Thank you VB for the updates. I checked the web at lunch and was kind of sorry I had. It made the rest of my day seem so trivial. Sending continuing prayers and jingles for Barbaro and his family.
Dr. Richardson is an excellent vet and a horseman (not all equine vets are the latter). It’s a horrible situation for any horse person to be in, and Barbaro’s lucky to have a vet, trainer and owners who are horsemen calling the shots.
Ditto and thanks so much again for these detailed updates as these are the links that keep everyone going. And possibly with everyone’s thoughts, prayers, and jingles, we can truly make a difference for Barbaro. I wholeheartedly believe Barbaro is very much loved and cherished and that his Dr. Richardson, Barbaro’s owners, Michael Matz, and everyone involved will do what is absolutely necessary and what is best for Barbaro as his well-being certainly seems to be the very top priority for everyone. Myself, like many others have had to make such gut-wrenching, hearbreaking decisions, so we can only hope and pray that yet another miracle will occur for such a wonderful creature with such a HUGE heart and strong will to live. Godspeed Barbaro.
As Willem used to say… Stinking Flounder!
Jingles for what is best for Barbaro, it breaks my heart but I think there is a special place in heaven for horses like him if that is what is best. 
Probably a good many on this BB have been in the position of having to make The Decision for one of the wonderful creatures we love.
I can only send jingles and prayers and energy to those involved with Barbaro,that they do not need to make such a decision, that he recovers and has quality of life.
But Ive thought what i want to do to honor this horse’s courage, the comitment of those involved with him…
So I made a donation to my favorite TB rescue.
jingles to all the horses out there who can use a helping and loving hand.
You profess your ‘love’ of Barbaro while reproaching me for proclaiming a ‘death wish’. What? You think I wish death upon horses? Do you know him any better than I do? Are you involved personally in his care? Do you stroke his silky bay muzzle as yet another morphine IV drip is inserted into his veins?
There is pleny of information published about Barbaro’s condition and care. He is a public icon. We are basically informed about every bowel movement he passes.
I merely suggest that some reason and judgement is exercised here. He has one leg shattered into a million pieces, and now - in his other hind leg - the foot has been 80% cut away. This is NOT rocket science. His prognosis was never good to begin with and getting worse by the day.
My suggestion is taking the exhoribant amount of money spent on his recovery and channel it to horses, people or the industry - who have a REAL chance of benefittng from such an effort.
I think the people of COTH, collectively, have touched the lives of many horses in a positive way. So, here’s yet another opportunity. Let’s have the Jacksons, with their deep pockets and love of horses, use their wealth to do something other than prolong the suffering of one horse - however grand he may be.
My thanks again to Alex & Tim:
Update 224: Barbara Livingston, whose Barbaro photographs (and all racing photos) are fantastic, just left the following comment and offer:
We are all so grateful for your updates and information. I start and end my days visiting your site nowadays - wishing all good things for the remarkable Barbaro.
I first became smitten with Barbaro last year, as his name is so similar to my own. When I finally saw him Derby week, I was thunderstruck. He was SO professional, relaxed, stunning - just right. To say he had ‘the look’ seems understatement. He is truly a once in a lifetime horse.
I told everyone who would listen before the Derby that Barbaro was like a different species from other horses - he could not lose the Derby.
And now we simply root for him to live.
I’ve had so many requests for photos that I added more to my site, as well as a couple of wallpaper patterns and two downloadable 8x10"s.
If any Barbaro fans would like to download them and print them for their own use, feel free. Please do not sell them, or make them into artwork, etc.
Depending on response, I’d be happy to add others. The address is www.barbaralivingston.com/gallery/barbaro
Again, we are so grateful for all that you are doing, Alex…as well as indescribably grateful to the Jacksons, Dr. Richardson, and everyone connected with Barbaro.
Take good care.
Barbara Livingston
Thanks Barbaro for your kind offer of your great work.
Why do these magnificent creatures, so strong and noble, able to uplift millions of people by just cantering in a field… their beauty and grace, heart and courage…
have to be so delicate?? This horse is one of the bravest I have ever seen, make it through as far as he has so far… some might have died just from the shock of it all… the stress… He has really been a trooper with all the things he has had to endure up to now… and only a 3 year old.
I am heartbroken to hear of the Founder. I really hope he can pull his last bit of strength from all this jingling and praying to just make it through this.
I hope he’s not in too much pain.
Jingles and love… to him and all who are close to / caring for him.
Do you have a link to the video of him in the sling taken today?
Just so ya know: The link to Tim Woolley’s racing site - where VB gets all the great Barbaro updates - is: http://timwoolleyracing.com/ Just click on the link under “Welcome” right there at the top, for Tim’s latest Barbaro update. Currently, the direct link is: http://www.timwoolleyracing.com/news/2006/07/barbaro_updates_5.php
Prayers and Jingles for Barbaro!!!
***Edited so as not to offend…:sigh: :rolleyes:
going to call it a night but will light a candle for Barbaro, and keep sending love and good thoughts…
Keep jingling, gang - I bet he can hear it!
Oh my! Barbara Livingston is the greatest. Her photos are breathtaking. Alex let her know we appreciate her willingness to share her pictures of Barbaro. Her entire website is beautiful.
And more jingles and prayers for Barbaro and his caretakers!!!
