Posted on 05/21/2006 7:03:50 PM PDT by Paul8148
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. -- Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro came out of a day-long surgery Sunday to repair three broken bones in his right rear leg and "practically jogged back to the stall," the colt's surgeon said.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.espn.go.com ...
My best to Barbaro--fingers crossed that the surgery will 'take' and he will live a long,happy life in green pastures.
Very tough to take.
I lost my old Labrador to his back going out suddenly. It seems he had an undetected weakness in his back that had been there some time, so long that a 'bone bridge' had formed to try to compensate. It worked, until his foot had an issue and was wrapped, and he was having to hop in the back. It was a surprise when he just couldn't get up off the floor the next day, not in any pain, but completely paralyzed. Xrays showed his back was broken and he'd not walk again. He had a ticking time bomb there.. a little weakness we'd never have known about before it went off. Perhaps this incident with Barbaro, and your horse were similar. A leg is only as strong as it's weakest link. :~\
I'm sorry. *sniff* S'pose horsies go to the Rainbow Bridge like other animals, or do they have their own bridle path to the Great Beyond, where they await us?
Wherever it is, I hope you will be reunited with your steed when the time comes.
~~~~~
I'm trying to picture what that pool raft looks like for post-op recovery. First I'm thinking of the inflatables we all have - seeing a humongous horse lying with its head on the little pillow.
Then I'm thinking more along the lines of Cleopatra's barge on the Nile. But Barbaro is a boy! So, I guess it's made out of lumber or old boards and is a Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn kind of raft with a little piece of cloth for a flag, lol!
Thanks for the updates...here's one for you if you haven't seen it already.
Sounds like good news. Hope there are no complications.
prisoner6
It's true you just never know what could be behind something like that. I'm sorry to hear about your dog, some things are just freaky.
Our horse was only 4 years old, the vet said that type of injury is usually seen in race horses, but he had seen quite a few like ours that were just the result of a bad step, possibly on a small rock that rolled as he stepped on it or something like that.
I'd envision a torso and neck wrap of buoyant material, kind of a horsie life vest, with a tether to keep the horse far enough away from the edges of the pool such that if it kicks upon awakening it cannot kick anything hard.
In this photo provided by the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Dean Richardson controls Barbaro as the horse is transported from the pool following surgery at the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center Sunday, May 21, 2006, in Kennett Square, Pa. (AP Photo/University of Pennsylvania, Sabina Louise Pierce)
Don't you know it felt good for him to wake up with at least his "ankle" back in its "socket," even if he did have a bunch of plates and screws attached to his bones?
That dislocation just had to be the most painful part. The doc said the fractures didn't break the skin, which was also fortuitous for Barbaro.
The Bible scarcely addresses the subject, only as a passing reference in Ecclesiastes which could be rhetorical. ("Who knows the man's spirit goes upward while the animal's goes downward.") There could be no literal Hell for animals because they are not moral agents and as such cannot be charged with sin.
OK--thank you! I can just barely see, because it's really dark on my old monitor, whatever is partially under that catwalk, or whatever it is, that crosses the pool in the middle. Would that be the raft part?
How deep do you think the pool is? Gosh, when you think about what the docs have to go through with the surgery, then worrying about getting the new bandages and sutures wet - water has to be some kind of perfect chemical balance, I'm sure - then making sure the horse doesn't drown, but doesn't stand on the bottom, either - very intricate procedures all the way through, then more bandages to be put on.
And this is just Day One. But so cool that Barbaro was hungry and could eat, after anesthesia! Hurray!
As an owner of a blind, diabetic Lab who is a member of my family this is sad.
Dr. Dean Richardson walks with Kentucky Derby champion Barbaro following surgery at the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center on May 21, 2006. (University of Pennsylvania/Sabina Louise Pierce/Handout/Reuters)
Dr. Richardson, left, and Barbaro's trainer, Michael Matz during the post-surgery news conference.
It looks chlorinated... don't know about sterilized.
Rte66, RE dark monitor... I lived that way too long. Check your video card and monitor and replace 'em... that picture's not all that dark and there's a better life out there where you can see !
I just can't help but think it's possible there was a tiny hairline micro-fracture of some kind before the "wrong step" Barbaro took.
One story mentioned in passing that he had gone to his knees at some point pre-gate - but I'm also thinking that was pre-Derby maybe. I didn't see it - but I also was asleep, not on purpose - grrr - during the Preakness run-up and awoke with a start just as the leg must have snapped.
On TV, Barbaro was limping sideways towards the rail and the other horses were running on - I thought I was seeing a replay and had slept through the whole race - but it *was* the race. Dazed and confused, I couldn't figure out what had happened for a few seconds.
Sorry you lost your furbaby - I know how bad it feels.
The manner in which race horse have been treated over the last century is despicable. All racing breeds - Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds, Arabians, and Quarter Horses - are subject to inhumane treatment. The abuse ranges from neglect and simple lack of education on the part of the trainers, to violence against the horses, as well as dangerous - sometimes deadly - drugs.
Horses - especially Thoroughbreds - are started under saddle around the age of two; this can be up to five years before a horse's skeleton is fully developed. (The human equivalent to this would be for an eight-year-old child to run around with a 50 pound sack of coal.) Thoroughbred, Quarter Horses and Arabians who race under saddle are not taught how to listen to their rider, or do anything but gallop at top speed, WHICH CAN CAUSE SEVERE LEG DAMAGE.
The constant pounding of the legs on a hard track can often cause tendons to bow. If left untreated, a damaged tendon can cause chronic pain and permanent unsoundness. The two main ways that a lame racehorse is dealt with are pin firing and nerving, both of which are extremely cruel to the horse.
Pin Firing is a process in which acid is injected into the injured tendon (and often the nerve), causing the area to swell and sometimes bleed. The theory is that the increased blood flow to the region will cause more rapid healing. In reality, pin firing can cause the injury to become chronic; it can also temporarily relieve pain, allowing the horse to further injure himself.
Nerving is a very dangerous and cruel method of treatment. Acid is again injected into the injured area, but it is intentionally injected into the nerve. This numbs the nerve, allowing the horse to move without pain. Horses that cannot feel pain do not know that they have been injured, and they will run until they completely shatter the bones in their legs. When this happens, owners have no choice but to sell the horse to slaughter, or have him destroyed.
Many race horses who have second careers after they race are very sensitive to a rider because of the permanent damage inflicted on their spines (caused by being ridden at too young of an age). A racehorse's career is normally finished by the time he is 5, and if he was not fast, he will not be retired to stud. As a result, the majority of ex-race horses are sent to public auctions to be sold. Many of these horses end up at the slaughter house, because race horses are considered by many to be unsuitable for anything but racing.
There are some horses that enjoy racing, but many do not, and are punished by their owners and trainers. For many owners, the race horse is a financial investment, not a living animal (the way many people see their trucks or cars). Many owners do not have the money to buy another horse if theirs is not fast enough, so their horse is forced to run even if he is unwilling or in pain.
Most horses are sent to slaughter houses by the time they are 5 - not yet fully grown.
Thanks for the nice post and pic.
Oh, believe me, if I could replace this monitor, and this PC, I would. I'm stuck with it/them, both.
I've run through three newer monitors in 4 years and this is my oldest (and last one left of the "spares") - it's over 15 years old and really isn't all that bad, just on some of the darkest colors--and not on all of them.
If y'all would just drive more and quit griping about the price of gas, maybe I could get new *everything*! (I don't even have a sound card or video on this PC, tho I did on all the other ones.) Long, pathetic story.
wow,, what a ride.. Thanks for the pics.
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