Barbaro's Leg

[Danzig]

the spyder--yeah, he can breed. they have many different contraptions they can use to support him while he's 'doing the deed'. my first suggestion in that regard would be no maiden mares. he's not as nimble as he should be obviously, and he doens't need a shy female giving him a difficult time.

the laminitis is definitely still an issue. his hoof will neve be normal again. but it's acute laminitis, so hopefully it won't recur. keep in mind that the blue hen mare toussaud suffers from chronic laminitis. in her case, and in many others, it's kept under control as much as it can be. still very much an almost unknown illness regarding prevention and cure. so many different things can cause laminits-of course in barbaros case we know it was uneven weight distribution, which affected blood supply to that hoof--it essentially died....

as for him being put down because he isn't the graceful creature he once was, that's so dammed asinine.....he will walk with a gimp, as there is no flexibility in his fetlock. think how you would walk if you could never flex your ankle again. it's the same thing. might not be pretty, but i'll take him limping around over the alternative ANY DAY. it doesn't have to be gorgeous to work. he's alive, he's as healthy as he can be at this point. anything else is just gravy.

that's the first replay i've seen of the preakness. i don't consider myself to be a very emotional person, but that video immediately brought tears to my eyes. he was such a special racehorse, and he's that much more spectacular as a horse, and as a model of a true fighter.