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OK ... I know nothing about horses, but I've heard all my life that if it breaks its leg, it's doomed ... the leg never heals.

So,

Is there some magic with Barbaro that HIS leg is healing?
Aren't all bones the same .. like us .. we can be set and the bone comes back together .. does a horse's bone not knit back?

Or is it all in the time and money you have to put into a very long healing time?

If it were your horse, or my horse, would have been euthanized where it fell. It's not that the leg "never heals", it's just that it's difficult because a horse's leg has a poor blood supply and the legs are so fragile and supporting so much weight. When the weight gets shifted around, it can cause damage to the other legs (as happened in Barbaro's case). It's such an expensive proposition to support a horse's weight properly while the leg heals that most people can't afford it.

Barbaro's amazing recovery was a "perfect storm" -

1. His owners had the money to get top flight care

2. The vets were the best in the country with all the latest techniques (especially the recovery pool and the nursing care)

3. Barbaro did not panic on the track and damage the leg further or damage the opposite leg

4. Barbaro has a tremendous will to survive and heal. Some horses give up when they are immobilized.

I admit that when laminitis (founder) developed in the opposite hind foot I thought Barbaro was a goner. I think he fooled a lot of people -- but it's good to be fooled in this instance.