Thanks, Alex ~
Update 1300: I visited New Bolton and placed some new posters on the fence line. Funnily enough, as I was leaving, a car in front of me also leaving New Bolton had stopped to take some pictures of all the posters … nice to observe. I saw Mike Jensen, Ed. Fountaine and a reporter from the AP (sorry, I was introduced by I am useless with names). We chatted for about ten minutes. NBC10 had a truck there, so I assume they will be broadcasting an update tonight.
On my way back from New Bolton, I got a call from Joe Drape at the New York Times … he was looking for someone’s number … we chatted for a while and he asked me what I thought, I said that judging from the tone of voice from Mrs. Jackson’s voice-mail I was not overly concerned, and he noted the same thing from a conversation he had had with Mr. Jackson. That conversation turned into this article: Barbaro Suffers ‘Significant Setback’. Here are the relevant excerpts:
“There was an area of his hoof where he was bothered by the cast and by getting that cast off he has already shown some relief,” Jackson said in a telephone interview shortly after visiting Barbaro. “I just left him and he was eating away at the hay, standing and putting weight on it better. The way it was explained to me was the tissue removed was like getting an in-grown toenail removed.”
and
He and his wife have spent tens of thousands of dollars on Barbaro’s care and have said repeatedly they would continue to do so as long as the colt can be free of pain and shows a will to live. Jackson said Barbaro appeared to be meeting those standards.
“Hopefully this is just a hitch in the road,” he said. “All we can do is give him the best care and say our prayers.”
Oh Barbaro-
It is hard news to hear, and yes it’s hard to look at him walking like that. But he does not appear to be in pain in the video they showed a few weeks ago. I concur that the Jacksons and NBC and Richardson would not keep going if it were not the best interest of the horse…and perhaps the entire Barbaro Team members (meaning us!). This horse is bigger then himself in all sorts of ways and his improvement (and setbacks) seem to set a tambor to the day, week and months of recovery. His pain seems to be shared by all, as well as his recovery.
Off to light candles-
Go Bobby Go!
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070110/SPORTS08/70110021
…Meanwhile, the Lexington veterinary foot specialist brought in as a consultant said Wednesday that Barbaro’s condition is back where he was in July.
Dr. Scott Morrison of Lexington’s Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital — who put a specialized cast on the foot a week ago — said a serious problem is that true hoof wall has been regenerating only on the outer half of the colt’s left hind foot.
The inner half (the portion facing his right leg) had only some original hoof wall tissue and “some thin, pliable tissue his body is producing,” he said.
Morrison said that tissue is not strong enough to support Barbaro’s weight, causing the separation.
“It’s all part of that same story,” Morrison said. “This is all part of that rehabilitation of the foot. The horse’s foot had a grim prognosis in July, and I wouldn’t say that’s changed much yet.”
The difference now, he said, is the discomfort level that Barbaro is feeling.
“For a foot to rehabilitate, it’s got to grow hoof wall around all regions of the foot,” Morrison said. “Not just half. The fact that he’s growing half a foot doesn’t mean he’s half-way there. You have to show signs of true growth everywhere.
“He’s still in the process of recovering from that initial episode … The reason the prognosis was grim back then is there are a lot of secondary complications that can occur when you’re trying to grow back a foot.
“And this is one of the complications here, but hopefully just one of the bumps in the road. Hopefully we can find a way to get over it and go on and give him more time and hopefully he’ll grow that wall that he needs to do.”
Click on the link above for the complete story
Just saw the report on Barbaro with Alex on the local Baltimore station.
Lots of Jingles for Barbaro.
It’s not our decision to make; all we can do is support the people in the middle of it with our best wishes and trust in them to do what’s best.
Our “opinions” don’t mean squat, so there ain’t much point in stating them, no? At least not more than once or twice … :rolleyes:
Off to light a few more candles; that’s all I can do 
My heart sank when I read the stories, but I have faith all those concerned that if he was ready to cross the rainbow bridge they would let him freely…so until then GO BOBBY GO!!!
I have always felt a closeness in this group all routing for the same thing each with our stories some with good endings others not but it is all experience gained…I can say that getting a hoof to grow is not easy! been there done that,
Still lighting candles and jingling hard in NY!!!
Mine just sank too when I read a brief story about his on the AOL news screen…all my fingers and toes are crossed that this is only a temporary setback.
I wouldn’t worry too much about Barbaro being in pain. He’s in the ICU of one of the best vet hospitals in the WORLD. The fact that he is up eating and brighter already shows that they are aggressively treating his pain and he should soon be a happy horse indeed. We should all feel so good. Once the pain is relieved he’ll be back to “normal” for him and they can try something else with the hoof. Since his laminitis is not related to insulin resistance i doubt a few peppermints or carrots will hurt him a bit.
The fact that he is not growing normal hoof in that one area means probably that area of the coronary band was damaged. whether it will recover or not just remains to be seen. BUT horses can live with this once the rest of the hoof grows back. I read a story in Equus about a mare that cleaved off a good section of her hoof (not the wall, the HOOF) and after much nursing and about a year she did grow a horn like covering (similar to the frog) over that area where there was no coronary band to generate hoof. She was even rideable. Once the rest grows in they should be able to try different shoes and patches to cover that area until scar tissue covers it. The trick will be to keep him from sinking in the meantime. Perhaps they can make a shoe/cast with a window over that area of abnormal tissue and transfer the weight off it while still giving support (maybe more gradual this time?) to his coffin bone.
