Preakness - Barbaro - OMG!!!

[Lisa loves Pooh]

if he was a gelding? THAT'S a good question (and I tend to believe, maybe naively, that the answer is YES).

I'm stumped.

What is a gelding?

 

[Deb in IA]

I'm stumped.

What is a gelding?

A castrated male horse.

 

[Hillbeans]

Thank heaven's this injury happened to a horse whose owners have money. If it had been one of my horses, there is no question...I would have to have him euthanized.

The next few days will be very telling for Barbaro. It seems that his family is doing everything medically possible to save him. They are good people! If they want him as nothing more than a per/pasture ornament then good on them! I've rescued many horses and facilitated the rescue of many horses that were not sound for riding, or for breeding, and happily lived their days out as "lawn art". BUT, would Barbaro even have been given the chance to live if he was a gelding? THAT'S a good question (and I tend to believe, maybe naively, that the answer is YES).

I think it's great that they are doing everything they can to save his life. I'm grateful that he won the Kentucky Derby because that amazing race a few weeks ago probably made the decision easier to try anything possible to keep him alive - although the pics of the x-ray are very shocking! My father is a horse racing writer and although he covers mostly Harness racing, i've seen a lot of accidents that i'd like to forget. (I remember Charismatic's jockey Chris Antley jumping off to grab his leg after it fractured in the Belmont a few years ago- and then ironically enough committing suicide the next year). That Go for Wand accident was one of the worst ones i've seen ever - and I remembered when they buried her on the infield. Very sad.

 

[Deb in IA]

The question I have is: was this the result of him busting out of the gate (possibly hitting his leg?). My heart dropped when he came out early.

Nope.

According to both the track veterinarian and Barbaro's trainer, Michael Matz:

Was the injury related to his premature burst from the starting gate? He had to be reloaded for a second start. How serious was the injury?

The latter question will be answered in the days ahead. Dr. Larry Bramlage, the attending veterinarian at the track, dismissed the possibility that Barbaro hurt his leg during his premature sprint from the gate.

"This had nothing to do with him breaking through the gate, as far as cause and effect of the fracture in his leg," Bramlage said. "He wouldn't have been able to go around the gate, get back in and break like he did."

Matz agreed:

"Edgar said he just touched the gate and it just came open. That wasn't a problem. It happened a couple of strides out of the gate. It's just one of those things."

Barbaro's surprising jump from the gate startled the crowd, but didn't cause any concern for Prado.

"He actually tried to buck me off a few times, he was feeling that good," the jockey said. "He just touched the front doors of the gate and went right through it."

 

[wvjules]

Is there video somewhere of the race and Barbaro's break down? I saw someone post about seeing the jockey pulling back, but all I've seen is the pictures afterwards of the jockey by Barbaro and the horse holding his leg up. I missed watching the actual race this year. Have Googled the web but can't find the video of the incident.

ESPN video

 

[TerriP]

TAken directly from the jockey club website:

D. To be eligible for registration, a foal must be the result of a stallion’s Breeding with a broodmare (which is the physical mounting of a broodmare by a stallion with intromission of the ***** (male reproductive organ) and ejaculation of semen into the reproductive tract).

Yes, I read that in their rule book...pretty specific aren't they?

Interesting that they allow for *some* assistance in getting the semen into the uterus, though. I wonder why they allow that assistance? Hmmmm.....

Who ever knew I'd find horse reproduction so interesting!!

Still have Barbaro in my thoughts....and praying for a successful rehab.

 

[crazymomof4]

Barbaro is flirting!

Just watched the update on the local 5pm news. The director of the clinic said that there are some mares in the same recovery area that Barbaro is in and that he "is exhibiting typical 3 yr old behavoir with respects to his interaction with these mares."

 

[MickeyMouseGal]

To say they are subjecting him to 25 years of lameness and discomfort to turn a fast buck is simply misinformed because NO ONE knows how well he'll actually do.

That's not what I said. I said that if he isn't even sound enough to breed (to stand for a minute or so on his back legs) then he is definitely lame/painful and therefore doesn't have a good quality of life.

