Barbaro

Thanks, DUDE!

 

Most recent AP story still has lots of caution in it:


KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. (AP) - Barbaro underwent more than five hours of surgery Sunday to repair rear leg bones he'd broken in the Preakness, calmly awoke from anesthesia and "practically jogged back to his stall" for something to eat.

His survival, however, is still 50-50.

Despite the huge first step on the road to recovery, Dr. Dean Richardson said the Kentucky Derby winner's fate still came down to "a coin toss."

"Right now he's very happy," Richardson said after the surgery at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center for Large Animals. "He's eating, he's doing very good. But I've been doing this too long to know that day one is not the end of things."

The strapping 3-year-old colt sustained "life-threatening injuries" Saturday when he broke bones above and below his right rear ankle at the start of the Preakness Stakes. His surgery began around 1 p.m. Sunday, and it wasn't until some eight hours later that Richardson and trainer Michael Matz emerged to announce that all had gone well.

"From the last time I saw him to now was a big relief," said a visibly fatigued Matz. "They did an excellent job. It's just an amazing thing to see him walk in like that.

"I feel much more comfortable now. I feel at least he has a chance."

Unbeaten and a serious contender for the Triple Crown, Barbaro broke down Saturday only a few hundred yards into the 1 3-16-mile Preakness in Baltimore. The record crowd of 118,402 watched in shock as Barbaro veered sideways, his right leg flaring out grotesquely. Jockey Edgar Prado pulled the powerful colt to a halt, jumped off and awaited medical assistance.

Barbaro sustained a broken cannon bone above the ankle, a broken sesamoid bone behind the ankle and a broken long pastern bone below the ankle. The fetlock joint _ the ankle _ was dislocated.

Richardson said the pastern bone was shattered in "20-plus pieces."

The bones were put in place to fuse the joint by inserting a plate and 23 screws to repair damage so severe that most horses would not be able to survive it.

When he came out of surgery, Barbaro was lifted by sling and placed on a raft in a pool so he could calmly awake from the anesthetic.

Richardson said the horse "practically jogged back to his stall" and was wearing a cast from just below the hock to the hoof.

"He's a real genuine athlete, there's no doubt about it," Richardson said. "Even the way he woke up from anesthesia, he was very much the athlete waking up from general anesthesia."

Richardson again stressed that Barbaro had many hurdles to clear.

"Horses with this type of injury are very, very susceptible to lots of other problems, including infection at the site," he said.

Horses are frequently euthanized after serious leg injuries because circulation problems and deadly disease can arise if they can't distribute weight evenly _ and lying down for long periods can cause internal problems, making immobilization or elevation impossible.

Richardson said he expects Barbaro to remain at the center for several weeks, but "it wouldn't surprise me if he's here much longer than that."

 

Ya think they'd reward a horse after hours of surgery with a cheeseburger or something , or maybe some ice cream. He eats hay every day.

Seriously, I just finished the centerpiece on the Barbaro surgery (it was on 1A because it was such a slow news day and I think at this point more than just sports fans are following this story). It was great to see those post-surgery photos, and not just because it made my CP so much better. I'm amazed he was up, around and walking so soon. Those docs must know their shit.

Also, I was just thinking they must have seriously beaned up the horse to ensure it wouldn't get antsy and possibly really hurt itself. Let's hope he recovers and doesn't have to deal with a serious infection. I do not want to have to deal with an R.I.P. centerpiece. Putting together the info box on Ruffian and Go For Wand today was not fun at all.

 

Thank God he survived. I just got to the Heinz piece, and if Barbaro had died, I'd have lost it.

 

Oats and a big ole salt block.

 

Was in a restaurant with a couple of TVs last night, and the bastards couldn't show enough of the injury. Even looked up,
once, and was treated to a clip of Ruffian after the breakdown. I'd worked hard to avoid watching any tape of the
Ruffian match race for more than 15 years, and was sorely pissed. Recycling this stuff is like watching replays of the Twin Towers collapse . ..
enough, already. We get it.

 

The Ruffian clip was really horrifying. Much worse, if you can believe it, than the Barbaro footage.

 

ESPN did the same thing 10 years ago on Opening Day when the ump keeled over behind home plate. You couldn't turn around without seeing the "footage."

 

God, I really hope you mean they're just playing it too much.

 

Honestly, everytime I opened this thread Sunday, I expected to find that either Barbaro had to be put down before surgery or that the veterinarians decided during surgery that there just wasn't anything they could do for him.

And I suspect part of the reason the vets are doing this is just to see if it can be done, given advances in modern medical technology. Admittedly, Barbaro will command high fees at stud, but to me there's a sense that if they can do it for Barbaro, they can do it for any horse that suffers a similar injury. I wish them the best of luck.

 

3BF: EXACTLY what I mean . . . no more, no less. Overexposure of such footage brings on depression, which is hardly
needed in these difficult times . . .

 

Sadly, there'll be a cost factor for some owners to weigh.

If it's a graded stakes winner or a filly sired by a graded stakes winner, they may try to keep it alive.

If it's just a claimer or allowance horse, the only way it'll be kept alive is if the owner has deep pockets and a big heart.