MillIronQH
Well-known member
By DAN GELSTON, AP Sports Writer
Every time the outlook was grim for Barbaro, the
Kentucky Derby winner pulled through like a
champ. After months of upbeat progress reports,
news came of a significant setback Wednesday
because of the laminitis — a painful, often fatal
disease — afflicting his left hind hoof.
Chief surgeon Dean Richardson removed damaged
tissue from Barbaro's left hind hoof, the first
bad news weeks after owners Gretchen and Roy
Jackson and New Bolton's chief surgeon Dean
Richardson talked about releasing the colt from
the hospital by the end of the month.
"Things were marching along pretty smoothly until
this," Gretchen Jackson said. "We've been there
before with him. He's a horse that wants to live."
Richardson was "pulling out all the stops" to
save Barbaro, placing him back in a protective
sling in his ICU stall at the University of
Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center. The bay colt
has been here since shattering three bones in his
right hind leg just a few strides into the Preakness on May 20.
"They're taking extreme measures," Jackson said.
"They're treating it very aggressively. They're
really pulling out all the stops to help him."
Barbaro was in stable condition, according to a
statement released Wednesday morning by the
Center. The tissue was removed Tuesday night.
Jackson said she brought Barbaro grass on
Wednesday morning and said the colt's appearance
was "not as bright." But she added her husband,
Roy, visited Barbaro later in the day and he had visibly improved.
The latest blow comes one week after a new cast
was placed on Barbaro's laminitis-stricken left
hind foot to help realign a bone.
The cast change could have caused some
inflammation, said Dr. Kathleen Anderson,
Barbaro's attending vet when the horse was racing
and stabled in trainer Michael Matz's barn at the
Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md.
Anderson said Barbaro has proved he was strong
enough to overcome his latest medical obstacle.
"We all know most horses don't get this far," she
said. "The bottom line with Barbaro is the
fractured leg is the one that would have been the
end of most horses. He won't be getting to the
big green field any time soon, but I don't think this is insurmountable."
Barbaro had become uncomfortable on his left hind
foot and a cast was removed after some new
separation on the inside portion of his hoof was found.
After his injury in the Preakness, Barbaro
developed severe laminitis, a potentially fatal
disease caused by uneven weight distribution in
the limbs — in mid-July. The result was that 80
percent of his left hind hoof was removed.
"I was there (Tuesday) and it was obvious he was
not comfortable in that foot," Jackson said. "The
easiest and best way to work on Barbaro is when
he's laying down. They had to wait until he was
laying down and when they removed the cast, they
discovered some reason for him feeling pain."
Just over a week ago, Richardson said Barbaro's
right hind was getting stronger and should
eventually be healthy enough to allow the colt to
live a comfortable, happy life.
But he also warned: "Barbaro's left hind foot,
which had laminitis, remains a more formidable
long-term challenge. The foot must grow much more
for him to have a truly successful outcome."
Still, the Jacksons and Richardson remained
optimistic Barbaro could be on a Kentucky farm by the end of January.
"It's sad that's he's had a setback because he
was marching along toward living outside the
hospital," Jackson said. "The only thing we care
about is that he's not in pain."
The disease, called laminitis or founder,
involves inflammation and structural damage to
tissue that bonds the horse's bone to the inner
wall of the hoof. Richardson said in July that
Barbaro's laminitis was "basically as bad a
laminitis as you can have. It's as bad as it gets."
Every time the outlook was grim for Barbaro, the
Kentucky Derby winner pulled through like a
champ. After months of upbeat progress reports,
news came of a significant setback Wednesday
because of the laminitis — a painful, often fatal
disease — afflicting his left hind hoof.
Chief surgeon Dean Richardson removed damaged
tissue from Barbaro's left hind hoof, the first
bad news weeks after owners Gretchen and Roy
Jackson and New Bolton's chief surgeon Dean
Richardson talked about releasing the colt from
the hospital by the end of the month.
"Things were marching along pretty smoothly until
this," Gretchen Jackson said. "We've been there
before with him. He's a horse that wants to live."
Richardson was "pulling out all the stops" to
save Barbaro, placing him back in a protective
sling in his ICU stall at the University of
Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center. The bay colt
has been here since shattering three bones in his
right hind leg just a few strides into the Preakness on May 20.
"They're taking extreme measures," Jackson said.
"They're treating it very aggressively. They're
really pulling out all the stops to help him."
Barbaro was in stable condition, according to a
statement released Wednesday morning by the
Center. The tissue was removed Tuesday night.
Jackson said she brought Barbaro grass on
Wednesday morning and said the colt's appearance
was "not as bright." But she added her husband,
Roy, visited Barbaro later in the day and he had visibly improved.
The latest blow comes one week after a new cast
was placed on Barbaro's laminitis-stricken left
hind foot to help realign a bone.
The cast change could have caused some
inflammation, said Dr. Kathleen Anderson,
Barbaro's attending vet when the horse was racing
and stabled in trainer Michael Matz's barn at the
Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md.
Anderson said Barbaro has proved he was strong
enough to overcome his latest medical obstacle.
"We all know most horses don't get this far," she
said. "The bottom line with Barbaro is the
fractured leg is the one that would have been the
end of most horses. He won't be getting to the
big green field any time soon, but I don't think this is insurmountable."
Barbaro had become uncomfortable on his left hind
foot and a cast was removed after some new
separation on the inside portion of his hoof was found.
After his injury in the Preakness, Barbaro
developed severe laminitis, a potentially fatal
disease caused by uneven weight distribution in
the limbs — in mid-July. The result was that 80
percent of his left hind hoof was removed.
"I was there (Tuesday) and it was obvious he was
not comfortable in that foot," Jackson said. "The
easiest and best way to work on Barbaro is when
he's laying down. They had to wait until he was
laying down and when they removed the cast, they
discovered some reason for him feeling pain."
Just over a week ago, Richardson said Barbaro's
right hind was getting stronger and should
eventually be healthy enough to allow the colt to
live a comfortable, happy life.
But he also warned: "Barbaro's left hind foot,
which had laminitis, remains a more formidable
long-term challenge. The foot must grow much more
for him to have a truly successful outcome."
Still, the Jacksons and Richardson remained
optimistic Barbaro could be on a Kentucky farm by the end of January.
"It's sad that's he's had a setback because he
was marching along toward living outside the
hospital," Jackson said. "The only thing we care
about is that he's not in pain."
The disease, called laminitis or founder,
involves inflammation and structural damage to
tissue that bonds the horse's bone to the inner
wall of the hoof. Richardson said in July that
Barbaro's laminitis was "basically as bad a
laminitis as you can have. It's as bad as it gets."
