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Click on Barbaro and Dr. Richardson on The Early Show for video.

KENNETT SQUARE, Penn. It's been just over three months since Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was severely injured, breaking his leg while running the Preakness. Though his recovery has been slow and anything but steady, the colt's doctors are very encouraged by his recent progress, according to The Early Show's resident veterinarian, Dr. Debbye Turner. She went to New Bolton Center at the University of Pennsylvania College of Veterinary Medicine in Kennett Square, Penn., to visit Barbaro and his surgeon, fellow veterinarian Dr. Dean Richardson, and filed an exclusive update on the thoroughbred's condition. From the start, Turner said, Barbaro has...

PHILADELPHIA - How's this for a breath of fresh air? Barbaro is enjoying daily outings outside his intensive care stall to pick his own grass, enjoy the warm weather and stretch his recovering legs. Barbaro stepped outside his ICU stall and started daily walks on a grassy area near the unit last week for the first time since having catastrophic injuries in the Preakness nearly three months ago. The Kentucky Derby winner, also recovering from a severe case of laminitis on his left hoof, continues to show signs he's on the road to recovery. "It's a big step just to...

After almost three months in the Intensive Care Unit of Penn's George D. Widener Hospital, classic winner Barbaro has begun brief outings to some grassy areas adjacent to the ICU to hand graze. "We felt he was ready for a change of scenery, so last week we took him outside to pick his own grass," said Dr. Dean Richardson, chief of surgery. "He's not outside for a long time, but it's enough to let him enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. If he remains this comfortable, he will be hand-grazed daily." "I'm very pleased with his progress," Richardson said of...

Barbaro’s fractured right hind leg is healing well, and veterinarians say they are encouraged by the progress the colt is showing in regrowing the hoof wall on his left hind leg. Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby winner who took a catastrophic misstep that shattered his right hind leg in the Preakness Stakes on May 20, was said to be resting comfortably yesterday in the intensive care unit of the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals in Kennett Square, Pa. On Tuesday, his cast was changed. “The leg looked good under the cast, especially considering the length of time that he...

By now, Barbaro should have been close to casting aside any doubts that he could make a full recovery from the devastating right hind leg injuries he suffered at the Preakness Stakes (gr. I). Instead, the winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) still has a tedious, long recovery ahead because of the often-fatal disease that's stricken his left hind leg. Dr. Dean Richardson said Tuesday that the painful hoof disease the colt has is preventing the cast on his right hind from being removed because the colt could not protect himself by bearing more weight...

Part of the morning ritual now at the Fair Hill Training Center: Shortly before 7 on Wednesday, Alex Brown, a veteran exercise rider at Fair Hill, on a 2-year-old filly named Chappaqua, headed back to the barn from the training track when he passed trainer Michael Matz on his pony. From his horse, Brown asked the standard question: "Do you have the news from last night?" "Everything's the same," Matz, who had already spoken to Barbaro's surgeon, told Brown. "It's good." Within a few minutes of the brief exchange, Update No. 316 was posted at www.timwoolleyracing.com: "Another comfortable night last...

KENNETT SQUARE, PA — According to Chief of Surgery Dean Richardson, Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro slept well after his left hind foot bandage was changed yesterday. “I’m happy with the appearance of this foot, which is doing as well as can be expected,” said Dr. Richardson. “Over the last several days, his temperature has been normal and his blood work has significantly improved suggesting that the infection in his right hind is under control.” His heart rate is also consistently normal now, a good indication that he is stable and comfortable. Barbaro remains in the Intensive Care Unit of Penn’s...

Day to day, for six straight days now, the reports on Barbaro have been good. Good vitals, good attitude, stable. Dr. Dean Richardson is looking way beyond those daily updates, however. "His condition is not likely to change really fast any time soon," said Richardson, the chief surgeon attending the Kentucky Derby winner at the New Bolton Center. "We're in a marathon at this point. "The issue is months, not days," he said Wednesday. "He has a long, long way to go." As most racing fans know, the 3-year-old colt is recovering from a shattered right hind leg, which broke...

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. (AP) -- Barbaro is holding his own, for now. Following a week in which it appeared the ailing Kentucky Derby winner might not live much longer, Barbaro remained in stable condition Saturday while being treated for a painful and often-fatal foot disease. "His heart rate and pulse are normal, and his appetite is good," Dr. Dean Richardson said Saturday in a statement issued by the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center. "He continues to respond well, looks good and has a positive attitude." Encouraging news, for sure. But at this tense point, there is really no way...

