Please...

The vets at a very renowned university will be trying to do an operation, possibly today. They are at this point trying to save him for breeding. In other words, save his life, but he will never be ridden again.
I started horses when their knees hardened. Some horses this happened a LOT quicker than others. Since I have seen a lot of retired racehorses living quite happily into thier 20s and more being nice jumpers and trail riders, and the like, I wouldn't call them broken down at 2 or 3 years old. They can't compete racewise anymore, but no matter how late you start them, that is going to be true. Horse racing is a matter of fractions of a second, so just a little off, and the animal is not competitive anymore.
Most thoroughbreds get so hyped before a race that they will run on completely broken legs. This in not due to people drugging them, but due to the incrediable adrenalin rush.
The horse that do activities like dressage, fancy footwork and the like do not have to be at the cutting edge of the their form physically. They have to be well conditioned and healthy. So even a horse that is no longer race-able, will do wonderfully well at dressage for many years.
I dislike the steeplechases that injure so many animals, and a lot of those animal are started much later than the thoroughbreds.
Plus a side note, a yearling thoroughbred is not one year old. They breed the animals so that they get as much of the year before the first birthday as possible, but ALL thoroughbred are counted as being born Jan 1. Easier on the officials that way.
Wolfy : Fount of Useless Information.

It was heart breaking to watch. Barbaro is such a beautiful animal, and I hope he can make a recovery from that break.

How very tragic....thank you for bringing this to everyone's attention Kara and it's not cheesy in my mind to send good thoughts winging to this horse who tried with his whole heart to do what his instincts and his humans wanted of him. I pray the operation is successful so that he can stand at stud and live out his life still worth something to his owners (it's unfortunately about money but hopefully it's still about the love of horses too).

I remember watching a race many years ago. At this point I can't remember the race or the horse involved but it snapped it's leg just above the hoof. They could not get the horse to pull up. It just wouldn't stop running and I remember watching the TV - just crying and feeling sick to my stomach. I hate to see such beautiful, proud animals so badly injured.

I hope the news is good for Barbaro.

A lot of good points, Wolfy. I have a 19 year old thoroughbred that still thinks he's a race horse..

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

The horse that do activities like dressage, fancy footwork and the like do not have to be at the cutting edge of the their form physically. They have to be well conditioned and healthy.

---

I beg to differ a bit here.. if the horse is performing a capriole as 'fancy footwork'. ;)

It's also comparing apples to oranges. "Cutting edge" for a top-level dressage horse differs greatly from "cutting edge" for a racehorse, but still goes way beyond simply being healthy and well conditioned. Healthy & well conditioned should be the bare minimum for any horse involved in any sort of training, whether for competition or otherwise.

K~

Well Wolfy if you consider the the knees are one of the first areas to close then it's not that much different. The back fuses at 5-6 years of age and that's what we 'sit' on. The knees usually close somewhere in their second year. Too early IMO. But to each their own.
The January first birthday isn't just for TBs sadly. It's amazing to go through the paper and see all the long yearlings with "started under saddle doing great". This doesn't just affect the horse phsyically it's also very hard on them mentally.

It sure was a nasty one :( My wife and I where watching. My wife trains horses and manages a riding school barn so she's all into that stuff. She said she read online today that it WAS a career ending injury :(

I would have been dumbfounded if they said he ever had a chance of being raced again. I'll be suprised enough if they manage to save him.

Its a sad story but hopefully one that will have a happy ending. Its always sad to see an animal hurt or suffering.

From Bloodhorse:

Barbaro Surgery Complete; Standing in Intensive Care Unit
Date Posted: 5/21/2006 8:57:21 PM
Last Updated: 5/21/2006 9:24:53 PM

Surgeons reported that Barbaro's seven-plus-hour surgery has ended, and the classic winner who was severely injured in Saturday's Preakness Stakes (gr. I) is in the intensive care unit at the New Bolton Center and standing.

Dr. Dean Richardson, who led the surgical team, said the son of Dynaformer was in surgery for about seven hours. He said one reason the procedure took so long was the amount of time to prepare the colt for surgery and the recovery time to allow the anesthesia to wear off.

"It was long recovery because he was under anesthesia for so long. The surgery was very difficult," said Richardson, noting that the surgery is only the first step toward Barbaro being able to survive his injuries. "The severity of the fracture was very severe. The long pastern bone was in 20-plus pieces. It was not a simple fracture. The skin did not break. He is very very badly bruised. We were able to put the appropriate implants in the leg."

Richardson also said a procedure to fusion the fetlock joint – the ankle – was successful.

"He got up from anesthesia without any injuries," Richardson said.

He said horses with injuries such as Barbaro's are susceptible to other problems, including infection and laminitis.

"These are all major concerns we have. At this moment he is very comfortable in his leg. Things right now are good."

Richardson said one of his major concerns, that the blood flow in the areas of the injury had been cut off, quickly dismissed when the doctors determined "he had good pulse in his feet. When we did the procedure he had good blood supply throughout."

----------------------------------------------------------------
He's not out of the woods by a long shot...keep "Team Barbaro" in your thoughts & prayers!

K~