Update 1310: Mrs. Jackson just called (5:45 pm). She visited Barbaro at lunch time and he was "gobbling" down the grass she brought for him while she was visiting. His temperature remains normal and he is bearing weight on his left hind leg (note: he is mostly in the sling or lying down as far as I understand). Today was a better day than yesterday.
Update 1309: I just spoke to Peter Brette (thursday afternoon) and he relayed that Dr. Richardson was happier with Barbaro this morning, this seems consistent with the APs quotes from Mrs. Jackson and the New Bolton release. Barbaro was laying down this morning and appeared more comfortable. I spoke to Dr. Kathy Anderson who visited Barbaro yesterday evening. Kathy noted that while Barbaro was not looking as sharp as he was a couple of weeks ago (we know that) he was looking quite comfortable. He was again laying down in his stall when she visited him last night. These were two more positive conversations as we try to move forward from yesterday morning.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Barbaro is stable and acceptably comfortable-News Release From U Penn- New Bolton Center 1/11/07
News Releases
January 11, 2007
KENNETT SQUARE, PA —Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro’s management has been changed to include sling support for several hours during the day, according to Dr. Dean W. Richardson, Chief of Surgery. “He is getting up and down on his own and continues to eat and have stable vital signs. Radiographs (X-rays) taken yesterday revealed no additional complications in either hind leg. We are considering several additional therapeutic options at this time. He is stable and acceptably comfortable.”
Barbaro remains in the Intensive Care Unit at Penn’s George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals.
Updates will be provided when new information is available.
For more information on Barbaro, please see www.vet.upenn.edu
Jennifer Rench
(610) 925-6182
jrench@vet.upenn.edu
Gail Luciani
(215) 898-1475
luciani@vet.upenn.edu
January 11, 2007
KENNETT SQUARE, PA —Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro’s management has been changed to include sling support for several hours during the day, according to Dr. Dean W. Richardson, Chief of Surgery. “He is getting up and down on his own and continues to eat and have stable vital signs. Radiographs (X-rays) taken yesterday revealed no additional complications in either hind leg. We are considering several additional therapeutic options at this time. He is stable and acceptably comfortable.”
Barbaro remains in the Intensive Care Unit at Penn’s George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals.
Updates will be provided when new information is available.
For more information on Barbaro, please see www.vet.upenn.edu
Jennifer Rench
(610) 925-6182
jrench@vet.upenn.edu
Gail Luciani
(215) 898-1475
luciani@vet.upenn.edu
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Barbaro Suffers Setback -Prayers needed! Think POSITIVE THOUGHTS, PLEASE!
January 10, 2007
KENNETT SQUARE, PA — Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro has had a significant setback over the last 24 hours. He became acutely more uncomfortable on his left hind foot. The foot cast was removed and some new separation of the medial (inside) portion of his hoof was found. This required some additional debridement (removal of the damaged tissue) last night.
He is being treated much more aggressively at this time for his discomfort. He is continuing to eat well and is otherwise stable.
Updates will be provided when new information is available.
For more information on Barbaro, please see www.vet.upenn.edu
Jennifer Rench
(610) 925-6182
jrench@vet.upenn.edu
Gail Luciani
(215) 898-1475
luciani@vet.upenn.edu
News Release From New Bolton Center Regarding Barbaro's New Cast
News Releases
January 9, 2007
KENNETT SQUARE, PA-- Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro had a foot cast applied to his left hind foot on January 3, 2007 by Dr. Scott Morrison, an equine podiatry expert from Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. “This cast was applied with the goal of starting to help re-align his coffin bone properly in that foot,” said Dr. Dean W. Richardson, Chief of Surgery. “His comfort on that foot has been good since the procedure.”
According to Dr. Richardson, radiographs taken on January 8, 2007 “show improved alignment of his coffin bone and continued healing of the fractured right hind pastern region.” His condition is stable and a firm decision concerning his discharge from the hospital has not been made.”
The next update will be posted on Tuesday, January 16, unless there is a significant change in Barbaro’s condition.
Jennifer Rench
(610) 925-6182
jrench@vet.upenn.edu
Gail Luciani
(215) 898-1475
luciani@vet.upenn.edu
For more information on Barbaro, please see www.vet.upenn.edu.
