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 reason for asking - as a CAT scan tech I was involved in new trauma injury imaging of 'submarining' years ago. That's when a driver just wears a shoulder belt to avoid a ticket. What happens is when you crash, since your not wearing the lower belt - you slide under the shoulder belt. Your knees impact the lower dashboard which results in the energy being transferred to your femurs and consequently pushing your hip sockets into your pelvic cavity. Anyhooz, a sub-specialty was created in orthopaedics just for this injury. Imagine every screw and plate in your garage and mix in colon and bladder contents to deal with. Now I know about horsies as well. Thanks again.
For a horse to survive on three legs is so rare as to be nearly unheard of. I didn't see that post, and don't think they'd survive well. One FReeper vet relayed a story about a groundbreaking prosthetic on a horse done at a University. It cost a million bucks. It's not a practical solution.
That's vivid, Westlander ;~\ - and I've been guilty of that seatbelt thing on cars that put the sholder belt on 'for you'.
Diddle E. Squat, I was exaggerating on the million bucks... I think he said six figures, which is still a lot of zeros. ;~D
True. A horse is not like a dog, cat or human. They have special needs. However, if someone wants to spend a million bucks to save a horse, I won't fault them for it.
Hmmm, well if they produce a few more the price should eventually come down, at least for used ones....
Well, maybe...
Still, a horse is useful mostly for it's ability to work and be ridden. They are usually too expensive to just be high maintenance pets... Generally speaking and valuable stud horses excepted, I think it will always be, 'no hoof, no horse'.
Ran across this.
http://www.oandp.com/edge/issues/articles/2004-04_09.asp
I was warned long ago about something some horse owners don't think about by the vet for the US Equestrian Team, about transporting horses long distances. He said if traveling long distances [something the Olympic team does a lot] in a standard straight or slant trailer with their head tied, it was vital to stop them at least every four hours, unload, and let them get their head down and graze, simply to avoid pneumonia. He said a common enough mistake was for people to take breaks, let the horses out of the trailer, but then turn around and feed them from a hay net still while tied short to the trailer on the ~outside~.
He said the equestrian team now travels in box stalls on a truck, much like home. Transporting long distance is much easier on the horse if they can move around in a box stall or stock type trailer. I thought it was interesting.
True but his genes will live on in all the foals he sires.
That's a pretty mangled looking leg. Dang people.
The report sounds as if this horsie was actually walking on the mended leg already. It sure looks well screwed together from the picture. Bravo for the veterinarians who continue to work on technology, it often comes back to help people in some way.
They've cloned sheep, how about horses?
They can save him for stud, I hope.
There are probably rules that have to be changed in order to have that happen. I am not even sure if they are allowed to use AI they way they do with dairy animals.
I am under the impression that Thoroughbreds cannot use AI. The stallion must be there and cover the mare. Anybody know the facts about this??
Yes, let's hope for the best in this recovery process!
OH, THANK YOU for this ping.
I am still praying for the horse.
Yes, praying for the horse.
Blood circulation is a big deal in a horse's leg- they don't have much blood supply. Also sheer weight on not only injured limbs but extra on good limbs when severe injury. Horses are hard to immobilize, and if immobilized then other life threatening issues can occur. It is a tightwire act to keep them from moving enough to reinjure yet moving enough to keep their system working properly. Horses are a lot more delicate than they appear to be. They are not always cooperative patients either, some will relax and accept treatment & rehab- others will fight against it.
Even with all the strides made in equine treatment, trying to save a horse with severe leg injuries is an uphill battle, throughout the whole process.
D*mn...
I hate to see those beautiful animals get injured like that.
I also wonder if the thorobreds have been bred to have minimal
muscle in the lower legs, which makes an injury like that
almost a death sentence...
Anyway, I hope and have prayed for a good recovery and a long
life for Barbaro.
His racing career was over from the moment of the break, but if he can get healthy enough to be mobile, there will be thousands in stud feeds for the owner.
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