Barbaro's Condition Becomes Worse
Friday, July 14, 2006; Page E03
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa., July 13 -- Prospects for the long-term survival of Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro dimmed Thursday after the surgeon in charge of his care announced the colt has acute laminitis that has left only 20 percent of his left hind hoof connected to the cannon bone.
The potentially fatal inflammation, said Dean Richardson, chief surgeon at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center, usually is caused by excessive weight on the hoof, as when overcompensating for an injured leg. Barbaro's right leg shattered when he misstepped at the start of the Preakness Stakes on May 20 at Pimlico Race Course.
 Barbaro has an acute case of laminitis, which has left only 20 percent of his left hind hoof connected to the cannon bone. (Sabina Louise Pierce - AP)
VIDEO | Doctor Dean Richardson describes Barbaro's chances for survival.
BEAUTY AND FRAGILITY Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro is euthanized after an eight-month struggle to recover from an injured leg. Andrew Beyer: We were all robbed of a potential legend on and off the track. Sally Jenkins: Some felt as if they knew Barbaro, and this is surely their cause of grief over his death. Appreciation: This was an exceptional horse that didn't know what it meant not to keep on trying. Time Line: See what happened every step of the way. Photos: A special patient. Video: A champion that persevered. |
"The left hind foot is basically as bad a laminitis as you can have," Richardson said Thursday morning in a briefing room at the hospital. "His prognosis for long-term life and comfort has been significantly diminished by this particular complication. However, there was a lot of wild speculation that the reason we were [holding the news conference] is because the horse is being put down, humanely destroyed, euthanized, whatever word you choose to use is, and that's simply not the case."
Nevertheless, Richardson said Barbaro's chances of recovery are poor.
On Wednesday, the surgeon performed a hoof wall resection, cutting away 80 percent of Barbaro's left hind hoof and cleaning out the dead laminae, or connective tissue, that was no longer binding hoof and bone.
"That tissue, if it becomes damaged, which is what happens in laminitis, separates and then you lose the connection between the bone and the hoof," Richardson said. "And if the horse loses the connection between the bone and the hoof, it's exquisitely painful to the horse because the horse needs that connection to walk around."
Regrowth of the laminae could take up to six months, Richardson said, as the horse grows a new hoof wall, "just the way you would regrow a nail if you had your nail essentially pulled out, which I think everyone recognizes to be very painful."
Pain will be the determining factor as to whether Richardson continues to try to save Barbaro's life. The colt's owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson of West Grove, Pa., have said repeatedly they do not want to press on if Barbaro is not comfortable.
"We have to keep our fingers crossed and hope he can pull through," Barbaro's trainer, Michael Matz, told WJZ (Channel 13) in Baltimore. "It's been very stressful the last couple weeks. He's gone through a lot, and it hurts to see him like that. We have to hope the one chance he has will pull him through."
Despite the prognosis, Barbaro continues to eat well, nickers when approached and walks around his stall, Richardson said.
Without getting into specifics, Richardson stressed he was not anesthetizing Barbaro's leg but treating the horse with opiates, epidurals -- which are injected anesthetics -- and other pain management techniques. The horse also spends several hours a day in a sling, which elevates him off the ground.
"We will try all reasonable avenues," Richardson said, "and if they don't work, we will quit."
