Posted on 07/14/2006 6:58:52 AM PDT by MinorityRepublican
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. (AP) -- Barbaro was doing "much better" Friday morning, a day after his veterinarian said the Kentucky Derby winner was a "long shot" to survive a potentially fatal hoof disease.
"He had a good night last night, and even slept on his side," Dr. Dean Richardson told The Associated Press early Friday before re-entering the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals to check again on the 3-year-colt. "He's doing much better."
Richardson appeared a bit more upbeat than he was Thursday, when he told a packed news conference that Barbaro has a severe case of the disease laminitis in his left hind leg, and termed his condition "poor."
Barbaro looked every bit the champion Thursday, but it's how he acts in the next few days that will determine how much longer he lives.
Laminitis, Richardson said, is an "exquisitely painful" condition, and Barbaro has a case so bad that 80 percent of the Derby winner's left hoof wall was removed Wednesday. It could take as long as six months for the hoof to grow back. The disease is often caused by uneven weight distribution to a limb, usually because of serious injury to another.
Barbaro shattered three bones in his right hind leg just a few yards after the start of the Preakness Stakes on May 20.
While the news was good Friday, Barbaro's condition could change at any time.
"If he starts acting like he doesn't want to stand on the leg, that's it -- that will be when we call it quits," a blunt Richardson said Thursday at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center.
"It could happen within 24 hours," he added.
(Excerpt) Read more at sportsillustrated.cnn.com ...
He is quite the trooper and champion! Sending healing thoughts and prayers to Barbaro!
Yes indeed.
I have never touched that great animal. Some day I really hope I have the chance.
Prayers and thoughts for Barbaro from here too.
How dear!
I have a feeling he *heard* what the Doc was saying last week, too. You know which day I mean.
Another FReeper mentioned early-on having a horse that *knew* what was about to happen and got on the fast train back to good health.
Very well said, Wolfstar. You speak for many.
Thanks! Wish I could - no player on this PC I've been having to use. Sure miss it - the sound card, too - and hate missing any Barbaro videos, for sure.
Hopefully, the fans on this thread will click your links and *enjoy*!
Thanks, y'all, for your kind words for Barbaro.
If/When I get a headache on the M.E. war live thread or reading about wildfires, deaths, crimes, destruction - I just hunt down some news about Bobby or come back and read over our threads here and I feel better in no time (*most* of the time).
Thanks, Barbaro!
Thank you for this ping and all of the other "Bobby" pings.
This made me smile.
I don't respond much, but that doesn't mean that I don't apreciate the updates.
Barbaro is a king.
That's OK - all lurkers welcome. Sometimes I feel bad because I haven't had the time to pare down the pings on this - not sure which to cut unless someone FReepmails me.
I wouldn't want to leave anyone out and I restrain myself most "same old, same old" days so the pings don't get annoying. His ups are so glorious, if small, and his down is so devastating, that it's hard to decide sometimes.
Caring about Barbaro is a little oasis of love in this world, as many folks across the US and probably worldwide have discovered. Helps put other things aside for just a little while, to see what this guy will be up to next.
I Thank you God and University of Penn!
http://www.vet.upenn.edu/newsandevents/news/Barbaro_Update7-18.htm
Barbaro's casts changed
July 18, 2006
KENNETT SQUARE, PA -- Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro remains in stable condition with good vital signs after a restful night, according to Chief of Surgery Dean Richardson. “Yesterday afternoon we changed his right hind leg cast to take new radiographs and to examine the incision,” said Dr. Richardson. “The radiographs looked good; the plates we placed on July 8 to fuse the pastern are intact and the fetlock fusion is unchanged. The leg and the incision looked as good as we could have hoped.”
The right hind leg cast supports the repair of the injury suffered at the Preakness on May 20, and it extends from the colt’s foot to just below his hock.
The modified foot cast, which acts like a bandage on Barbaro’s left hind foot, was also changed yesterday. The foot cast is rigid and provides stability and support, but will be changed often so that the hoof can be treated. Both cast changes were performed with Barbaro lightly sedated in a sling. He has adapted very well to being managed as needed in the sling. “He is a very intelligent horse,” said Dr. Richardson.
Barbaro continues to be monitored closely in the Intensive Care Unit of the George D. Widener Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center.
Barbaro a hero because he lacks human flaws
By Linda Robertson
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/15060420.htm
The cards and letters keep coming, enough to fill stables. Flowers, too - especially roses. Well-wishers drive out of their way to visit. Faith healers call. Schoolchildren send drawings.
The patient can't acknowledge the outpouring of affection. Nor is he aware of a nation's concern. He is, after all, a horse.
