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Barbaro ~ America's Horse

Racing
#821

[B]This just in from Tim:

[/B]Update 227: Bloodhorse (and many others) confirm Barbaro had a good night last night: Barbaro ‘Doing Much Better’ Friday Morning. The following is an excerpt:

“He had a good night last night, and even slept on his side,” Dr. Dean Richardson told The Associated Press early Friday before re-entering the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals to check again on the 3-year-colt. “He’s doing much better.”
Richardson appeared a bit more upbeat than he was Thursday, when he told a packed news conference that Barbaro has a severe case of the disease laminitis in his left hind leg, and termed his condition “poor.”

This confirms what we learned from Michael Matz this morning (update 226).
Sabina Pierce left the following comment:

I’m the Photographer for Penn who has been shooting Big B, as I like to call him as his personality is larger than life. I tried to show in this last set how great he looks and is doing, but also how his will and personality to overcome are identical to the way they have been over his 2 month stay at NBC, he is naughty at times with his nips but a cuddly teddy bear a minute later. I saw all of those attributes as he chewed on my camera bag and hammed for the lense. I’ve had horses since I was 6 and I’ve known many more. He is special and a real fighter, the real thing.
Sincerley, Sabina louise pierce

Jeannine Edwards just called. ESPN is planning more coverage, but she is not sure when yet. She’ll try to alert us ahead of time.

#822

And besides-- the very fact that the horse is still putting on such a good ‘front’ to stave off the “predators” would indicate to me that he still wants to live.

I’ve seen horses with “less than a 10% chance” fight and go on while those with much better odds succumb-- and definitely believe the horse will be very clear about whether or not he wants to go on.

I do hope everyone reads the Nureyev story. To tell you the truth, N sounded like a much, much better candidate for euthanasia than Barbaro-- he lost his appetite, was obviously depressed, etc., etc. As long as B. is nickering for his people and gobbling up his feed, I think there’s no question about his will to live.

#823

To answer your question:

A QH stallion, Flashy Zipper died a few years ago. He was a very successful, well-known stallion. His, relatively recent, owner had not frozeen any sperm. They sent the testicles to Colo State Univ. and viable sperm was successfully recovered and frozen - quite a few straws worth.

#824

[B]From Bloodhorse.com:

[/B]Fans Root for Barbaro’s Recovery
by The Associated Press
Date Posted: 7/13/2006 6:08:55 PM
Last Updated: 7/13/2006 6:08:55 PM
By DAN GELSTON
AP Sports Writer
The roses on the lobby table were addressed to “Mr. Barbaro Jackson” and the card said best wishes to a champion horse.
One girl and her family drove more than an hour to deliver a homemade get-well note and to let Barbaro know they were praying for him. Another sign tacked to a fence encouraged the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner to “Keep up the Fight!”
While the public outpouring of support was significantly muted Thursday compared to the first days after Barbaro was admitted to the New Bolton Center, fans were still rooting for the ailing colt to recover from his catastrophic injuries and a potentially fatal condition.
“It’s pretty sad,” said 9-year-old Samantha Layton. “Barbaro is a great racer. He’s the only horse I really loved.”
Layton asked her parents to make the nearly hour drive from Woodstown, N.J., to the New Bolton Center to drop off a get-well card she made on her computer after hearing of Barbaro’s deteriorating condition. She brought a stuffed horse with her (“it’s not Barbaro”) and hoped Barbaro would somehow show some signs of improvement.
“If there’s hope, he’ll probably do better, a little better at least,” she said.
The fruit and floral deliveries trickled in early Thursday, a contrast to late May when the deliveries never stopped coming. Barbaro received a few carrots, some apples and flowers that came with notes of encouragement.
By early evening, though, red and pink roses overflowed in the lobby. Staffers, one with tears in her eyes, were unsure where to put all the colorful arrangements.
At Churchill Downs on Thursday, where Barbaro won the Kentucky Derby in May, jockey Rafael Bejarano said he still hopes Barbaro recovers.
“It’s a very good horse, so we hope for the best,” he said. “But I hope they make the decision that’s best for the horse.”
Jeff Pfannmoeller, of Louisville, watched Barbaro win the Derby and read about his recovery after the Preakness. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if Barbaro doesn’t make it.
“When a horse damages his leg like that, you know he doesn’t have much of chance,” he said. “Any other horse they would have put down earlier.”
Owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson, who live less than 10 miles down the road from New Bolton in nearby West Grove, Pa., said this week the well wishes have slowed, but they remained touched by all the support and encouragement they’ve received from Barbaro’s fans.
“It’s overwhelming,” Gretchen Jackson said in late May. “I don’t know how Roy and I could participate in responding to their loving kindness throughout his career.”
There were only a handful of visitors Thursday who taped their signs expressing prayers and well wishes to the fence that surrounds the sprawling, 650-acre campus. Inside, only a smattering of cards from weeks ago remained, some from May 26. Nothing appeared new and the ones wishing for a speedy recovery seemed sadly dated.
Instead of sending flowers and peppermints, some faithful fans expressed their well wishes on New Bolton Center’s online message board.
“Barbaro … nobody is giving up! Don’t you! Miracles do happen! I keep asking St. Anthony, St. Jude, and St. Francis to get that Miracle to you!” said one message posted Thursday.
Most offered their prayers and messages of how much the horse means to them, though one wrote, “it is hard to watch this beautiful horse deteriorate because of man’s need to gamble.”
Said another: “You’ve fought the good fight for so long. Please hang in there a little bit longer.”

