Hi.
See # 105.
Did you hear Michael talk about Barbaro and his owners this evening? If so, what did you think of that?
Horses circulatory system is very different than ours. The movement of their legs actually helps push blood back to the heart. If they can't use their leg it causes real problems with their circulation which is probably why he ended up a a severe case of laminitis in the left hind hoof (the uninjured leg). The laminitis itself was life threatening. They ended up having to remove 80 percent of Barbaro's left rear hoof because of it.
Barbaro had a shattered right leg, his left hoof was nearly amputated after wards. Later they removed even more of his left hind foot. Then he got the abscess in the right foot.
I mean, when it comes down to it, they don't make wheelchairs for horses. His cardiovascular health would never improve because he really couldn't walk well in this condition. I mean, would you or I?! Dr. Savage really put his foot in his mouth on this one and if he had just done about 10 minutes of research on the Internet to brush up on the facts, he wouldn't have been saying the mean things he was saying about the vets and the owners who have been managing this case all this time.
I'm sure the poor horse is in a better place as it should be