But Barbaro isn't just any horse. He was the Triple Crown favorite who broke down after bolting from the Preakness starting gate. Millions watched as his right hind leg buckled and cracked, then hung on a hinge of tissue, dangling grotesquely as jockey Edgar Prado pulled him to a stop.
These 1,200-pound thoroughbreds are so powerful, yet their legs are as delicate as the stems of wine glasses.
Now, Barbaro cannot do the one thing he was born to do - run. It is his immobility that could kill him. The casts and confinement are causing a chain reaction of infection.
He is fighting for his life. So why has Barbaro's heart captivated so many? He is, after all, a horse.
At first, it was thought Barbaro would have to be put down, euthanized like the filly Ruffian was in 1975. But after surgery to insert a plate and 27 screws, he was given a 50 percent chance of survival.
Seven weeks later come the complications Barbaro's veterinarian feared. Dr. Dean Richardson removed 80 percent of Barbaro's left hind hoof to treat acute laminitis caused by Barbaro putting too much weight on his good leg. It could be months before Barbaro is out of the woods. Or it could be days until his pain is too severe to manage.
His owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, face tough decisions. As Richardson said, if they sustain Barbaro's life and Barbaro doesn't make it, they'll be criticized for hanging on too long. If they put him to sleep, they'll be criticized for quitting too early.
Racing fans and people who know nothing about the sport have been riveted by Barbaro's plight and follow every update out of Pennsylvania.
Barbaro is, after all, a horse. Why the tears shed on his behalf?
He is a hero unencumbered by human flaws. At a time when so many of the people we look up to let us down, Barbaro doesn't lie, cheat or manipulate. In a world boiling with hate and revenge, he's not cruel, greedy or power-mad. After he won the Kentucky Derby, he was happy to receive pats on the neck and extra oats. His innocence prevents disillusionment. He gives and gets unconditional love.
Who hasn't adored a pet and the pet's unflagging optimism? Who hasn't fantasized about riding a horse, either off into the sunset like John Wayne or across the finish line like Pat Day? Who hasn't daydreamed about being an animal - carefree and content to frolic in an open field?
Race horses aren't bred to be cuddly creatures. They're not as smart as Lassie. But there's something about their majesty and the "brightness in the eyes" that Richardson checks for in Barbaro that makes them idealized objects of affection.
Americans loved Man O'War, Seabiscuit, Citation, Secretariat, Ruffian, Seattle Slew, Funny Cide. Now they are rooting for Barbaro to give it his all in recovery as he did on the track.
The thin legs and small hooves that carried him so swiftly have turned into the source of his entrapment. A human would have to land on his middle finger to approximate the same proportion of weight a thoroughbred's hoof supports when it hits the ground.
Barbaro is like a bird without wings. He's hobbling or harnessed in a giant sling, caught in a race for his life.
Barbaro's jockey Prado earns ESPY Award
http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/todaysnews/newsview.asp?recno=65169&subsec=1
Jockey Edgar Prado, who earned the first Kentucky Derby (G1) victory of his career this spring aboard Barbaro, won an ESPY Award as best jockey.
ESPN's ESPY Awards were broadcast Sunday night and Prado took top honors over finalists Garrett Gomez and reigning Eclipse Award winner John Velazquez in the awards determined by fan voting.
Two weeks after the Derby victory, Prado was credited with helping to save Barbaro's life when the colt shattered his right hind leg early in the Preakness Stakes (G1). Prado shifted his weight to help Barbaro keep some weight off the injured leg while pulling him to a stop. Prado visited Barbaro on Friday at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center.
Prado leads all North American jockeys in earnings this year with $9,740,659. He has won 140 races from 736 mounts.
My first thought every morning is of Barbaro, my first prayer for him too. I'm surprised at myself for staying so close to him in spirit for this long.
Get well, Horsey Boy.
;-)
It's not too easy. Thank God for the excellent doctors.
Hooray for Edgar! He deserves it, hands down.
Thanks for posting that new story. Glad to see you here. Barbaro needs all the FRiends and prayers he can get!
This horse has some spirit...extraordinary. Thanks for keeping us up to date on this great equine athlete.
Wonderful story about our boy!
" ... Barbaro doesn't lie, cheat or manipulate. In a world boiling with hate and revenge, he's not cruel, greedy or power-mad. After he won the Kentucky Derby, he was happy to receive pats on the neck and extra oats. His innocence prevents disillusionment. He gives and gets unconditional love. ... "
Says it all.
Sit, Barbaro, Sit! Good Boy!
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