As for the AI, I don't believe there is any other way to collect semen from a stallion other than using a teaser or sterile mare. (warning... graphic) When the stallion goes to mount the teaser mare, he is instead guided into a 'sleeve' that collects the semen. We collected from stallions of other breeds (Arabians, QH's, etc.) while I was in Veterinary school, but it was always done with a stallion mounting a mare in some aspect. Even if this wasn't the mare that ultimately recieved the semen. In the cattle world, bulls are collected standing with an electro-ejaculator, but they are placed in a squeeze gate. Horses would injure themselves and/or their handlers using this technique.

 

[Jennasis]

Precisely. AI often employs the use of a "dummy" (looks very much like a pommel horse), that the excited stallion will mount and then...ahem..get his freak on with while an assistant (man would I hate that job) has to guide the horse's phallus into a collection sleeve known as an artificial vag*** when the semen is collected. WHHHHHHooooooooooooo...technical. Did I ever imagine to be discussing equine husbandry with the DIS boards???

So hopefully, Barbaro will come out of this debacle at least "breeding sound" (which means mobile and capable enough for breeding purposes and lounging around the pasture, but not for riding).

 

[Quasi123]

We are all hoping that Barbaro has a complete recovery.

 

[glass- slippers]

Sending good wishes for Barbaro's recovery!

 

[Banshee]

friends from Texas had a AQHA stud about 10 years ago that had hock issue's and could not mount a mare or a phantom (dummie) he was taught with a regular AV to do his thing on all four legs. The only time he was uncomfortable was when he was on his back legs otherwise he was pasture sound. Secratariat also had one foal that did pretty well on the bush tracks he was a half app. gelding though his pure bred babies amounted to nothing on the track second generation from him have done nothing on the track but his grand daughter's have produced some decent offspring. Also just mine and several other trainers and owners opinions is that AI can allow too much a possibility for monkey business.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

That's not what I said. I said that if he isn't even sound enough to breed (to stand for a minute or so on his back legs) then he is definitely lame/painful and therefore doesn't have a good quality of life.

Oh, well sorry if I misinterpreted your post, but the tone of it sounded to me like you had already decided the horse was going to have a poor quality of life. No one actually knows whether he will be able to breed at this point. So far, this horse has defied the odds.

 

[TerriP]

I read this article today at SI.com. It speaks to the decision by the Jacksons to attempt to treat Barbaro's injury rather than just put him down...and to the fact that they state they would have done this even if Barbaro were a gelding. I think I like these people...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/more/05/23/bc.rac.barbaro.sfuture.ap/index.html?cnn=yes

 

[Deb in IA]

That's not what I said. I said that if he isn't even sound enough to breed (to stand for a minute or so on his back legs) then he is definitely lame/painful and therefore doesn't have a good quality of life.

As for the AI, I don't believe there is any other way to collect semen from a stallion other than using a teaser or sterile mare. (warning... graphic) When the stallion goes to mount the teaser mare, he is instead guided into a 'sleeve' that collects the semen. We collected from stallions of other breeds (Arabians, QH's, etc.) while I was in Veterinary school, but it was always done with a stallion mounting a mare in some aspect. Even if this wasn't the mare that ultimately recieved the semen. In the cattle world, bulls are collected standing with an electro-ejaculator, but they are placed in a squeeze gate. Horses would injure themselves and/or their handlers using this technique.

Precisely. AI often employs the use of a "dummy" (looks very much like a pommel horse), that the excited stallion will mount and then...ahem..get his freak on with while an assistant (man would I hate that job) has to guide the horse's phallus into a collection sleeve known as an artificial vag*** when the semen is collected. WHHHHHHooooooooooooo...technical. Did I ever imagine to be discussing equine husbandry with the DIS boards???

Wow, the things you learn on the DIS!!!

 

[TerriP]

Precisely. AI often employs the use of a "dummy" (looks very much like a pommel horse), that the excited stallion will mount and then...ahem..get his freak on with while an assistant (man would I hate that job) has to guide the horse's phallus into a collection sleeve known as an artificial vag*** when the semen is collected. WHHHHHHooooooooooooo...technical. Did I ever imagine to be discussing equine husbandry with the DIS boards???

You better hope that little tag fairy thingy/person is not on duty today!

Thank you for the explanation of what is and isn't allowed though...I did find it interesting. *Very* different from what is allowed in the world of dog breeding and, IMHO, much better.

 

[Jennasis]

Oh dear...I didn't even think about the tag fairy watching over me. I'm in trouble now!

