Thursday, January 11, 2007

I believe in Barbaro






Remember Barbaro? The promising young colt had many excited for the possibility of a Triple Crown winner in 06 before suffering an almost unbearable to watch injury in the first few lengths of the Preakness last May. After undergoing surgery to repair the 3 bones that were shattered in his right hind leg, he developed a condition called laminitis a few months later. This condition, caused by uneven weight distribution, is common among horses with this injury and is life threatening due to the effects of separation of tissue in the hoof wall. Now, after months of treatment for the laminitis, which included removal of a significant portion of Barbaro's hoof, he suffered a setback a few days ago due to the laminitis. Doctors at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center had to remove more tissue from the affected foot as well as change his cast. Since the recent surgery, doctors have performed new X-rays that show no new complications in either leg, and the horse is still eating well and moving on his own to the best of his abilities. You can read more about this postive sign here.

As an animal lover and a former horse-back riding enthusiast, I have been keeping an eye on the courageous Barbaro since his initial accident in May 20, 2006. You can be sure that any and all updates I can find will be hosted here as I continue to hope for the best for this brave-hearted horse. You can also find a variety of resources, including updates, photo galleries, FAQs, and other information at University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center website, which has a link at the very bottom of the page for fans to send Barbaro your good wishes.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

They could have saved him - there were things they could have done, before things started getting bad. It would have prevented the bad! Barbaro - you are a true hero!

Victoria said...

It is terrible that such a truly magnificent creature had to even go through such a struggle to begin with because of a supposed "sport."