Barbaro and Inspiration

[Guest guest]

Here's an inspirational sort of story for you guys... I know I'm horse

crazy, but it inspired me!

Barbaro didn't win a Triple Crown, but he might have achieved

something greater

By GARY WEST

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Dean , chief surgeon at the University of

Pennsylvania'Pennsylvania'<WBR>s New Bolton Center, has watched Bar

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/GEORGE WIDMAN

Dean , chief surgeon at the University of

Pennsylvania'Pennsylvania'<WBR>s New Bolton Center, has watched Barbaro

Roy hasn't tried to assign blame for what happened. Why

waste the time, he said, when Barbaro's injury was the result of a

random and catastrophic lightning bolt? Nor has dwelt on the

what-might-have-what-m

Yes, Barbaro might have swept the Triple Crown; his image could

have adorned Wheaties boxes, magazine covers and stamps. He could be

going into the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships having

already clinched Horse of the Year, and soon the world's leading

breeders would be tossing out their multimillion-breeders would be tossing

future stallion services.

But why think about such things, said, since he's

convinced it all worked out for the good, maybe for the best?

" So many positives have come out of all this, " said , who

owns Barbaro in partnership with his wife, Gretchen. " If Barbaro had

gone on to win the Triple Crown, would there have been more positives? I

don't know, but I don't think so. "

On May 20, before an expectant throng at Pimlico in Baltimore,

Md., and with an eager nation watching on television to see the next

superhorse, Barbaro shattered his right hind leg in the early stages of

the Preakness Stakes, the second event in the Triple Crown. He had won

the Kentucky Derby by 6 1/2 lengths, the largest winning margin in 60

years, and in doing so, he had run the final quarter-mile in 24.34

seconds, the fastest stretch run in the Derby since Secretariat in 1973.

He had entered the Preakness with an unblemished record. Dirt or

turf, sloppy track or fast track, nothing bothered him; Barbaro won all

his races, often spectacularly. And since then, he has been no less

spectacular -- in fighting for his own recovery and by inspiring others.

Some severely injured horses will give up, explained Dean

, Chief of Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania'

Bolton Center, where Barbaro has been in the intensive care unit of the

D. Widener Hospital since the Preakness. Some horses will

surrender to their injuries. But Barbaro never did, never came close.

Even when his condition was most dire, Barbaro would playfully

push around people who entered his 12-by-13-foot stall, and he would

eagerly go for the hand-picked grass or the carrots his owners brought

him daily, said.

In late June, Barbaro's right hind leg, held together by more

than 20 screws, seemed to be healing. He was in his third cast. Each

change required a general anesthetic, and afterward Barbaro was taken by

monorail to a recovery pool, where he wouldn't re-injure himself if he

awakened disoriented.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell visited Barbaro. Flowers, cards and

well-wishing poured in. In his weekly update, described

Barbaro as a " lively, bright happy horse. "

But then in July, in his left hind leg, he developed laminitis,

a devastating and painful foot condition that's often fatal. Laminitis

is basically the failure of the laminae tissue to connect the hoof to

the pedal bone. Barbaro lost 80 percent of the hoof.

In a teleconference, said the laminitis was " as bad

as it gets. " He described Barbaro's prognosis as " poor " and his

condition as " very guarded. " The horse's chances for survival,

said, were about 10 percent.

When Barbaro quite suddenly developed laminitis, met

with the s and Matz, the horse's trainer, to discuss

whether to proceed or " put him down, " meaning euthanize him.

They all passionately desired whatever was best for the horse.

With equal passion, they wanted to see him walk out of the hospital

someday. But were those two desires suddenly in conflict, and could

anybody distinguish the one from the other?

Such were the questions they considered, said, at that

somber meeting in July. was confident they could manage, or

mollify, Barbaro's pain.

But it was Barbaro's attitude, his will to survive, that

inspired them all to continue with treatment and with efforts to save

him, Matz said. If Barbaro was still fighting, they would.

It was never about saving him to be a stallion, never about

money. It was only about saving life, about saving what

described as a " magnificent " creature.

" If you look at this horse, " said in July, " it'd be

hard to put him down. "

Some horses have survived multiple fractures as severe as

Barbaro's. And horses have survived laminitis. But Larry Bramlage, a

Kentucky-based equine surgeon and the former president of the American

Association of Equine Practitioners, said he knows of no horse that has

survived both.

Because Barbaro had broken through the starting gate before the

Preakness and had to be reloaded, Bramlage had his binoculars focused on

the horse even before the race began. Barbaro probably first injured

himself, Bramlage said, about 100 yards into the race, when he moved

closer to the inside.

" But he's so big and so tough and so determined, " Bramlage said,

" the jockey [Edgar Prado] couldn't get him pulled up. " As Barbaro

continued to try to run, he broke his leg further until finally he was

struggling, still struggling, to run on three legs.

Ironically, the same determination that may have exacerbated his

injuries may contribute to his surviving them.

" It's remarkable that we've gotten to this point, " said,

as if putting all the surgery, bone grafts, infections, cast changes,

medication and frightening vicissitudes momentarily behind him to focus

instead on the horse's stunning resoluteness. " He exhibited such

determination on the racetrack. And his determination and intelligence

might help him to get through this. "

This past Monday, veterinarians again changed the cast on

Barbaro's right leg. said he was pleased " with the continued

progression of healing and the overall condition of the leg. "

The left hind foot, which essentially must be regrown, continues

to improve. said there's " good growth, but there will need to

be much more. " And that will require several months. He remains in the

intensive care unit but is able to graze daily.

The goal and hope, said, is to allow Barbaro to be a

healthy normal horse again, so that he can survive without pain or

discomfort. If he's ever able to be a stallion, " that would just be a

bonus, " he said.

And if not, well, he's already accomplished much, even without

racing. Because of Barbaro, said, people are more sensitive to

equine safety, more aware of the need for research into laminitis and

other conditions. And because of Barbaro, thousands and thousands of

people who never followed the sport suddenly found themselves investing

their emotions in a racehorse's wellbeing.

The Kennett Florist in Kennett Square, Pa., is headquarters for

Fans of Barbaro, a loosely organized group of more than 300 or so folks

who every day take Barbaro and the New Bolton staff something -- donuts,

carrots, breakfast, apples, flowers, various kindnesses.

From all over the country, people telephone or e-mail to ask

about Barbaro, said Alie Berstler, who runs the florist and serves as

sort of an ad hoc director of the fan club that started with people

sending flowers. Many of the members aren't necessarily racing fans,

just concerned Barbaro fans.

But why have so many people persisted in following a racehorse

that will never race again and may or may not become a sire? How has

Barbaro's appeal transcended the sport and his injuries to the point

that he continues to affect people profoundly?

" They see in him what they want to see in themselves, " Berstler

said and then, for emphasis, added, " He's a fighter. "

[Guest guest]

Hi Liz,

Great story, great inspiration! I had followed the story in the

beginning. I'm so happy about Barbaro! And you bet, we're

all " fighters " !

Liz, maybe someday you'll be riding a horse sired by Barbaro! How's

that for inspiration! (and we'll all come to see you in the Olympics

too!)

~ Gretchen

[Guest guest]

Hey,

I never thought I'd ride a grandson of Seattle Slew... so who knows!

Actually a lot of people are surprised that I ride/own an ex-racehorse. They

have a reputation for being a bit... crazy. Truthfully, I like it. I never

have to tell Cherokee to go.

Liz