.
Thanks, Alex.
Anyone else mildly worried? He seems to be lying down a lot, which would indicate to me that something about his feet/legs is bothering him.
Or I am just being silly to think that he might be in some pain?
I knew a horse who was in the hospital with laminitis for over a year (imagine that bill) and even when she was 99% better she would lie down a lot -
I would not be worried per say - but Dr. Richardson’s comment about that leg this week, the specialist from Rood and Riddle coming out to see him, him lying down a lot, etc does suggest we are not out of the woods.
Please remember that this is a very intelligent patient that has done nothing but the smart things to take care of himself. Lying down is a great way to rest the other legs that are stronger, and are supporting him during his hoof regrowth.
And, as a reminder from the earlier article from The Thoroughbred Times:
Gretchen Jackson said the return visit to the Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, veterinary hospital was scheduled when Morrison first examined Barbaro on December 19 at the request of Dean Richardson, D.V.M., chief surgeon at Penn’s veterinary school.
and
“[Morrison] was able to come up here on the third and put a cast on that foot,” Gretchen Jackson said. “He’s just trying to stabilize that foot enough for him to move elsewhere. It seems as if all of the fractured leg is all healed, that’s fine. It’s just getting the laminitic hoof to stabilize. [The hoof] is really touchy.
“I had no idea how touchy that situation is. It’s just a very fragile connection as the hoof wall grows, there is such fragility with those connections between the wall and the tissue surrounding the bone, this is how I understand it and that’s why you don’t just turn him loose or something. He has to have it controlled so that it stabilizes and it grows and connects in the proper way.”
and
“He’s really getting to a point where he will, hopefully, be stabilized and can continue his recovery outside of an intensive care facility,” Gretchen Jackson said. “He’s in there and doesn’t really require all of the attention. That’s the goal to get him to a point where he can leave, and no one be concerned as to his traveling and his distance away from New Bolton.”
The cast Morrison put on the left foot encompasses the hoof and extends to just below the ankle. Other treatments for laminitis will be explored once the laminitic hoof is sufficiently stabilized.
and
“There are all of these different techniques, but we haven’t employed any of those. It’s just been allowed to grow on its own and the first sort of assistance we had was to try and stabilize it, it will have nothing to do with the regrowth of the hoof wall, but just to stabilize it.”
Gretchen Jackson said ideally his next stop will not be another hospital, but a farm that offers security already in place, experience dealing with laminitis, and proximity to excellent veterinary care. She said Kentucky is a very likely next destination.
I thought they were thinking about Florida, because of the nice weather - I guess EHV put a stop to that.
[QUOTE=vineyridge;2120579]
Anyone else mildly worried? He seems to be lying down a lot, which would indicate to me that something about his feet/legs is bothering him.
Or I am just being silly to think that he might be in some pain?[/QUOTE]
He always lies down a lot… it’s what he does. He’s a smart boy. Actually, it’s a bigger worry when he stops laying down. There so much of the story ya’ll don’t get to hear, you’d be amazed…
Update 1280: Another comfortable day for Barbaro. Tom called and he visited Barbaro this afternoon and had him outside. Of course he was blessed with summer weather!
Thanks, Alex ~
Sunday Morning ~
The Barbaro update will be later in the day.
I did an interview with Dr. Morrison; you can read it on either of my blogs, in slightly different versions:
http://www.hoofcare.blogspot.com
or
http://special.equisearch.com/blog/horsehealth
Please respect the copyright but send anyone you like there via links.
You can “subscribe” (read/check headlines of blog feeds in one place) to either or both blogs if you use the Firefox browser with the Google home page or you can subscribe using regular RSS/XML, I guess. You can subscribe to Alex’s updates, too, without having to check the site all the time to see if they are up. Very handy.
I will continue to post updates on the Hoof Blog and, once in a while, on the more general health blog, which was only launched in December.
I really appreciate the comments and insights from your posts, and of course, I appreciate Alex! I even appreciate the hilarious Deadspin posts on Barbaro (most days), you have to keep a sense of humor…
Fran
Thank you Fran! Very interesting blog!
Update 1281: Another comfortable night last night for Barbaro (saturday night). Mrs. Jackson called just after 10 am after her morning visit.
Thanks, Alex.
Update 1282: Gatornation was fourth today at Laurel. He was only beaten about two lengths for everything and almost looked a little unlucky in running. The winner seemed to get a little close to him, and while not taking away his running room seemed to get to the place Gatornation was trying to get to a little quicker.
I went back to Fair Hill to take Hawty Creek out for a pick of grass, and a good grooming. She seemed quite contented after her work and was happy grazing away … until she heard the local hunt. The hounds were “speaking” and the horns were blowing. Of course that got Hawty Creek’s attention, but no worries, the hunt has not caught a fox since we landed a man on the moon.
Barbaro wins another award, Post Gazette’s animal of the year: Let the fur fly: Time for the running of the animals, 2006.
:lol:Hilarious! Thanks, Alex.
[U]Barbaro Update: New Cast Will Not Affect Mobility
[/U][/B]http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=36982
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][SIZE=2]“It (cast) goes up to the coronet band and doesn’t affect his mobility,” Jackson said. “This is a very routine type of thing that is done with laminitis. It is nothing out of the ordinary. It helps to stabilize things and the foot to grow. He will continue to go out every day.”
Dr. Dean Richardson, chief of surgery at New Bolton, said Jan. 2 that the right hind leg continues to improve and that the greatest concern was with the left hind leg. “Our goal was to give him a leg that would be functional and comfortable enough to live happily,” Richardson said of the original injury.
“The right hind has healed well enough that we are optimistic about that possibility. However, Barbaro’s left hind foot, which had laminitis, remains a more formidable long-term challenge. The foot must grow much more for him to have a truly successful outcome.”
For the whole story please see: http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=36982
Update 1283: Another comfortable day for Barbaro. I just spoke to Tom who visited Barbaro this afternoon. Tom groomed Barbaro and took him out for a nice pick of grass.
Thanks, Alex.
Monday Morning ~
Barbaro’s update will be later in the day.
WOW!
Over 200,000 views on thei thread!!! :eek: :eek: 
