Horse IQ

It’s a sad day in the equestrian world. Barbaro, winner of the 2006 Kentucky Derby, was euthanized this morning. Barbaro, as you may recall, suffered an injury so gruesome at last year’s Preakness, the audience cried as they watched from the grandstands. Barbaro’s fight for recovery ended this morning. But the injury, alone, wasn’t what killed him. It was the disease that invaded his hooves in the months that followed. Here’s what happened…

Barbaro shattered his right hind leg just a few strides into the 2006 Preakness at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, MD. The injury was so horrific that most onlookers thought the horse would have to be euthanized before he ever left the track. Amazingly, the valiant 4-year-old fought back. And for a while, things looked rather promising for him.

He underwent multiple surgical procedures. He was fitted with hi-tech fiberglass casts. He spent time in an equestrian sling to take the pressure of his own weight off of his injured leg. Without question, the vets did all they could. And more. But the extent of Barbaro’s injuries were as bad as everyone had feared.

Dr. Dean Richardson, Barbaro’s chief equine surgeon, was quoted as saying Barbaro suffered a broken cannon bone above the ankle, a broken sesamoid bone behind the ankle and a broken long pastern bone below the ankle. Not only that, but he also dislocated his fetlock joint. Richardson went on to say that the pastern bone was shattered in at least twenty pieces.

Below are two x-rays of Barbaro’s hind legs. Note the pins and surgical rivets that held his bones together during his valiant attempt to recover from his injuries that day.

Barbaro X-Rays
Images courtesy of University of Pennsylvania

Even with all that hardware in his legs, Barbaro still might have made it through the ordeal. However, the deadly horse disease, laminitis, had set into his right rear hoof on January 10th. And if that weren’t enough, he developed an abscess in the left rear hoof.

Laminitis is the veterinary term for inflammation of the laminae. The laminae is the tissue that connects a horse’s foot bone to the solid outer material of its hoof. And it is very painful for a horse. Excruciating in Barbaro’s case. In fact, Dr. Richardson had to remove 80% of Barbaro’s hoof so the infection wouldn’t spread.

Between laminitis, the abscess, and the eventual complications of the injury itself, it was more than the courageous colt could take. Over the weekend he took a turn for the worse, and Barbaro’s owners were left with no choice other than to put the brave colt down.

Laminitis is a horrible horse disease. I’ll cover it in future issues of Horse IQ. But for right now, all I can do is salute Barbaro with a tear-filled eye.