Associated Press writer Elizabeth Dunbar in Louisville, Ky. contributed to this story.

#825

[B]Taken from Forbes.com:

[/B]Edgar Prado, the jockey credited with saving Barbaro by quickly pulling him up in the Preakness, was devastated by the grim prognosis.

“It’s very upsetting,” he said. "Barbaro has shown to everyone what a fighter he is. He showed it on the track and with all the surgeries he’s had. It just goes to show what kind of courage he has. He’s a true champion, and is fighting every step of the way.

“All we can do now is hope and pray. We’ll need a miracle, but maybe it will happen.”

#826

Driday morning report Barbaro’s vet: Derby winner ‘doing better’

http://www.suntimes.com/email/c.html
Horse Racing
Barbaro’s vet: Derby winner ‘doing better’

July 14, 2006

BY RICHARD ROSENBLATT ASSOCIATED PRESS

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa.-- Barbaro was doing “much better” Friday morning, a day after his veterinarian said the Kentucky Derby winner was a “long shot” to survive a potentially fatal hoof disease.

“He had a good night last night, and even slept on his side,” Dr. Dean Richardson told The Associated Press early Friday before re-entering the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals to check again on the 3-year-colt. “He’s doing much better.”

Richardson appeared a bit more upbeat than he was Thursday, when he told a packed news conference that Barbaro has a severe case of the disease laminitis in his left hind leg, and termed his condition “poor.”

Barbaro looked every bit the champion Thursday, but it’s how he acts in the next few days that will determine how much longer he lives.

#827

Let’s not forget to thank Tim Woolley for the use of his web site to give us all the videos and updates. I rush to my computer every morning and evening just to check on the updates on COTH and Mr. Woolley’s site. So happy to have good news this morning. Keep praying and jingling and praying for a miracle!!!
A side story here. Our wonderful equine vet tells a story about Dr. Richardson. My vet said in vet school each candidate for graduation from vet school had a final project like a PHD dissertation. The project had to to be defended orally in front of Vet experts that are selected from around the USA. For weeks all the vet students kept saying “Don’t let me get Dr. Dean Richardson. Please not Dr. Richardson.” Well our vet was the one who got Dr. Richarson for the oral presentation. He says Dr. Richardson asked many questions and our vet answered very well and correctly. Then Dr. Richardson tried to trick the vet student by asking questions that had nothing to do with his project. Our vet answered " That has nothing to do with this project so I am not answering that." Dr. Richard responded " Now that is what I want to see in a vet." Our vet says they remain in contact even today and even though the odds are against Barbaro that Dr. Richard has great skill, the mental toughness and the compassion needed to do the very best for this horse and pull off a miracle.
So God bless Dr. Richardson, his assistants and everyone involved in taking care of Barbaro.

It is better to believe than to disbelieve, in so doing you bring everything to the realm of possibility.
Albert Einstein

#828

My thanks again to Tim:

Update 228: The official word, New Bolton’s press release today: Barbaro’s condition is stable:

Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro spent a restful night and his condition is stable, according to Dr. Dean Richardson, Chief of Surgery. At a news conference yesterday, Dr. Richardson announced that the three-year-old colt has laminitis. Laminitis is a painful condition in horses that can be the result of a number of causes, including excessive weight bearing in one limb. It occurs when laminae, the strong connecting tissues that attach the pedal bone and the inner hoof wall, are inflamed.
“Barbaro was out of his sling for more than 12 hours yesterday, and he had a calm, restful night, sleeping on his side for more than four hours,” said Dr. Richardson. “While his condition is stable, it remains extremely serious.”