January 9, 2007 KENNETT SQUARE, PA-- Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro had a foot cast applied to his left hind foot on January 3, 2007 by Dr. Scott Morrison, an equine podiatry expert from Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. “This cast was applied with the goal of starting to help re-align his coffin bone properly in that foot,” said Dr. Dean W. Richardson, Chief of Surgery. “His comfort on that foot has been good since the procedure.”
According to Dr. Richardson, radiographs taken on January 8, 2007 “show improved alignment of his coffin bone and continued healing of the fractured right hind pastern region.” His condition is stable and a firm decision concerning his discharge from the hospital has not been made.”
The next update will be posted on Tuesday, January 16, unless there is a significant change in Barbaro’s condition.
Jennifer Rench
(610) 925-6182
jrench@vet.upenn.edu
Gail Luciani
(215) 898-1475
luciani@vet.upenn.edu
For more information on Barbaro, please see www.vet.upenn.edu.
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Barbaro will linger for a while in Kennett-By Mike Jensen- Staff Writer
Posted on Tue, Jan. 09, 2007
From the Philadelphia Inquirer-01/09/2007
Although he's on "low-level medical care," the horse is not yet ready to be sent to Kentucky, his surgeon says.
By Mike Jensen, Inquirer Staff Writer
When the day comes that Barbaro leaves the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center - however soon that day may be - it will be with the blessing of the surgeon who treated him.
"I wouldn't send him unless I thought it was safe to send him," Dean Richardson said yesterday at the Kennett Square facility. "The thing for people to keep in mind: At some point, the management we've done with him is something that can readily be done in a more normal environment for a horse. The intensive-care unit at New Bolton Center is not a completely normal environment for a horse."
The ability to give the Kentucky Derby winner intensive medical care at New Bolton is obvious.
"But," Richardson said, "if he's to the point where he's on fairly low-level medical care - which he already is, really - and that the major issues are going to relate to his left hind foot, and those are going to be extremely chronic and capable of being dealt with by veterinarians in Kentucky, then I would feel that at the point, if everyone's in agreement, we'll probably move the horse."
Richardson also made it clear that no celebrations should be held the day Barbaro leaves Chester County, that it isn't necessarily an indication of a change in his overall prognosis. After 71/2 months caring for the horse, the surgeon still uses the same phrase in every conversation: "Not out of the woods yet." He elaborated on that yesterday, making it clear that the laminitis that cropped up in Barbaro's left rear hoof last July, causing Richardson to surgically remove 80 percent of the hoof, still could be Barbaro's downfall.
"Part of it has grown almost to the bottom, pretty much," Richardson said. "The lateral part, the outside part of the hoof wall, is almost all the way to the bottom. But the inside part of the hoof has probably a tenth of that. It's really slow. It's very disparate between the different parts of the foot, and that's going to be a real problem for us."
Can the inside grow all the way back?
"It is definitely possible," Richardson said. "It is [also] possible that we will never get his foot all the way correct."
Can the horse live without its being perfectly correct?
"Yeah, but it's also possible that it could be a limiting factor and end up in his demise," Richardson said. "It's possible. He is not out of the woods yet. He is not. He is not good enough yet."
Scott Morrison, an equine podiatry specialist at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky., made his second visit to see Barbaro at New Bolton on Wednesday and applied a cast to the left hoof.
"There are a lot of subtle things involved in treating this type of laminitis, and one of them is making sure that you have the alignment of the coffin bone correct," Richardson said. "And it's almost impossible to do without having something relatively rigid that's encasing his foot, so when Scott Morrison came up, that's what he did. It's basically a cast that holds his foot very firmly, but then on the outside of the cast, there's an actual horseshoe that is glued onto the cast, but at a certain angle so that we can get him back at the correct angle."
Richardson wouldn't be surprised if a left hind cast, changed regularly, were part of Barbaro's care for the next year, because of the slow growth in the one portion of the hoof.
Morrison also was brought in "because, when the horse moves, and obviously he's likely to move to Lexington, Ky.," Richardson said, "we need to have made a smooth transition to someone who is going to handle that left hind foot."