My candle is lit and a prayer will be said…
Thank you VB 
Barbaro’s plight casts light on other side of horse racing Updated 7/13/2006 9:14 PM ET
Dr. Dean Richardson never wavered any time he assessed Barbaro’s condition.
Since Barbaro underwent emergency surgery to treat a leg injury the horse suffered in the Preakness on May 20, Richardson, the chief of surgery at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center, guarded any cautious optimism with the reality of the situation, saying Barbaro had a 50-50 chance of survival despite any progress the horse had been making.
On Thursday, Richardson offered another blunt and bleak assessment of the horse’s prognosis: “I’d be lying if I said it was anything but poor.”
An acute case of laminitis, a painful and difficult-to-cure hoof disease, has developed in Barbaro’s left hind foot, the opposite leg that required surgery the day after the Preakness. Laminitis took the life of Secretariat, the 1973 Triple Crown winner, in 1989.
The disease was a concern for Barbaro from the beginning because it affects horses that put too much weight on one limb because another limb is unable to hold its own weight.
Without a Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978, horse racing — a sport, like boxing, that is not what it once was — craves another Triple Crown champ.
Horse racing turned out such wonderful stories in the past few years. Fans take to Funny Cide and Smarty Jones. They want to watch Afleet Alex recover from a near-catastrophic stumble on the backstretch to win the Preakness.
By most accounts, Barbaro, after his impressive Derby victory, had as good of a chance as any horse in recent years to win the Derby, Preakness and Belmont.
In a grim, foreshadowing sentence, The Washington Post’s Andrew Beyer, an astute chronicler of thoroughbred racing, wrote of Barbaro before the Preakness, “… barring some unlucky development, he is going to win the Triple Crown.”
An unlucky development, and then some. This is not supposed to happen to a Triple Crown contender. Yet, the sport is faced with the very realistic possibility that Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby winner, will not survive much longer.
No one wants a young horse euthanized. It is not often people read, see and hear about this side of horse racing. Few even know what happens when a horse breaks down in a race. We are getting an up-close and sobering look, and that’s not terrible. This is living, and this might be dying. It is life, with all its joy and all its sorrow. We don’t always choose our experiences.
In Barbaro, fans found a horse they could cheer, all the connections to the horse likable folk. Barbaro’s trainer, Michael Matz, survived and helped rescue three children in a plane crash in which 185 people died. He is a three-time Olympian in equestrian and carried the flag during the closing ceremony at the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.
Jockey Edgar Prado sold fruit on the streets of his native Peru as a 7-year-old. He came to the United States in the mid-1980s as a teen knowing little English and fewer people. Since then, he was won more than 5,500 races.
Owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson are humble, by almost all accounts. Nearly two weeks before the Preakness, the Jacksons stopped by the Fair Hill Training Center where Barbaro trained. They met with the five journalists who made the trip to the farm country in Elkton, Md. They enjoyed it. They were self-deprecating. They were funny. They were serious.
Asked if fate played any role in winning the Triple Crown, Roy Jackson took time before answering.
“I’m trying to spend my time enjoying this,” he said. "We just don’t know why we’ve been picked out to have this happen to us. We’re sure enjoying it and along for the ride.
“We’re not particularly superstitious or anything. I think we both have a sort of a faith in whatever you want to call it — a higher power or God – but it helps with all situations in life. As far as fate that this was meant to happen, I just don’t know. We don’t question it too much.”
This was not what they thought fate had planned for them, and yet this what fate dispensed.
Now, the Jacksons are faced with the decision that torments all animal owners: if and when to euthanize. It is an emotionally taxing decision.
Putting aside cynicism for the moment, this is not about keeping the horse alive to make money. If Barbaro survives, it is not guaranteed he will have enough strength in his hind legs to stud. Furthermore, the Jacksons probably will collect insurance money if Barbaro is euthanized.
The Jacksons have maintained from the start that this is about giving Barbaro a decent quality of life if possible. There is little reason to doubt them. It’s unlikely they would prolong his life for selfish reasons. They have grown to love and care for this horse. Most likely, so have the doctors treating and monitoring Barbaro.
Richardson, the main vet on the case, emphasized he isn’t into allowing the horse to suffer.
“We are trying all reasonable avenues,” he said. “If they don’t work, we will quit. … We are not torturing this horse. I guarantee you, no veterinarian goes into this business to inflict pain in an animal. We are trying to save his life.”
If and when the time comes, the Jacksons will know and act accordingly.
Trying to save Barbaro’s life is noble and humane. And so is euthanizing him.
***
I lit a candle for Barbaro and also took a minute to say “thanks” for this thread and all the updates and generosity of everyone rooting for Barbaro.
1/2 way thru the 24 hours. :yes:
After seeing the sling video and having a horse that foundered in both front feet I can’t help but still have hope. I hope to wake up tomorrow and get wonderful news about this amazing horse.
Nevermind, I found it at:
I’m the one squished in between him and the wall, lol.
Thanks again VB…
still thinking of you buddy…keep on going…
massive heartfelt jingles…
VB, thank you for posting all of these updates for us. I love to see so many people on this BB pulling together, especially for a cause such as Barbaro’s.
Jinx, thank you for the link to the candle page. I’ve got my internet and RL candles burning, and you can bet I’ll be praying for Bobby until this crisis has past.
Thank you for posting the link to the candle page. What a beautiful site (and sight).
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