Barbaro was a Triple Crown hopeful. He was the winner of the 2006 Kentucky Derby, but in his bid for the Triple Crown he broke down in the Preakness Stakes ("Barbaro”). Before reaching the first turn in the track he fractured multiple bones in his right rear leg. “Barbaro sustained a broken cannon bone above the ankle, a broken sesamoid bone behind the ankle and a broken long pastern bone below the ankle. The fetlock joint -- the ankle -- was dislocated” ("Barbaro begins,” 2006). His cannon bone had more than 20 breaks and his “pastern bone was shattered” ("Barbaro begins,” 2006). After the surgery was performed Barbaro began his long haul toward full recovery, but these hopes were stopped. At the time, according to Dr. Richardson, “Barbaro has stability in his right rear leg, and that injury is under ‘reasonable control.’ But the big problem is a catastrophic case of laminitis in his left hind” (Shulman, 2006). Even with the preventative measures taken, using a double hospital-plate device (two aluminum plates sandwiching a polyethelene spacer) (Jurga and Sigafoos, 2011), the vets could not stop the development of this disease. This type of laminitis was a weight bearing laminitis, due to Barbaro’s inability to place weight on his healing right hind limb. 80% of his left rear hoof was removed, but weight bearing laminitis then developed in both of his front hooves. The laminitis in his front hooves was described as severe, and he was euthanized.
2006 Kentucky Derby. Dir. Horse Racing. 6 May 2014. YouTube.com. Web. 22 Nov. 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itlLtKpSAo0>.
*A majority of this section may be credited to the following videos:
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Barbaro: A Nation's Horse - Part IV. Dir. Vintage North American Horse Racing. 24 Oct. 2009. YouTube.com. Web. 4 Nov. 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oRUyIcpoLY>.
Barbaro: A Nation's Horse - Part V. Dir. Vintage North American Horse Racing. 24 Oct. 2009. YouTube.com. Web. 4 Nov. 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOB4_LH-Sjc>.
Barbaro: A Nation's Horse - Part V. Dir. Vintage North American Horse Racing. 24 Oct. 2009. YouTube.com. Web. 4 Nov. 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOB4_LH-Sjc>.