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. (AP) -- Barbaro was doing "much better" Friday morning, a day after his veterinarian said the Kentucky Derby winner was a "long shot" to survive a potentially fatal hoof disease. "He had a good night last night, and even slept on his side," Dr. Dean Richardson told The Associated Press early Friday before re-entering the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals to check again on the 3-year-colt. "He's doing much better." Richardson appeared a bit more upbeat than he was Thursday, when he told a packed news conference that Barbaro has a severe case of the...

Barbaro's condition turned "potentially serious" again Wednesday, a day after the Kentucky Derby winner's veterinarian gave a more upbeat report, saying the colt was stable and resting comfortably. Dean Richardson, the chief surgeon at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center, also said the colt faced "tough odds" and that doctors were looking at all possible treatments to keep the 3-year-old comfortable. "Our entire staff is determined to do all they can for this magnificent horse," Richardson said in a statement issued by the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals. A New Bolton Center spokeswoman said there will be...

For nearly 6 weeks after the catastrophic injuries Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro suffered in the May 20 Preakness, the colt's recovery from the May 21 surgery on his right hind leg had gone better than even the most optimistic had hoped. From the start, Dr. Dean Richardson, who performed the surgery, warned everyone that it could turn the other way at any time. In the last week, almost nothing has gone right for Barbaro. Last night, Richardson said the colt has developed "potentially serious'' complications, including an infection in the leg. When asked how he thought this might play out,...

Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro has developed "potentially serious" complications to his injured right hind leg, and underwent surgery to replace hardware and treat a new infection. Late Saturday, the 3-year-old colt, who shattered his leg at the start of the Preakness on May 20, had the titanium plate and a number of screws replaced after developing discomfort in the leg and a "consistently" high temperature. The surgery was performed by Dr. Dean Richardson at the University of Pennsylvania New Bolton Center, where Barbaro has been recovering in the intensive care unit. In a statement released Sunday, Richardson emphasized that the...

Barbaro, winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), is being closely monitored after developing complications this week requiring more surgery and treatment of an abscess. Doctors at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center changed Barbaro's cast twice in three days, once on Monday to replace bent screws in his shattered right hind leg and a second time Wednesday because the horse seemed uncomfortable.

Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro continues to please veterinarians with his progress in his recovery from surgery to repair his shattered right hind leg sustained in the Preakness Stakes on May 20. The colt remains in intensive care at the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. "Barbaro continues to improve; he is maintaining his weight and his coat looks good," said Corinne Sweeney, D.V.M, executive director of the Widener Hospital. "I would say he is a happy, healthy horse."

KENNETT SQUARE, PA. -- His coat gleaming and muscles rippling, Barbaro still has the look of a champion. One month after the Kentucky Derby winner's life-threatening breakdown in the Preakness Stakes, the colt remains cooped up in the intensive care unit at the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals at New Bolton Center. But he's making such steady improvement, even surgeon Dean Richardson can't help but smile when discussing the world's most famous equine patient. "This horse has had a remarkably smooth progression of events, he's just done everything right so far," Richardson said. "He's a lively, bright, happy...

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. -- His coat gleaming and muscles rippling, Barbaro still has the look of a champion. Exactly one month after the Kentucky Derby winner's life-threatening breakdown in the Preakness Stakes, the colt remains cooped up in the intensive care unit at the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals at New Bolton Center. But he's making such steady improvement -- and looks so splendid -- even surgeon Dean Richardson can't help but smile when discussing the world's most famous equine patient. "This horse has had a remarkably smooth progression of events; he's just done everything right so far,"...

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. -- Barbaro had the cast replaced on his shattered right hind leg Tuesday, another huge stride in the recovery of the Kentucky Derby winner who suffered a life-threatening injury at the Preakness. Barbaro's cast was replaced under general anesthesia, and the 3-year-old bay colt had a very smooth pool recovery, the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine's New Bolton Center said in a statement. Dean Richardson, the chief of surgery at the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals, replaced the cast he first put on Barbaro's leg during surgery May 21. "His leg looks excellent,"...

(snip) — KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. - Barbaro is enjoying a quiet Memorial Day weekend, good news for the Kentucky Derby winner who is a week removed from surgery for a life-threatening injury. "Barbaro is doing very well and seems perfectly content spending his holiday weekend at New Bolton Center receiving abundant carrots, apples and veterinary attention," said Corinne Sweeney, executive director at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center.