his surgery is slated for this morning. from what the vet said barbaro was very quiet, calm, and co-operative with them yest. that is a big plus in his favour.
he did get a police escort to new bolton. now we wait to see how he comes out of the aneth. and deals with the sling.
as was mentioned up thread (realitychuck), ruffian did not do well coming out of the aneth. most herbivores will fight to get to thier feet, get them under them, ready to run. ruffian did unbelievable damage to her leg coming out of aneth. she had an aggressive and fighter personality. her spunk is what drew us to her and she was a fantastic horse. unfortunatly it worked against her with her injury.
should all go well with barbaro, he will have a great breeding career.
This article was written about a week ago. Rereading it gives me hope he might have more of a chance to survive his recovery than other horses might have.
Part of the article:
“He was so mild-mannered, I could roll him over on his back and scratch his belly or pick out his feet,” he said. “He was big, but he wasn’t lanky. He was real brawny. And he had the nicest temperament.”
That easygoing nature made Barbaro a welcome presence, said Sally Mullis. Mullis, 47, worked with him in the foaling and yearling barns and describes the colt as a model student.
“To me, he was just a nice little bay colt,” she said. “He chimed right in and got with program. He was not a troublemaker.”
When Barbaro was weaned in the fall of 2003, he joined a group of five or six colts in a pasture. “He was always leader of the pack,” recalled White.
But his nature never changed. He seemed to enjoy people, though he disliked the peppermints they often brought.
“I always spent a little more time with him, because he’d stand right there and let you rub on him,” White said. “He loved it. But I never could get him to eat a peppermint.”
Barbaro, unnamed then and known around the farm as “La Ville” after his dam, had no major mishaps during his time at Sanborn Chase. He once rapped his leg in the pasture and developed a splint - a small but painful bony enlargement - that required him to be stall-bound for two weeks while the farm staff treated him with cold hosing and bandaging.
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And here is another article written about two weeks ago:
By Mike Brunker
Horse racing editor
MSNBC
Updated: 1:52 p.m. ET May 17, 2006
While reams have been written about Barbaro’s phenomenal physical gifts, little has been made of the other attribute that makes the Kentucky Derby winner the best bet to sweep the Triple Crown in many years: his uncanny ability to focus his equine energy and concentrate with the intensity of Tiger Woods preparing to sink a 40-foot putt.
Although the phrase “look of eagles” has long been used to describe the majestic and intelligent appearance of the best thoroughbred racehorses, it may never have been more aptly applied than to the visage of Barbaro.
This is a superior horse that understands what racing is all about and possesses that sense of certainty in the outcome bestowed on gifted athletes of all species.
IMHO there is not a better place for equine orthopedic surgery (my alma mater so I am prejudiced);).
Usually the insurance company has “final” decision on what is attempted/done. I do small animal medicine only, but on 3 occasions I have euthanised horses for friends. Think “the bigger they are, the harder they fall”. Not a fun thing to do; and there is an element of danger as well.
