I just read that they brought in Bramlege to evaluate the horse today. I have not read that he has been euthed at this point. Maybe I missed it.
ETA so sorry to hear. Godspeed to a grand horse!
2 Likes
anesthesia reaction can cause myopathy/neuropathy complications. this would be a reasonable cause for not being able to rise.
4 Likes
That is so beyond sad😢. I didn’t know that.
1 Like
I didn’t know either. I found this article, probably not the same thing as Rocket but did provide a very technical description of how and why this could happen.
https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/vrc2.391
Scary. I’m so sorry for their loss.
1 Like
So sorry for Rocket’s people. They did everything they could, clearly.
Does anybody know how you ship a horse from say barn to hospital if the horse cannot stand? Do you rig a sling in the trailer? Ship them on their side? I’m just wondering about the logistics there.
2 Likes
Though the circumstances are sad, it was touching to read such a heartfelt statement from the owners. Josephine Abercrombie’s legacy is in good hands with the Bernhards.
5 Likes
I would suspect he was transported in an equine ambulance, which would have a sling.
1 Like
I’ve been thinking Barbaro, Barbaro, Barbaro ever since I first read the OP, and praying Rocket’s story would go differently. 
1 Like
But GRRs story is very different then Barbaro’s…no?
4 Likes
Quite different, yes. Rocket fractured a foreleg and stretched/tore his suspensory during a workout, Barbaro’s injury was to his right hind at racing speed, and he shattered the long pastern bone.
Infection was a primary concern in Rocket’s case since his fracture was open. He sadly didn’t live long enough for that to happen, but the team had the additional worry in the form of what sounds like pretty severe suspensory damage. Those heal at a much slower pace than most broken bones and can present just as much risk of laminitis.
Barbaro did develop an infection, likely from breaking teeth during recovery from anesthesia for a cast change. That insult probably initiated the cascade of events that eventually overwhelmed him and led to the decision to euthanize him.
1 Like
Barbaro seemed to have fractured it coming out of the gate–and I thought he had broken through the gate prior to that, so it does make you wonder if there had been (some) damage done when he broke through the gate prior to the start.
(edited–correcting myself–not breaking from gate–it seemed to have been 200 yards from the gate…)
1 Like