As for Barbaro's right hind leg, which suffered the catastrophic fractures in the May 20 Preakness Stakes, Richardson said of the hitch in his gait, which surprised some non-medical outsiders who saw it on videotape, "I'd like him to be moving better, but people have to understand it's still early, he still has a lot more that he can improve on that leg. The way he's moving right now, it doesn't mean that's the way he'll move the rest of his life.
"He's got a little bit of a hypermetric [exaggerated] gait. That's probably associated with some of the feedback loops between the leg and the spinal cord. We think that's what's going on. You see that with horses that have injuries in their lower leg that heal perfectly, then they'll start snatching their leg up like that without really acting like it's hurting. Horses that are painful, really painful, tend to move in a very different fashion... . Plus, he was in a cast for like five months. There's lots of reasons for him to have an abnormal motion to his gait. I think that will improve over time, but again, I don't know that for sure."
Without being asked, Richardson brought up another reason besides comfort for Barbaro to be in the heart of Kentucky's horse country.
"He's not comfortable enough right now certainly to breed a mare," Richardson said. "But the idea is, hopefully, he will continue to get more comfortable and eventually be able to breed a mare."
Contact staff writer Mike Jensen at 215-854-4489 or mjensen@phillynews.com
From the Philadelphia Inquirer-01/09/2007
Although he's on "low-level medical care," the horse is not yet ready to be sent to Kentucky, his surgeon says.
By Mike Jensen, Inquirer Staff Writer
When the day comes that Barbaro leaves the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center - however soon that day may be - it will be with the blessing of the surgeon who treated him.
"I wouldn't send him unless I thought it was safe to send him," Dean Richardson said yesterday at the Kennett Square facility. "The thing for people to keep in mind: At some point, the management we've done with him is something that can readily be done in a more normal environment for a horse. The intensive-care unit at New Bolton Center is not a completely normal environment for a horse."
The ability to give the Kentucky Derby winner intensive medical care at New Bolton is obvious.
"But," Richardson said, "if he's to the point where he's on fairly low-level medical care - which he already is, really - and that the major issues are going to relate to his left hind foot, and those are going to be extremely chronic and capable of being dealt with by veterinarians in Kentucky, then I would feel that at the point, if everyone's in agreement, we'll probably move the horse."
Richardson also made it clear that no celebrations should be held the day Barbaro leaves Chester County, that it isn't necessarily an indication of a change in his overall prognosis. After 71/2 months caring for the horse, the surgeon still uses the same phrase in every conversation: "Not out of the woods yet." He elaborated on that yesterday, making it clear that the laminitis that cropped up in Barbaro's left rear hoof last July, causing Richardson to surgically remove 80 percent of the hoof, still could be Barbaro's downfall.
"Part of it has grown almost to the bottom, pretty much," Richardson said. "The lateral part, the outside part of the hoof wall, is almost all the way to the bottom. But the inside part of the hoof has probably a tenth of that. It's really slow. It's very disparate between the different parts of the foot, and that's going to be a real problem for us."
Can the inside grow all the way back?
"It is definitely possible," Richardson said. "It is [also] possible that we will never get his foot all the way correct."
Can the horse live without its being perfectly correct?
"Yeah, but it's also possible that it could be a limiting factor and end up in his demise," Richardson said. "It's possible. He is not out of the woods yet. He is not. He is not good enough yet."
Scott Morrison, an equine podiatry specialist at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky., made his second visit to see Barbaro at New Bolton on Wednesday and applied a cast to the left hoof.
"There are a lot of subtle things involved in treating this type of laminitis, and one of them is making sure that you have the alignment of the coffin bone correct," Richardson said. "And it's almost impossible to do without having something relatively rigid that's encasing his foot, so when Scott Morrison came up, that's what he did. It's basically a cast that holds his foot very firmly, but then on the outside of the cast, there's an actual horseshoe that is glued onto the cast, but at a certain angle so that we can get him back at the correct angle."
Richardson wouldn't be surprised if a left hind cast, changed regularly, were part of Barbaro's care for the next year, because of the slow growth in the one portion of the hoof.
Morrison also was brought in "because, when the horse moves, and obviously he's likely to move to Lexington, Ky.," Richardson said, "we need to have made a smooth transition to someone who is going to handle that left hind foot."