PS...I am thrilled to hear that the Jackson's would've done the surgery anyway, even if he was a gelding.

 

[Luckymommyx2]

I wanted to share what I heard on the news which I thought was soooo cute.

You can now send Barbaro an email to wish him well in his recovery

http://www.vet.upenn.edu/barbaro/

AND/OR

you can make a contribution to help the other large animals at New Bolton...

To help the New Bolton Center care for injured animals, send donations to:

New Bolton Center
382 West Street Road
Kennett Square, Pa. 19348


Also, I heard on the news that Barbaro has shown another positive sign. The medical staff saw him scratch behind his left ear using his left hind foot--like a dog. That means he was able to put a lot of weight on his injured leg. Hopefully we'll keep getting good reports.
I did see the interview with the owners and how they would have given Barbaro the surgery, even if he wasn't able to be a stallion. I admire them even more than before.

Here's a link to one of the newer articles from the local news. There are also links at the right that will take you to the most recent press conferences in case anyone wants to see them.

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=animals_oddities&id=4196960

 

[Deb in IA]

Very cute about sending Barbaro get-well e-mails!

Here's another interesting story about exactly why a broken leg for a horse is so often fatal:

Why a Broken Leg Is Bad News for a Horse
Can't we all just sign Barbaro's cast?
By Daniel Engber
Posted Monday, May 22, 2006, at 6:56 PM ET

Barbaro's veterinarians say the champion racehorse has a 50 percent chance of survival after breaking his leg at the start of the Preakness. He may not recover even after a successful five-hour surgery on Sunday, during which he had almost two dozen screws implanted to stabilize his bones. Why is a broken leg so dangerous for a horse?

There's a high risk of infection, and the horse may not sit still long enough for the bone to heal. Infections are most likely when the animal suffers a compound fracture, in which the bones tear through the skin of the leg. In this case, dirt from the track will grind into and contaminate the wound. To make matters worse, there isn't much blood circulation in the lower part of a horse's leg. (There's very little muscle, either.) A nasty break below the knee could easily destroy these fragile vessels and deprive the animal of its full immune response at the site of the injury.

Barbaro was lucky enough (or smart enough) to pull up after breaking his leg. If he'd kept running—as some horses do—he might have driven sharp bits of bone into his soft tissue and torn open the skin of his leg. Though his skin remained intact, he still faces the possibility of infection; any soft-tissue damage at all can cut off blood flow and create a safe haven for bacteria.

It's not easy to treat a horse with antibiotics, either. Since the animals are so big, you have to pump in lots of drugs to get the necessary effect. But if you use too many antibiotics, you'll destroy the natural flora of its intestinal tract, which can lead to life-threatening, infectious diarrhea. You also have to worry about how the antibiotics will interact with large doses of painkillers, which can themselves cause ulcers.

If the horse manages to avoid early infection, he might not make it through the recovery. First, he must wake up from anesthesia without reinjuring himself. Doctors revived Barbaro by means of "water recovery." That means they suspended him in a warm swimming pool in a quiet room and then kept him there for as long as possible. Not all horses are willing to sit around in a sling, and the antsy ones can thrash about and break their limbs all over again. (In 1975, the filly Ruffian managed to break a second, healthy leg in the process.)

If Barbaro starts favoring his wounded leg post-surgery, he may overload his other legs, causing a condition known as "laminitis." If that happens, the hooves on the other legs will start to separate from the bone, and his weight will be driven into the soft flesh of the feet. He may also develop life-threatening constipation as a side effect of the anesthetic.

Doctors will often put down a horse that develops a nasty infection, reinjures its broken leg, or develops laminitis in its other hooves. (A horse that's unable to stand will develop nasty sores and can be expected to die a slow and painful death.) A few horses have had broken legs amputated and replaced with metal, but the equine prostheses don't have a great track record.

Got a question about today's news? Ask the Explainer.

Explainer thanks Rick Arthur of the American Association of Equine Practitioners and Carl Kirker-Head of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.

http://www.slate.com/id/2142159/?GT1=8190

 

[Luckymommyx2]

I found this while sending my message to Barbaro--it's his information page with updates, pictures and articles.

http://www.vet.upenn.edu/newsandevents/news/Barbaro.htm

It's amazing just to read all of the wonderful well-wishes to Barbaro from all over the US.