Thanks Tim/Alex:
Update 452: Excellent article from the Baltimore Sun: Barbaro takes big step forward provides good insight into how Bobby is doing. The following excerpts are only a few of the interesting quotes:
"I was at Saratoga, when Mrs. [Gretchen] Jackson called me and said, ‘You’ll never guess where I am. I’m outside with Barbaro and he’s eating grass!’ " said Barbaro’s trainer, Michael Matz. “I was very happy to hear that. It was the first time he’s been outside the building since the day he arrived there.”
and
“He’s always been calm when taken out to graze,” Matz said.
Anderson said Barbaro “has gone to the next level of rehabilitation” and has reached the point where “it is safe to walk him out a short distance.”
“We hoped to be able to take him outside six weeks ago, prior to his foundering,” she said. Anderson was referring to how Barbaro had developed laminitis, a painful inflammation, in his left hind foot, which resulted in the removal of 80 percent of his hoof wall.
“But his fracture wasn’t strong enough [for the exercise],” Anderson said. “If he did anything stupid, it would have made it a very bad decision. Obviously, he’s progressed from there, and the walk provides a little stimulation to both of his legs, even though they are still both in casts. And it is very good for his attitude.”
and
Susan Danner, Matz’s farm assistant who was present for the first outing, said the horse was extremely docile when his stable door was opened, not expecting anything unusual. But once he was led outside, “he brightened noticeably.”
We do know however that there remains a long road ahead, and Bobby is not yet out of the woods. The next vigil is planned for this saturday, 7 pm east coast time, August 19.
It also seems Barbaro remains in the local news this morning. Some have also noted he was on CBS national news last night, is this correct ? (I was watching a riding lesson at the time).