As for Barbaro's right hind leg, which suffered the catastrophic fractures in the May 20 Preakness Stakes, Richardson said of the hitch in his gait, which surprised some non-medical outsiders who saw it on videotape, "I'd like him to be moving better, but people have to understand it's still early, he still has a lot more that he can improve on that leg. The way he's moving right now, it doesn't mean that's the way he'll move the rest of his life.
"He's got a little bit of a hypermetric [exaggerated] gait. That's probably associated with some of the feedback loops between the leg and the spinal cord. We think that's what's going on. You see that with horses that have injuries in their lower leg that heal perfectly, then they'll start snatching their leg up like that without really acting like it's hurting. Horses that are painful, really painful, tend to move in a very different fashion... . Plus, he was in a cast for like five months. There's lots of reasons for him to have an abnormal motion to his gait. I think that will improve over time, but again, I don't know that for sure."
Without being asked, Richardson brought up another reason besides comfort for Barbaro to be in the heart of Kentucky's horse country.
"He's not comfortable enough right now certainly to breed a mare," Richardson said. "But the idea is, hopefully, he will continue to get more comfortable and eventually be able to breed a mare."
Contact staff writer Mike Jensen at 215-854-4489 or mjensen@phillynews.com
Friday, January 5, 2007
"Going The Distance" By Karen Gardner
REPORTER'S NOTEBOOKS: KAREN GARDNER
Going the Distance — Barbaro’s story was one of the years best
Published on December 31, 2006
THIS WEEK’S COLUMN will digress from the usual spotlight on local athletes to focus on the athlete I think deserves notice at the end of this remarkable year. We saw some great stories in 2006. But the moment that struck me the most was when Barbaro held up his right hind leg just a few yards into the Preakness on May 20 and looked for all the world like a star horse who suddenly realized he needed a lot of help to survive.
Barbaro won the Kentucky Derby by 6 3/4 lengths, the largest margin in 60 years. He won the race so easily, jockey Edgar Prado never even sounded the whip. Racehorses are usually not whipped; it's the sound that gets them going, and the direction of the sound indicates which way they should go.
Barbaro’s owner, Gretchen Jackson, said she realized when she stroked him after the race he wasn't even wet. Prado said the horse had gears the world hadn't seen yet, and this was after he defeated 19 other horses in the Derby.
Barbaro was undefeated in six races after the Derby. He won easily on turf, on dirt, in the slop. He had a stride that stretched to 25 feet, and that might not have been his fullest potential.
He seemed to take whatever came his way, and still come out on top. Yet in the Preakness what came his way was a shattered right hind leg that in seconds ended his racing career and nearly his life. Prado heard the horse's leg pop mid-stride, and immediately pulled him up. He jumped off and held himself against the much larger horse, preventing Barbaro from falling and probably saving his life. Prado definitely deserves kudos, as much for his concern about the horses he rides as for his remarkable skills as a jockey.
Barbaro stood on the track until veterinarians reached him; he was then helped off the track and behind a curtain so he couldn't see the race that was still taking place. His leg was splinted and an equine ambulance was prepared to take him to the New Bolton Veterinary Center in Kennett Square, Pa., 90 minutes away.
The side walls of the specially prepared van were inflated to hold Barbaro, his groom Eduardo and a veterinarian steady. Barbaro received a police escort to the New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, where he was prepared for surgery the next day.
Waiting until the horse calms was a lesson learned after the horrifying death of Ruffian, perhaps the greatest racing filly of all time, and one of the greatest racehorses of all time. I still recall watching the race on that summer afternoon in 1975. I was stunned to watch the great filly nearly fall against her rival, Foolish Pleasure. The fracture was repaired in surgery after the race, but she thrashed about upon awakening from anesthesia and re-broke her leg. She was immediately euthanized.
Since then, I've had a lovehate relationship with horse racing. I love the thoroughbreds. They are beautiful creatures, energetic, often playful, always ready to run. I hate the breakdowns, the brief racing careers of the horses, the reported overuse of drugs by a few nefarious trainers and the fates of many horses that don't make it on the track.
