barbaro latest

[paisjpq]

Originally Posted by bobwhite71

This is my first post to this discussion group, but I do have a question..... don't know a lot about laminitis and recovery from it, especially a case this serious, but is it possible he STILL might not grow enough useful hoof on his left leg to allow him to survive? Dr. Richardson seems more than a bit negative on that subject. Right now that seems the most critical issue facing this brave guy.

It is still possible that barbaro might suffer a relapse of the laminitis in either his existing bad foot or one of his other 3 feet due to uneven weight distribution...however given that he has the absolute best care that money can buy and he has shown that he has a very strong will to survive I have great hope that this won't happen.
he does however face the long term issues of a foundered horse...once the bones in the foot have rotated the case is considered chronic founder, since there will likely be ongoing low grade inflammation in the foot...they are more prone to foot abscesses and the hoof wall itself tends to grow erratically and the sensitive laminae never regains all of is original strength...and his handlers will have to be careful to avoid situations that may trigger another episode....such as overload on grass or grain, excess physical stress, even vaccination reactions etc can be a real problem for the laminitic horse. Basically any situation that triggers an immune response can also lead to another episode.