#829

http://www.sabinalouisepierce.com/Barbaro.htm

Thanks for this great photo. I printed it out and put it in front of my face at my desk. Michael and Bobby in a tender moment. I love it!:sadsmile:

VB thanks again for your diligence in keeping us up todate. We would be lost without you!

#830

forthe vterinary types here

Was Barbaros’ initial injury ,the fractures the type which result from twisting, unlevel loading or impact?:confused:

#831

Glimmerglass,

Could you include the text of the DRF article? Thanks in advance…

Barbaro, keep up the good work! :yes:

#832

I would appreciate seeing the article text posted here, too. Nanny software on my computer has deemed it “inappropriate” (i.e. gambling).

#833

I thought B looked remarkably good in the video - as bright and alert as my boys are in their stalls - and a lot more spoiled! It just warmed my heart to see him prick his ears and walk camly out of his stall like he was totally okay with his surroundings and situation.
We won’t see many horses like him in a lifetime…he’s courageous, smart, and the consummate gentleman. The Gregory Peck of horses!!!
:D: :D: :D: GO BARBARO!!! YOU’RE OUR HERO!!!

#834

It’s amazing to me how one horse has touched so many lives. I wonder if he knows the whole country, or world even, is hoping and praying for him. God bless everyone who is trying to save this magnificant horse. I have no doubt that they will only do what’s best for him.

So happy to hear he had a good night. It’s clear that he’s not ready to give up yet.

Keep fighting, Bobby… You can do it!

#835

Here is the article in text…

Stopping treatment a complicated choice. By GLENYE CAIN
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Thursday’s news that Barbaro’s prognosis had darkened because of acute laminitis in his left hind leg does not mean, his surgeon said, that the colt’s destruction is imminent.
But complications like laminitis often mark a crossroads as owners and veterinarians try to determine which course - euthanasia or continued treatment - is in an animal’s best interest. That decision, horsemen say, often is complex. It involves objective criteria like the statistical chances of success. But it also involves subjective interpretation of a horse’s physical and mental willingness to endure treatment. And that information can change on an hourly basis.
“The reality is that we are doing the best we can to make the appropriate judgments,” Barbaro’s surgeon Dr. Dean Richardson said Thursday. “And that’s really - it is subjective. But there’s a lot of people involved in making this decision. And literally every single person involved in making this decision cares only for the well-being of this horse.”
In deciding to treat Barbaro’s laminitis, owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson are taking into account the colt’s current comfort level and his long-term prognosis, Richardson said.
“We discussed at length the fact that his prognosis for both life and long-term comfort has been significantly diminished by this particular complication,” said Richardson, who called Barbaro’s prognosis “poor.”
But, Richardson added, “The reality is that when you come in and see this horse every day, he nickers to you. He is still eating well. He has excellent GI [gastro-intestinal] function. He is capable of walking around the stall. He is maintaining his weight well. His heart rate is low and his temperature’s back to normal.”
Such seemingly tiny signs are important guideposts in determining whether treatment should continue, horsemen say.
“I think you always have to weigh whether the treatment is going anywhere, and obviously you don’t want the animal to suffer,” said Stuart Janney III. Janney’s family campaigned the champion Ruffian, who suffered a catastrophic breakdown in 1975 during a match race with Foolish Pleasure at Belmont Park. The Janneys agreed to surgery, a new and unusual option at the time, but the effort failed and Ruffian was humanely destroyed on July 7, 1975.
“We felt we had to do it,” Janney said of the surgery. “But it had to be with the understanding not to put an animal through senseless suffering for a result that wasn’t going to be positive.”
“It’s a gray area,” said Gus Koch, manager of Claiborne Farm in Paris, Ky. Claiborne stood 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat, who died in 1989 after battling laminitis for several weeks. “In Secretariat’s case, we went into it with the attitude that we are not going to let this horse suffer needlessly. He started to recover, and we thought he was improving, and then he regressed. It’s a painful condition, and when he regressed, that’s when the decision was made to euthanize him. He was in pain. The main decision was that the horse was suffering and it looked hopeless.”
Veterinarians could tell objectively that Secretariat’s condition was worsening, Koch said, because they could measure the rotation of the coffin bone, the main bone inside the horse’s foot, which rotates down and eventually through the sole of the hoof in severe cases of laminitis. But it wasn’t just the X-rays that indicated Secretariat was in trouble; it was his general demeanor, including a decreased appetite, weight loss, and general discomfort.
“He had pain, and he showed it like any horse,” Koch recalled. “He was sore, and it was hard to keep condition on him.” Barbaro has what Richardson called “intensive pain management,” including epidurals, to keep him comfortable. So far, he hasn’t shown any of the disheartening signs the Claiborne staff saw in Secretariat. But if he does, the gray area will become a bright line. “If we can’t keep him comfortable, we will not continue,” Richardson said.