Barbaro's recovery this summer and fall has been long. There was one awful week in July where it seemed Barbaro wouldn't make it. His right hind leg, which needed 27 screws to fuse his bones, became infected, and Barbaro bore too much weight on his left hind. The left leg developed an abscess, which quickly became Laminitis. Laminitis, known more commonly as foundering, is a deadly disease in which the hoof separates from the bone. Secretariat died of Laminitis.
Barbaro's veterinarian, Dr. Dean Richardson, said Barbaro’s Laminitis was one of the worst he’d seen. But Barbaro pulled out of the infection, and as Richardson, the horse’s his owners and trainer Michael Matz debated what to do, Barbaro had a look in his eyes that told his people he was ready to do what was necessary to survive.
Barbaro has reportedly been a model patient, adapting from galloping around the pastures of his home at Fair Hill Training Center in the northeastern corner of Maryland, to living in his stall at the intensive care unit of the New Bolton Center. Barbaro walks outside, weather permitting, for about 45 minutes each day.
His recovery has taken more than seven months, and it isn’t over. His right leg has healed, allowing him to walk with a limp. His left hoof is encased in a boot that allows him to bear full weight. The hoof is growing back, although slowly and unevenly. It will probably need to be watched for the rest of his life. He may soon be headed for a farm where his legs can be monitored, and where he may someday be able to stand at stud.
Barbaro’s owners Gretchen and Roy Jackson visit daily. So did Matz, until he left in December for his winter training grounds in Florida.
Matz won a silver medal in Olympic equestrian competition before transferring his considerable horsemanship skills to racehorses. He saved three children from a burning plane after a plane crash in 1989. And he trained a horse named Barbaro who probably could have won the Triple Crown save for an unfortunate step in the Preakness Stakes.
Matz was reduced to tears later in talking about his horse, and when it looked as though Barbaro would be euthanized when Laminitis hit in July.
The Jacksons have since turned their Barbaro spotlight into a campaign to raise donations and awareness for retired thoroughbreds. They have focused their energies on track safety and on benefits for racetrack workers, who often live on little pay. They have brought attention to the plight of exercise riders, who risk their lives while riding these horses.
Many tracks are installing synthetic surfaces, which may be safer, citing the “Barbaro effect.” They have brought attention to the issue of horse slaughter, the fate of many failed racehorses and even some successful ones.
Barbaro has definitely gone the distance in 2006. He started out by winning every race he was asked to run. And when the race turned into one for his life, he responded again, by cooperating with those around him, by withstanding pain, by doing what he needs to do to heal his legs.
He may or may not ever be able to stand at stud. His owners maintain that doesn't matter. His trainer, who will never again train Barbaro for another race, monitors his progress. His fans check on Barbaro daily through a little-known Web site, www.timwoolleyracing.com. Alex Brown, a Web site designer and teacher at the University of Delaware, exercises horses for trainer Tim Woolley, who is stabled near Matz at Fair Hill.
When Barbaro won the Derby, Brown began issuing reports on Barbaro. These continued after his Preakness injury. Several times a day Brown reports updates on Barbaro’s progress and other issues in horse racing and race safety.
To me, 2006 will always be the Year of Barbaro. Barbaro is an athlete in every sense of the word, giving his all wherever needed. He never asked for money, never sought performance enhancing drugs, never turned down an autograph.
All he asked for were caring humans and lots of baby carrots. Heres hoping heel have many more years to live and green pastures in which to roam.
“Reprinted with permission of The Frederick News-Post and Randall Family, LLC as published on Dec. 31, 2006"
Going the Distance — Barbaro’s story was one of the years best
Published on December 31, 2006
THIS WEEK’S COLUMN will digress from the usual spotlight on local athletes to focus on the athlete I think deserves notice at the end of this remarkable year. We saw some great stories in 2006. But the moment that struck me the most was when Barbaro held up his right hind leg just a few yards into the Preakness on May 20 and looked for all the world like a star horse who suddenly realized he needed a lot of help to survive.
Barbaro won the Kentucky Derby by 6 3/4 lengths, the largest margin in 60 years. He won the race so easily, jockey Edgar Prado never even sounded the whip. Racehorses are usually not whipped; it's the sound that gets them going, and the direction of the sound indicates which way they should go.
