I thought that splint bones were hard bony swellings found on the inside of the cannon bone of the forelegs of horses. They can cause some soreness and lameness for a few weeks but usually have little long term effect.

However, following the recent racing injury of a friend’s horse, I found out that horses actually have splint bones which are remanants of two of the five bones of prehistoric horses which run down each side of the cannon bone. The splint bones are attached to the cannon bone by ligament but have some mobility. Splints can occur etiher between the splint bone and cannon bone or directly on the splint bone.

This led me to do some further research. The splint bones are vestigial second and fourth toes (metacarpal and metatarsal bones) and the hoof is a development of the third toe. The fifth toe appears to have been lost but a remnant of the first toe remains as a chestnut.

I was very impressed with Barbaro and his win in the 2006 Kentucky Derby. He was undefeated and I thought a possible ’superhorse’. Barbaro was favourite for the 2006 Preakness Stakes in May but badly injured his right hind leg during the race. Barbaro broke three bones and dislocated his fetlock.

I watched Barbaro’is progress quite closely in the first few weeks as I know that horses with such serious injuries are usually very poor patients. Barbaro certainly lost all of his condition in those early weeks and looked a shadow of his former self.

I knew it would be a long recovery process and recently checked on Barbaro’s progress. The most recent prognosis is good as he had the cast removed from his broken leg in November and is both standing and walking well on this leg. I also  found out that there had been additional problems during the summer. Firstly Barbaro had an infection in his broken leg but then had severe laminitis in his good hind leg, from compensating for the injury in the other leg. They had to surgically remove most of the laminitic hoof. This resulted in both hind legs in casts and he had to be in a sling.

Even if Barbaro never achieved a superhorse status from his race wins, I certainly think he deserves this accolade for his determination to overcome a series of life-threatening injuries and problems. I hope Barbaro continues to make a good recovery and enjoys a happy life either at pasture or at stud.