I hope that *is* what Barbaro is doing! It's not like he follows the soaps on TV or does crossword or jigsaw puzzles. Poor thing when he figures out he won't be running again. I hope they have horsey Prozac or something similar.
I'm sure they're thinking that an active, interested horse is a happy horse, and it'll help his health.
Horses are so darn adaptable, he'll probably adjust to the gimpy foot with time. I'm sure they're worried about letting him off the lead shank for the first time, but maybe they can work him on a longe or in a small round pen so he can't really get going.