Unfortunately, Barbaro lost his fight to recover on Monday January 29 when his owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, decided in consultation with his surgeon, Dr. Dean Richardson, to have him euthanized. He went downhill on Sunday night and was unable to lay down or get comfortable. His comfort was always the prime consideration and with all the problems he had, this was the only choice left.
The Jacksons were with him Monday morning. Mr. Jackson said, "We just reached a point where it was going to be difficult for him to go on without pain. It was the right decision, it was the right thing to do. We said all along if there was a situation where it would become more difficult for him then it would be time." He also thanked all of Barbaro's fans for their thoughts and prayers over the last few months.
Here are some comments I jotted down while listening to the the Monday afternoon teleconference with Dr. Richardson. His original injury had nothing to do with why he had to be put down, that was healed. He became very lame in his left hind foot which had laminitis, and had a couple of bad episodes with that foot where they had a hard time managing the pain. This caused him to put too much weight on the right hind (broken) leg which gave him a bruise on the outside of the right hind foot. That deep bruise lead to an abcess in that foot which was what did him in. He didn't refracture his leg and his original injury didn't give him a problem it was the abcess. He had also got laminitis in the two front feet from favoring the left hind so much.
Barbaro had a difficult night on Sunday, mainly because he did not lay down as he usually did. It was the first night ever since his injury where he was clearly distressed by his condition. They tried to put him in and out of his sling and get him to lay down but he wouldn't and they couldn't get him comfortable. They always said his comfort was the most important thing and when it got so bad, they knew it was time.
He was under heavy pain medications this morning, but alert and aware and knew everyone was there. He got to eat his morning grass, then they gave him an overdose of anesthetic so he went peacefully.
Dr. Richardson said, "I feel it was the right thing to do now. There are times in the past where I know I waited too long, but I don't think that was the case here."
Owner Roy Jackson, who clearly sounded distressed, said, "There is absolutely nothing we would have done differently, including the decision today."
Rest in peace Barbaro.
January 28 Update
Barbaro's surgeon, Dr. Dean Richardson, send us out some unhappy news today. On Saturday, January 27, Barbaro was taken back to surgery because we could not keep him comfortable on his right hind foot. That foot developed a deep subsolar abscess secondary to bruising when he went through a period of discomfort on the left hind foot. It is not laminitis but the undermining of the sole and part of the lateral heel region are potentially just as serious. We attempted to manage the right hind foot in a cast and then in a custom fabricated brace but it was impossible to have access to the foot for treatment as well as acceptable stability and comfort. We elected to place his right hind in an external skeletal fixation device in order to provide the foot a chance to heal. This means that two steel pins have been placed transversely through his right hind cannon bone. These pins are connected to external sidebars that in turn are connected to a lightweight alloy foot plate.
This results in the horse eliminating all weight bearing from the foot; the horse's weight is borne through the pins across his cannon bone. There is significant risk in this approach but we believed it was our only option given the worsening of the right hind foot problem. The major risk of the external skeletal fixation device is that the bone bearing the weight can fracture. Unfortunately, we felt we needed to take this risk because this approach offered our only hope of keeping Barbaro acceptably comfortable.
He had a perfect recovery from anesthesia and has been in and out of the sling since then. His left hind foot appears to be stable at this time. We remain concerned about both front feet. Remarkably, his attitude and appetite were excellent overnight.
We will continue to treat Barbaro aggressively as long as he remains bright, alert and eating. This is another significant setback that exemplifies how complex his medical situation remains because both hind limbs have major problems.
January 25 Update
Barbaro is doing well after a planned procedure yesterday. "Barbaro was placed under anesthesia yesterday to have his left hind foot cast replaced," said Dr. Dean W. Richardson, Chief of Surgery. "We also removed the cast on his right hind leg and replaced it with a custom-fabricated plastic and steel orthotic brace to give his foot additional support."
"Barbaro had another smooth pool-recovery and has been comfortable with an excellent attitude and appetite since then," said Dr. Richardson. "We will probably replace his left hind foot cast under anesthesia again at least two or three times at roughly two-week intervals if his comfort is maintained. We were very pleased with the progress of his left hind foot since the last cast was applied." In addition, new shoes were placed on both front feet for additional support.
Updates from May through August 2006
Updates from September and October 2006
Updates from November 2006
Updates from December 2006 and early January 2007
