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Holy cow - how can I follow after posts such as these? I love you all!

I can certainly relate to Miss Marple's post, especially; but just as much to everyone's sentiments. I can also relate to Barbaro's situation, having just recently been put out to pasture myself against my wishes and now battling against ill health, after a lifetime of winning my races. However, he's *much better off* than I am, lol - except no one will put me down if I get worse.

Some good stories today, but they're AP, so I have to excerpt and link. Tidbits:

.Prado will see Barbaro for the first time tomorrow - that will be an emotional reunion for him.
.This week may bring the first peek inside the cast by Dr. Richardson.
.Barbaro's baby brother (try saying that 3 times!) has moved into his old stall at Fair Hill Training Center.
.Buttercups were his favorite munchie there.

~~~~~
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13037671/

"... Barbaro's stall filled, but emptiness remains
.....
ELKTON, Md. -- Barbaro's stall has a new occupant -- the half brother of the Kentucky Derby winner, a frisky colt named Man In Havana.

The weekend arrival could not alleviate the emptiness felt by Barbaro's handlers, who have come to realize their injured horse will never again frolic in the plush fields of the Fair Hill Training Center.

Before shattering several bones in his right hind leg in the Preakness on May 20, Barbaro loved munching on buttercups and playing in his paddock at Fair Hill. For exercise, the dark bay colt would run through tree-lined paths under Peter Brette, assistant trainer to Michael Matz.

Now, the only way Brette can see Barbaro is at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center, where the 3-year-old is recovering from surgery on his broken leg.
....
"I've been in racing for 24 years, and last Sunday morning was probably the first time I didn't want to get out of bed. That sums it up," Brette said Monday, shortly after completing his morning chores at Fair Hill.

Even if Barbaro recovers, his days of bursting into a gallop are over, which means there is no reason for him to return to Fair Hill

"I just hope he survives this ordeal," Matz said. "Hopefully, he'll get to stand as a stallion, and there are some awful nice barns in Kentucky."
....
"The only thing we can look forward to now is he's going to pull through and is going to be fine and have babies," Brette said. "He was very special, and then, he was gone, far too quickly. He was probably the soundest horse in the barn, and for that to happen is nothing short of cruel."
....
For those who knew Barbaro, it's still hard to digest.

The office of Kathleen Anderson, owner of Equine Veterinary Care and Barbaro's chief physician, is on the far side of Matz's barn at Fair Hill. In the waiting room are four sports pages: one from the day after Barbaro ran to a 6 1/2-length victory in the Derby, the other three proclaiming the horse's greatness on the eve of the Preakness.
.....
Barbaro's stall was the first one on the left when Anderson walked from her clinic into the barn. It saddened her to see the empty stall for a week after the Preakness, just as it surprised her to see a new resident Sunday.

"When I first came in, I asked, 'Who is that?' You couldn't put an average horse in there; it had to be someone special," Anderson said. "When I found out it was Barbaro's baby brother, I thought that was fine. Keep it in the family."

But Man In Havana is no Barbaro.

"One of the things that made the saddest, aside from his actual welfare, is that it changed the future of what we had to look forward to this year ... This is very final. He is never coming back," Anderson said. ..."
~~~~~
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13036999/

" ... “Changing the cast ... is significant because then he’ll be able to take a look at the leg and see how it’s healing,” said Gail Luciani, spokeswoman for the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary school.

Prado, one of the nation’s leading riders, resumed racing after the Preakness and has posted several wins. He said last week the races help him keep his mind off his anguish over the Preakness injury, which ended Barbaro’s Triple Crown bid and racing career. ..."