December 4, 2006 @ 2:18 pm
Barbaro
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.
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2 Responses to “Barbaro”
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December 12th, 2006 at 11:53 pm
Here is a good blog for info about Barbaro
http://www.timwoolleyracing.com/news/
You have to be a total Barbaro-maniac to read it all.
Thanks for your blog! I enjoy checking it.
January 10th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
Thanks for the link to the Barbaro blog which I’ll check to keep updated on his progress.
Unfortunately it looks like his hoof problems continue in 2007.