Barbaro develops severe laminitis

Despite all-out effort to prevent the ‘most feared’ complication:
Barbaro develops severe laminitis
BY JOANIE MCKENNA
Animal Health Foundation
While much of the world closely
followed the progress of Barbaro’s
right hind leg through the
summer, those in the medical
community, including Barbaro’s
own veterinarians, were watching
the left hind leg.
Barbaro, who won an inspired
Kentucky Derby race May 6,
shattered three bones in his right
hind shortly after the start
of the Preakness on May 20.
Surgery the next day at New
Bolton Center in Kennett Square,
Pa., reconstructed the broken
bones with pins and plates.
No matter how well the right
leg healed, the bigger concern
was the possibility that laminitis
would develop on the left side.
Other equine superstars,
including the Triple Crown winner
Affirmed, had lost their life due to
laminitis developing in a good foot
after surgery on the opposite foot
forced the good one to bear more
weight during the healing process.
Dr. Dean Richardson, Barbaro’s
chief veterinarian, used many
preventive measures in the weeks
that followed surgery. On May 27,
Richardson put Barbaro’s left hind
foot in a special three-part shoe
that was designed to:
■ Support the sole;
■ Minimize weakening and
infection of the sole with a
material inserted inside;
■ And build up the length of the
left hind to compensate for the
cast being on the right hind.
Other measures included taking
a venogram, or injecting a
contrast agent into the left hind
foot and taking x-rays to show
where the blood flowed; the
PHOTOS BY SABINE LOUISE PIERCE / UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Barbaro is lifted out a special recovery pool May 21 at the New Bolton Center
following five hours of surgery to repair a shattered right hind leg.
Barbaro stands in his stall May 21 following surgery and appears to be using
his back left leg to hold more of the weight in the back end.
venogram indicated everything
was fine, Richardson said.
For six weeks, all reports were
upbeat. Then, the first week
of July, complications set in the
right hind leg, and surgery was
performed several times to replace
screws and plates and try to get
rid of a newly developed infection.
On July 13, the focus shifted
back to the left hind leg, as
Richardson set up a news
conference to explain that “the
most feared complication from
July 5: Cast is replaced again
due to discomfort. A small
abscess on the left hind foot is
treated, as well; Richardson
later explained that the abscess
was not in a typical location
to be associated with laminitis.
Timeline:
May 6: Wins Kentucky Derby
by 61⁄2 lengths.
May 20: Breaks down right
after the start of the Preakness;
shatters three bones in his right
hind leg.
May 21: Undergoes surgery
at New Bolton Center; a plate
and 27 screws are inserted in
shattered leg. Barbaro’s
chances of survival are called
a “coin toss.”
May 22: Right hind leg is fitted
with fiberglass cast from hock
to hoof.
May 27: Left hind leg is fitted
with special shoe to help
reduce the risk of laminitis.
the outset” had happened: During
the previous week, Barbaro
had developed a severe bout
of laminitis in the left foot.
Richardson said, “The horse
had no real problems with the left
hind leg until he started to have
some problems in terms of
comfort in his right hind at about
seven weeks.”
When asked how severe the
case was, Richardson said, “It is
as bad as it gets.”
Richardson admitted there
always would be second guessing
on how the horse was monitored,
but added that, “as far as the
catastrophic type of laminitis that
developed, it was very rapid.”
In response to a reporter’s
question of what caused the
laminitis, Richardson said: “It’s
a problem in horses due to
excessive weight bearing and
inflammation.”
He added: “If I knew the answer
of how to prevent this, I guarantee
I would be giving this press
On May 27, the left hind leg was
fitted with a special shoe to help
reduce the risk of laminitis.
June 13: Cast on right hind leg
is replaced. Report is excellent.
July 3: Cast on right hind leg is
replaced again. Two bent
screws are replaced and three
new ones are added around the
pastern joint.
July 8: More surgery is
performed on the right hind leg
to treat a new infection. A plate
and many of the screws are
replaced, and a longer cast is
put on to offer more support.
July 10: Cast on right hind leg
is replaced again with a shorter
one.
July 13: News conference is held
to announce severe laminitis has
developed in left hind foot, and
80 perfect of hoof wall has been
removed. Horse's chances for
recovery are reduced to “poor.”
Dr. Dean Richardson leads Barbaro in the hospital July 14, a day after Richardson
describes the severity of the laminitis that has developed in the left hind foot.
conference from my mansion
somewhere. It’s a devastating
problem in horses that nobody
has a solution to.”
Richardson performed a hoof
wall resection on the left foot,
Barbaro enjoys a carrot in his stall
July 14. His appetite continues
to be healthy.
removing all the hoof wall that
had lost its connection to the
coffin bone, or about 80 percent,
in order to make room for a new
hoof wall to grow again.
To minimize Barbaro’s pain
in having to bear weight on a foot
without a hoof wall, Barbaro was
put in a foot cast with foam
padding and antiseptic dressings.
He also was trained to stand in a
sling so he could take the weight
off his feet for several hours a day,
a procedure the horse apparently
was enjoying. In the days that
followed, he was said to be using
the sling similar to a Jolly Jumper,
bouncing off the ground.
Barbaro’s medical reports since
the surgery have been upbeat.
Richardson has said repeatedly
that Barbaro has good vital signs,
a good attitude, a great appetite,
takes small walks around his stall
and has found comfort in his
sling.
But when asked what the
horse’s chances are, the answer
always is the same: Not good.
“I’d be laughed out of the
profession if I said this horse’s
Barbaro stands in his sling July 14.
prognosis is anything but poor,”
Richardson told a reporter
July 20.
Richardson said recovery would
take months, not weeks, and the
horse’s veterinarians were in a
marathon.
He also said Barbaro’s three
other feet showed no signs of
laminitis, but should that change,
the horse likely would lose the
battle.
Barbaro’s trainer, former
Olympian Michael Matz, who
visits the horse daily, remains
realistic about the future. On
July 29, he told a reporter:
“I’m not getting my hopes up.
I’m just taking it one day at a
time.”
Since 1984, the Animal Health Foundation has been raising money to help fund laminitis reaseach
around the world. The goal has been to find a cause, prevention and cure of the often fatal disease.
To help in this fight, please click on “Support AHF” on the home page and make a donation.