#836

So glad he’s doing well this morning! The fact that his vitals are good as well as him having a good attitude about everything tells us that he’s not ready to go yet. After waking up to the headline saying Barbaro was perhaps inches from deathyesterday, its good to wake up today and see that he’s doing well.

Keep fighting Barbaro!

#837

Jingles Jingles Jingles and more major jingles!!! My Prayers are there for alll those helping this amazing horse!!

#838

Nice update and great photos posted on msnbc.com at 12:35 PM:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13790977/

I can see the tail hair loss in the photos…he can always grow a new tail can’t he?!! He looks thin but bright eyed for all he’s been through though doesn’t he?

Jingles are jangling very hard!

#839

<jingles>

Barbaro looks so bright eyed and perky in all of his photos that it is difficult realize that he is in such grave danger. The look in a horses eye can tell so much. Barbaro hasn’t given up yet… we can only hope that medical science and treatment can help him. He has been such a trooper through everything that I can only pray that he keeps on fighting.

I was so glad to read that today’s press release is more positive. With a surgery that major it would be virtually impossible to not have some ups & downs. He’s in great hands and I just jingle, hope, & pray that the laminitis is a bump and not the great downturn.

<jingles>

#840

[B]From The New York Times:

[/B]Barbaro’s Condition Stabilizes
By JOE DRAPE and MARIA NEWMAN
Published: July 14, 2006

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa, July 14 — Doctors treating Barbaro, the injured Kentucky Derby winner, said today that while the colt’s medical condition remained dire, he was stable and responding to treatment.
“Barbaro was out of his sling for more than 12 hours yesterday, and he had a calm, restful night, sleeping on his side for more than four hours,” said Dr. Dean Richardson, chief of surgery at the George D. Widener Hospital here.
Still, the doctor said, his condition “remains extremely serious.”
Barbaro underwent surgery on Wednesday on his left hind leg to try to treat the laminitis that had formed in the last few days. The procedure, a hoof wall resection, removed about 80 percent of Barbaro’s left rear hoof.

Dr. Richardson said on Thursday that the procedure was made necessary by the severity of the painful infection, which tends to form when one limb bears too much weight. Bones in Barbaro’s other hind leg were shattered as he ran in the Preakness Stakes; that leg was surgically repaired May 21 and remains in a cast.
Doctors were guarded on Thursday about Barbaro’s chances for recovery, saying they had been significantly diminished by the laminitis. The condition is not uncommon in horses in the weeks after surgery, they said, but Barbaro’s case was especially severe.
For the moment, the main priority of the University of Pennsylvania veterinary team that is treating Barbaro is pain management. Dr. Richardson said on Thursday that if the medical team was unable to keep the horse from suffering severely, the owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, may be faced with the need to have him destroyed.
“There is no vet out there who went into this to inflict pain on an animal,” Dr. Richardson said.
Barbaro, a horse who once seemed to have the Triple Crown in his sights, is now simply trying to survive.
He has endured four leg-cast changes and a three-hour surgical procedure late Saturday in which a plate and screws from the initial surgery were replaced. The colt did not come out of that surgery as well as he did after the initial lifesaving operation in May, needing 12 hours to shake off the effects of anesthesia and return to his stall in the facility’s intensive-care unit.
Since then, concerns about infections in Barbaro’s repaired right hind leg and the previously healthy left one have added to feelings of unease.
Ever since Barbaro’s horrific breakdown in the Preakness transfixed the nation, and then his startlingly smooth recovery in the ensuing days lifted the spirits of everyone involved with the horse, the Jacksons have remained committed to the expensive goal of returning the colt to a normal, pain-free life, albeit one away from the racetrack.
They also have said they were prepared for the ups and downs that would accompany a convalescence that could take months. Laminitis loomed as a potential problem for Barbaro from the beginning of his treatment, experts said.
“It goes hand in hand” with major leg problems, said Dr. Larry Bramlage, an equine surgeon in Kentucky. “Laminitis is usually the terminal event for any horse that has had a severe orthopedic surgery.”
While horses with laminitis can be saved, the prospect of Barbaro having to battle that condition, as well as other infections stemming from the original surgery, could mean extreme discomfort for the colt that would undermine the healing process.

Joe Drape reported from Kennett Square, Pa., for this article, and Maria Newman from New York.

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