After having a vested interest in this stallion, I'm personally SICK of the FALSE information being spread about him, his jockey, his trainer and his owners. All of whom were DEVESTATED when the decision to put him down, came in. So let me set the records straight.
Barbaro broke down as a result of a pre-race injury, an injury no one knew about after he blew through the gate after being loaded. He was checked ON THE TRACK but the track vet CLEARED HIM, saying he was "sound" when in fact, he was not. He had suffered a hairline fracture that he was able to bear weight on and not show clear signs of pain or injury. His catastrophic injury in which he blew his right hind in ELEVEN PLACES, happened AFTER he passed the Grandstand shortly after the start. And although he was pulled up successfully, it's widely believed that he had sustained the injury prior to the race even starting. This was later confirmed by his trainer who then later retracted his statement due to public outcry at the track vet allowing a clearly injured horse to run.
Barbaro successfully underweight an initial 5 hour surgery to fuse his fetlock and pastern joints to help stablize the leg overall. This surgery was performed by Dr. Dean Richardson at the New Bolton Center. During recovery, Barbaro was placed into a heated recovery pool and upon recovery, it was remarked that he "practically trotted back to his stall". During the first few days, he had a total of two casts put on.
It was during the FIRST WEEK of July, that he had his first bout with an abscess. This was topically treated. However by July 13, he had developed Laminitis in his left hind due to him trying to keep weight off his right. A 'Hoof Wall Resection' was performed and 80% of that damaged hoof was removed and it was unclear how much would grow back.. At this point, both hindlegs were put into casts. By August 18th, radiographs showed that the surgery had been a success and fusion of the leg's Fetlock and pastern were nearly fully fused. By September 26, his left hind had shown improvement and was kept in a cast. By November 6, his cast on his left leg was permanently removed after showing encouraging signs of regrowth. It showed no further signs of being laminitic. On December 12, his cast on his right was also removed.
However, this wouldn't last as on January 10 the laminitic left hoof became the source of further complications and underwent another operation to remove even more hoof wall. And the cast for the right had to be reapplied to help give Barbaro support. Sadly, he also developed a deep abscess in the right, a problem generally caused by lack of 'grip' exercise. Before his death, it would become very clear, that Barbaro was in too much pain, exceeding what his owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, felt was humane, and he was humanely put down on January 29, 2007.
Some key notes.
YES Barbaro's owners were attempting to save him so he could be used for stud. YES this is possible with various clinics offering methods of semen collection without the need to 'tease' a stallion. NO Barbaro NEVER saw "pasture" in the sense you think he did. He was hand grazed and under supervision and only for very short periods of time. Otherwise, he was kept in a stall, so as to prevent him from injuring himself. He was awakened each time he had an operation, in a heated recovery pool, to help lessen any thrashing he would/could of done, harsh lessons learned from past racehorses such as Ruffian, who all but shattered her elbow and rebroke her previously 'fixed' leg, after waking up from her surgery.
His remains were cremated and after his statue was raised at the entrance to Churchill Downs, were laid to rest before his statue.
What annoys me about this post being circulated, is the CLEAR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE on this horse. His entire operation, recovery and death were a WIDELY televised report. There's even a few dozens books about him. I personally met him! I've met his owners, his trainer and his jockey, all of whom were devastated by his death but, as Gretchen said "If he's in pain, it'd be cruel to keep him alive for our own enjoyment. It's time to let him go, if he's suffering."
Hours leading up to his death, and the days prior, Barbaro spiked a fever, was refusing to eat or drink, and had all but lost his fiery spark in his eyes, that told everyone who saw him "I want to fight!" The fight had left him and the Great Herd had begun calling him home.
So please! If you DON'T know his story, then STOP commenting about him! Saying he was "overgrazed" and got Laminitis because he was "put out to pasture for years" is FALSE! He literally broke down in 2006 and died in 2007. He was NEVER put in a pasture and he certainly wasn't "overgrazed" on "lush new spring grass"!
By saying such remarks, you're ripping open old wounds and causing grief for those of us closet to him and his sources. You may not care, but we do! We STILL MISS HIM! We've NEVER STOPPED missing him!
As my grandmother would say "If you don't know what you're talking about, then don't speak on things you know nothing about!"
To Barbaro. We still miss you boy. We've never stopped missing you. And that pain has not lessened in all these, long, tiring, trying, 17 years. You showed us what strength was, you showed us what courage was, and you showed the entire world, what empathy was and what a dedicated team, is willing to do, to help our beloved animals get even a small, fighting second chance, at this crazy, hectic, beautiful thing, we call life. Wherever you are buddy, I truly hope, you're free, galloping in lush fields, waiting on Roy and Gretchen to join you. Rest easy buddy.
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