While it seems a set back to be back in the sling at least he knows how to use it and hopefully that will keep any of his OTHER feet from getting laminitis. That would be the end I’m sure. The horse is a fighter and until he says he is ready to give up he should be allowed to live. if it becomes obvious that the pain cannot be controlled or the foot goes south in a big way then I’m sure they will put him down. But you can always put them down, you can’t bring them back and I’ve seen horses come back after you’d SWEAR they were ready to kill THEMSELVES and recover fully. nobody ever said it would be easy.
the AOL poll
How closely are you following barbaro’s health?
A lot 47%
Some 40%
Not at all 13%
Total Votes: 4,745
of course only those following the story would click through to get to the poll.
(I voted a lot!)
Update 1302: Alex just spoke to Mrs. Jackson (6 pm) and there is no new update to report on Barbaro’s condition.
4000 more voted
How closely are you following barbaro’s health?
A lot 47%
Some 40%
Not at all 13%
Total Votes: 8,597
[QUOTE=jilltx;2131256]
I just clicked on the video story on the front page of Yahoo! and I have to say I was quite shocked by his way of moving. I’m not quite sure what I expected, but that right hind sure looks… :eek:
Will he ever have a better range of motion?
Jingles for the laminitis. :no:[/QUOTE]
No:no:
Update 1303: Here is the piece from WBAL Channel 13 WJZ News: Kentucky Derby Winner Suffers a Set back to Injured Hoof. You won’t learn anything new, you will see Alex and Hawty Creek in a segment of the piece.
I wonder; does anyone know if they’re using any oxygen therapy on to help speed healing after surgery?
Wow
I did not realize he couldn’t really walk. I’m not sure the word “recovery” should have been applied to that kind of motion.
Now that you mention it, more then o2 therapy, I wonder if HBO therapy would work? Just a thought…
This is a very smart horse and he will figure it out I am sure…
[QUOTE=Two Simple;2131141]
That’s real nice. A horse suffering of life threatening founder and they just keep throwing on the sugars. How many of us would keep pouring the sugars to a foundered horse? I swear to god my heart bleeds for this poor animal. This is the same bitch I had 3 or 4 months ago. The animal is foundering but he just keeps getting all the sweets his little mouth can vacuum up.
QUOTE]
Excess carbs/inability to digest carbs is just one of many, many causes of laminitis and founder. In Barbaro’s situation, the cause is known and quite well understood. It is understood so well that they knew exactly the weeks at which he would be at most risk of developing laminitis and which foot would be most at risk…and it developed exactly on schedule and where anticipated. It was 100% due to too much weight bearing on the left hind while the fractures were healing.
It had nothing to do with carbs in his diet. Nothing. In fact, keeping weight on him has been a bigger problem by far than excess carbs in his diet.
As to the nasty little comment suggesting the Jackson’s were only keeping Barbaro alive for breeding, well there’s an old Chinese saying you may want to contemplate the next time you start to type. “It’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool then open your mouth and remove all doubt.”
I agree with Coreene - sometimes it works out the way you want it to, sometimes it does not. Obviously I’m one of the believers - but I’d like to think I’m a sensible one who understands that this whole thing could go South at any moment. We are all jingling and praying here, and I’m off to light another candle or several in a few mins from the Avemesiter, the Penny Princess, and me.
I would remind the TwoSimples and TBTrails of this world that if I had listened to negative people like y’all eight years ago, my beloved Avery would be six feet under, rather than GALLOPING happily up hill and down dale organizing pasture races for his herd - and having a 100% win record.
Avery is Barbaro’s great-great-uncle. Blood tells. THAT is why I believe in Barbaro. Even when the vets said to put him down, Avery continued to believe that he was going to be just fine, thank you very much, and he never gave up on himself. From ALL of the evidence we have seen, Barbaro has that same spirit. He inherited it from all the great-hearted TBs in his pedigree, the same way Avery did.
I have complete faith in the Jacksons to make the right decision IF - and to my mind, it’s a huuuuuuuuuuuuge if - Barbaro ever decides it’s time to give up the fight. He will let them know, and they will listen.
So now I’m putting the lot of you on ignore. I would suggest that if you want to post anything negative, you start your own thread for that, and conduct yourselves as ignorantly of the facts as you may wish.
The rest of us BELIEVE IN BARBARO. Go, Bobby, go!
I have not posted on this thread before, but I’ve been following it every day. Barbaro first entered New Bolton while my own Thoroughbred was in the hospital here in Montana, and Barbaro’s story gave me a lot of hope while I was struggling with the ups and downs of my own horse’s illness.
My boy lost his fight, but now that I’ve been through something like this, where you always second-guess yourself and everyone ELSE has an opinion, I won’t ever presume to judge from afar. I can’t tell you how many people “knew” what I should do about my horse. Some of them said I should have put him down earlier, and some say I did it too soon. Interestingly enough, some of them are the same people. Barbaro’s owners and caretakers know him, his vets know him, and they will do what is best. In these situations there is not always a simple right and a simple wrong. Those of us who have had horses with a lot of heart know that it might not be quantifiable, but it has a definite impact on the decisions we make.
Best wishes and good thoughts to Barbaro and his crew. Come on, buddy–we’re pulling for you!
Bravo War Admiral 
Very well said!
