Nice to know that barbaro is showing improvement.He is a leader and makes everyone around him better.Barbaro just knows how to win!
Barbaro takes turn for the worse Derby winner suffers recurrence of laminitis http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/4462500.html Associated Press KENNETT SQUARE, PA. - Every time the outlook was grim for Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby winner pulled through like a champ. Time will tell if he can do it again. After months of upbeat progress reports, the horse suffered a significant setback Wednesday because of laminitis — a painful, often fatal disease — in his left hind foot. Chief surgeon Dean Richardson removed damaged tissue from the hoof, and afterward the bay colt was placed in a protective sling in his ICU stall at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center. Barbaro has been rehabilitating here since shattering three bones in his right hind leg just a few strides into the Preakness on May 20. The news came as a jolt, especially since owners Gretchen and Roy Jackson and Richardson recently said they were hopeful the colt would be released from the hospital, perhaps by the end of the month. "Things were marching along pretty smoothly until this," Gretchen Jackson said. "We've been there before with him. He's a horse that wants to live. "They're taking extreme measures. They're treating it very aggressively. They're really pulling out all the stops to help him." Barbaro was in stable condition, according to a statement released Wednesday morning by New Bolton. The tissue was removed Tuesday night, a week after a new cast was put on the leg. Barbaro had become uncomfortable on his left hind foot in recent days, and the cast was removed after some new separation on the inside portion of his hoof was found. Dr. Scott Morrison, who applied the cast Jan. 3, called the latest development "a bump in the road" and said Barbaro "can possibly overcome it." "When a horse tries to grow back an entire hoof capsule like Barbaro is, complications are expected along the way," added Morrison, the head of podiatry service at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky. "While the foot is growing back, there is some wall structure and tissue that becomes compromised along the way and has to be removed." Though Morrison wasn't present at New Bolton when Richardson removed the loose tissue, he believes Barbaro's condition has not regressed or gone "back to square one." "But I wouldn't say the prognosis is good for the foot," he said. "It's still grim. He still has to grow a hoof wall for his prognosis to improve. There's still a long road ahead." Gretchen Jackson brought Barbaro fresh grass and said the colt's appearance was "not as bright" when she saw him Wednesday morning. But, she said, the colt had visibly improved later in the day when her husband, Roy, visited. After his injury in the Preakness, Barbaro developed severe laminitis, a potentially fatal disease caused by uneven weight distribution in the limbs. The result was that 80 percent of his left hind hoof was removed in mid-July. Just over a week ago, Richardson said Barbaro's right hind was getting stronger and should eventually be healthy enough to allow the colt to live a comfortable, happy life. The Jacksons and Richardson remain optimistic Barbaro could be on a Kentucky farm by the end of January. "It's sad that's he's had a setback, because he was marching along toward living outside the hospital," Jackson said.
Man, I wonder how much money they've spent on keeping this horse alive? I mean, I'm all for treating sick animals, but at what point does it just become stupid? I'm thinking well into the 6 figures for Barbaro's treatment. 200-300k? I mean, aren't there people starving in the world or something? Nothing a 1 cent .22 shell wouldn't cure in a split sec. But, who am I to tell these rich folk what to do with their money.
I would bet that his owners have been...errr..."collecting" certain precious bodily fluids from ol' hoss with regularity. That stuff's like gold. Sticky, white, gooey gold. The cost of his medical treatment is like a, uh, drop in the bucket compared to his potential stud fees, even if done artificially.
I can't take any more of this... "¡Qué Bárbaro...!" I can't stop thinking about the "Far Side" cartoon with the horse in the hospital...
I sure hope Governer Perry gives us a day off for mourning if Barbaro doesn't make it. I'm not sure I could make it through my work day with Barbaro's death on my mind.
I actually thought about that. However, I'm not so sure I'd pay top dollar for stud goo that may produce colts that would be prone to leg breaks. Not saying it's genetic, but might cause a horse breeder to think twice before writing a fat check.
Yeah, but unless there's some sort of genetic or congenital problem with his legs (which his owners would know about already & wouldn't be able to hide), I don't see it as a big deal. His med records, Xrays, MRIs, all that stuff will be looked at by various high dollar horse vets before any sale. Breaks happen with racehorses, doesn't mean that there was anything wrong with the horse.
They should have vial after vial of Barbaro juice at this point, my bet is they will be putting him down soon. I was pulling for him.
The Barbaro saga finally ends... http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/news/story?id=2747087 KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. -- Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was euthanized Monday morning after complications from his breakdown at the Preakness last May. "We just reached a point where it was going to be difficult for him to go on without pain," co-owner Roy Jackson said. "It was the right decision, it was the right thing to do. We said all along if there was a situation where it would become more difficult for him then it would be time."
