There is no way to keep the horse from putting his foot down and putting his weight on that broken ankle.
Well, there are actually some ways; there are contrivances that basically form a basket around the upper part of the leg, so that that takes the weight. But it's very darned hard to manage.
To be frank, this level of effort wouldn't be made if Barbaro were not a Kentucky Derby winner worth goodness-knows how much as a stallion.
"There is no way to keep the horse from putting his foot down and putting his weight on that broken ankle."
Sorry. Hair and I were talking about two-year-olds and bucked shins.
No, you cant keep a horse off of his ankle for 6 weeks. YOu CAN put a cast on it though, one that can support his ankle and his weight.