Barbaro’s owner, Gretchen Jackson, said she realized when she stroked him after the race he wasn't even wet. Prado said the horse had gears the world hadn't seen yet, and this was after he defeated 19 other horses in the Derby.
Barbaro was undefeated in six races after the Derby. He won easily on turf, on dirt, in the slop. He had a stride that stretched to 25 feet, and that might not have been his fullest potential.
He seemed to take whatever came his way, and still come out on top. Yet in the Preakness what came his way was a shattered right hind leg that in seconds ended his racing career and nearly his life. Prado heard the horse's leg pop mid-stride, and immediately pulled him up. He jumped off and held himself against the much larger horse, preventing Barbaro from falling and probably saving his life. Prado definitely deserves kudos, as much for his concern about the horses he rides as for his remarkable skills as a jockey.
Barbaro stood on the track until veterinarians reached him; he was then helped off the track and behind a curtain so he couldn't see the race that was still taking place. His leg was splinted and an equine ambulance was prepared to take him to the New Bolton Veterinary Center in Kennett Square, Pa., 90 minutes away.
The side walls of the specially prepared van were inflated to hold Barbaro, his groom Eduardo and a veterinarian steady. Barbaro received a police escort to the New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, where he was prepared for surgery the next day.
Waiting until the horse calms was a lesson learned after the horrifying death of Ruffian, perhaps the greatest racing filly of all time, and one of the greatest racehorses of all time. I still recall watching the race on that summer afternoon in 1975. I was stunned to watch the great filly nearly fall against her rival, Foolish Pleasure. The fracture was repaired in surgery after the race, but she thrashed about upon awakening from anesthesia and re-broke her leg. She was immediately euthanized.
Since then, I've had a lovehate relationship with horse racing. I love the thoroughbreds. They are beautiful creatures, energetic, often playful, always ready to run. I hate the breakdowns, the brief racing careers of the horses, the reported overuse of drugs by a few nefarious trainers and the fates of many horses that don't make it on the track.
Barbaro's recovery this summer and fall has been long. There was one awful week in July where it seemed Barbaro wouldn't make it. His right hind leg, which needed 27 screws to fuse his bones, became infected, and Barbaro bore too much weight on his left hind. The left leg developed an abscess, which quickly became Laminitis. Laminitis, known more commonly as foundering, is a deadly disease in which the hoof separates from the bone. Secretariat died of Laminitis.
Barbaro's veterinarian, Dr. Dean Richardson, said Barbaro’s Laminitis was one of the worst he’d seen. But Barbaro pulled out of the infection, and as Richardson, the horse’s his owners and trainer Michael Matz debated what to do, Barbaro had a look in his eyes that told his people he was ready to do what was necessary to survive.
Barbaro has reportedly been a model patient, adapting from galloping around the pastures of his home at Fair Hill Training Center in the northeastern corner of Maryland, to living in his stall at the intensive care unit of the New Bolton Center. Barbaro walks outside, weather permitting, for about 45 minutes each day.
His recovery has taken more than seven months, and it isn’t over. His right leg has healed, allowing him to walk with a limp. His left hoof is encased in a boot that allows him to bear full weight. The hoof is growing back, although slowly and unevenly. It will probably need to be watched for the rest of his life. He may soon be headed for a farm where his legs can be monitored, and where he may someday be able to stand at stud.
Barbaro’s owners Gretchen and Roy Jackson visit daily. So did Matz, until he left in December for his winter training grounds in Florida.
Matz won a silver medal in Olympic equestrian competition before transferring his considerable horsemanship skills to racehorses. He saved three children from a burning plane after a plane crash in 1989. And he trained a horse named Barbaro who probably could have won the Triple Crown save for an unfortunate step in the Preakness Stakes.
Matz was reduced to tears later in talking about his horse, and when it looked as though Barbaro would be euthanized when Laminitis hit in July.
The Jacksons have since turned their Barbaro spotlight into a campaign to raise donations and awareness for retired thoroughbreds. They have focused their energies on track safety and on benefits for racetrack workers, who often live on little pay. They have brought attention to the plight of exercise riders, who risk their lives while riding these horses.
Many tracks are installing synthetic surfaces, which may be safer, citing the “Barbaro effect.” They have brought attention to the issue of horse slaughter, the fate of many failed racehorses and even some successful ones.
