excerpt, The Independent
Racing: Manduro pulls through operation
By Sue Montgomery
Published: 19 September 2007
Manduro, who will join Sheikh Mohammed's stallion roster in the spring, came through surgery to repair the fracture he suffered in winning the Prix Foy on Sunday without incident and was yesterday recovering in a French veterinary hospital, as comfortable as could be expected. "The operation took two hours," said John Ferguson, the Sheikh's racing manager, yesterday, "and he was up on his feet soon afterwards."
The five-year-old's injury and its treatment are, in veterinary terms, fairly routine. A small crack at the base of the right hind cannon caused a three-and-a-half inch sliver of bone to detach slightly. The long cannon bone is the equine equivalent of the five metatarsals between the toes and the heel in the human foot; in the horse evolution has fused them into one large bone and a tiny residual called the splint bone.
The fracture has now been stabilised with four screws, placed there by top Newmarket vet Ian Wright. "He has said he is pleased with the immediate outcome," added Ferguson. Manduro now has five months to recover before starting his second career, which should not, even allowing for the importance of strong hind legs for a stallion, be in any way compromised by his injury.
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