Barbaro fractures leg in Preakness

Small update from Tim Woolley Racing Page:

Update 223: Just spoke to Kathy Anderson (Barbaro's Fair Hill vet) who visited Bobby this afternoon (she was just leaving at 6 pm when I spoke to her). She said he remains comfortable, as comfortable as he was when she visited yesterday. She noted the many gifts that had been arriving for Bobby all day (I am guessing many of them are from people commenting on this site). Kathy fed some carrots to Bobby, part of a very elaborate gift sent by Margaret from Beaufort, SC. The nursing staff were also feeding him cut grass and corn husks (chopped up for him).

It's good to hear he is still comfortable and stable at the moment.

EDIT* Adding some new pics of him from today from Yahoo news. You can see in his eyes he is not ready to give up.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...o/e8472bfc.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...o/4b0b2368.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...rbaro/capt.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...o/35dc3e15.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...aro/capt-1.jpg

I heard on the radio he now has laminitis. I'm thinking about you, Barbaro!

update

Barbaro is haning in there.
This update sounds encouraging. This horse hasnt given up :)

Thanks for the update. Barbaro is dong as well as can be expected and isn't in pain. He hasn't given up, and I'm not giving up on him.

Keep fighitng Barbaro, lots of people are praying for you. We won't give up if you don't!

Well I'm sure the vets know what they are doing. They are monitoring him very closely and are doing everythign in their power to save him, I'm sure they know more about him and what's going on with him than the rest of us. They have brought him this far, where most horses would never have made it off the track, so I won't worry too much about the carrots for now. Laminitis is not always caused by the sudden ingestion of an excessive amount of soluble carbohydrates, often is is caused by excessive weight bearing in one limb due to severe lameness in the other may result in the good limb developing laminitis. This is what happened to him, it was a result of his excesive weightbearing on the left "good" leg when he had several days of discomfort and infection in his broken leg, not his diet. I'm sure they won't risk his life over carrots..


What are the causes of laminitis?
Many "triggers" of laminitis have been identified. The most common cause is the sudden ingestion of an excessive amount of soluble carbohydrates. This is where the horse engorges itself on a lush pasture or breaks into the feed shed and helps itself to the grain. Obese or overweight horses that have little exercise are very vulnerable. Excessive concussion on a hard surface has also been implicated. Laminitis can be a rapid sequel to toxic conditions such as retained placenta or Salmonella enteritis. Older horses that develop Cushing's disease, a hormonal disorder have an increased susceptibility to the condition. Hypothyroidism can also be a predisposing factor in its development. Excessive weight bearing in one limb due to severe lameness in the other may result in the good limb developing laminitis. Therapies using corticosteroids can cause laminitis.

It's only related to a metabolic disorder in the fact that obese horses sometimes get it, and they are usually obese by ingestion too much grain, etc. Horses rarely are overweight just from eating hay.

I trust the vets and equine surgeons at the New Bolton Center to know what's best, but you could write them with your concerns if you like.

Not to sound nasty, it's just I get a bit weary of everyone second-guessing the care this horse is getting (on other boards). This horse is still alive and doing well when almost any other horse wouldn't be. And I trust them to do what is best for him :).


Edit to say: As far as I know, carrots are not that high in sugar content. He'd have to eat gallons of them to raise his blood sugars. I type reports on diabetics all the time and the doctors constantly recommend snacks such as carrots and celery sticks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gho6Q...elated&search=

A beautiful but gut wrenching video put to music that shows everything Barbaro has been through. Just thought I'd add the link here. I cried the whole way through.

I added it to my favorites