Barbaro has definitely gone the distance in 2006. He started out by winning every race he was asked to run. And when the race turned into one for his life, he responded again, by cooperating with those around him, by withstanding pain, by doing what he needs to do to heal his legs.
He may or may not ever be able to stand at stud. His owners maintain that doesn't matter. His trainer, who will never again train Barbaro for another race, monitors his progress. His fans check on Barbaro daily through a little-known Web site, www.timwoolleyracing.com. Alex Brown, a Web site designer and teacher at the University of Delaware, exercises horses for trainer Tim Woolley, who is stabled near Matz at Fair Hill.
When Barbaro won the Derby, Brown began issuing reports on Barbaro. These continued after his Preakness injury. Several times a day Brown reports updates on Barbaro’s progress and other issues in horse racing and race safety.
To me, 2006 will always be the Year of Barbaro. Barbaro is an athlete in every sense of the word, giving his all wherever needed. He never asked for money, never sought performance enhancing drugs, never turned down an autograph.
All he asked for were caring humans and lots of baby carrots. Heres hoping heel have many more years to live and green pastures in which to roam.
“Reprinted with permission of The Frederick News-Post and Randall Family, LLC as published on Dec. 31, 2006"
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Update On Barbaro From New Bolton Center- "Barbaro’s status remains unchanged"
January 2, 2007
KENNETT SQUARE, PA-- Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro’s status is essentially the same. “The shoe on his right hind foot was further modified as his strength improved,” said Dr. Dean W. Richardson, Chief of Surgery. “We are aware that there is some public concern about his abnormal motion on the right hind limb, however, this is not unexpected. His gait may be abnormal as he learns to adapt to having fusions of two major joints in his lower limb and to the special shoe. In addition, the fracture had some collapse on the medial (inside) part of the pastern region after he developed laminitis on the left hind foot. Although this is visually unattractive, the mechanics of the lower leg are not seriously affected because the pastern and fetlock joints are fused.”
Our goal was to give him a leg that would be functional and comfortable enough to live happily. “The right hind has healed well enough that we are optimistic about that possibility,” said Dr. Richardson. “However, Barbaro’s left hind foot, which had laminitis, remains a more formidable long-term challenge. The foot must grow much more for him to have a truly successful outcome.”
Barbaro, who has been in the Intensive Care Unit of the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals since his injuries at the Preakness on May 20, is eating well and has a bright eye and happy demeanor, according to his medical team.
The next update will be posted on Tuesday, January 16, unless there is a significant change in Barbaro’s condition.
For more information on Barbaro, please see www.vet.upenn.edu.
Jennifer Rench
(610) 925-6182
jrench@vet.upenn.edu
Gail Luciani
(215) 898-1475
luciani@vet.upenn.edu
KENNETT SQUARE, PA-- Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro’s status is essentially the same. “The shoe on his right hind foot was further modified as his strength improved,” said Dr. Dean W. Richardson, Chief of Surgery. “We are aware that there is some public concern about his abnormal motion on the right hind limb, however, this is not unexpected. His gait may be abnormal as he learns to adapt to having fusions of two major joints in his lower limb and to the special shoe. In addition, the fracture had some collapse on the medial (inside) part of the pastern region after he developed laminitis on the left hind foot. Although this is visually unattractive, the mechanics of the lower leg are not seriously affected because the pastern and fetlock joints are fused.”
Our goal was to give him a leg that would be functional and comfortable enough to live happily. “The right hind has healed well enough that we are optimistic about that possibility,” said Dr. Richardson. “However, Barbaro’s left hind foot, which had laminitis, remains a more formidable long-term challenge. The foot must grow much more for him to have a truly successful outcome.”
Barbaro, who has been in the Intensive Care Unit of the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals since his injuries at the Preakness on May 20, is eating well and has a bright eye and happy demeanor, according to his medical team.
The next update will be posted on Tuesday, January 16, unless there is a significant change in Barbaro’s condition.
For more information on Barbaro, please see www.vet.upenn.edu.
Jennifer Rench
(610) 925-6182
jrench@vet.upenn.edu
Gail Luciani
(215) 898-1475
luciani@vet.upenn.edu
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