More on Barbaro

Took my big guy to the farrier today. Since he spent the first part of his career as a racetrack farrier, he had a pretty good idea of what happened with Barbaro.

First, as I had thought, he said laminitis is a very general term that people use to cover a variety of hoof problems. It's not likely to be fatal "but he might die from all the drugs they're giving him," the farrier said.

He suspects Barbaro either got bumped or stepped on by another horse, or simply stumbled and slammed most of his weight onto his left hind leg, with the fetlock going all the way to the ground, shattering bones in the process.

If Barbaro had been anything but a top-level breeding prospect, he would have been euthanized on the track and hauled away, the farrier said, because the surgery performed on him and the recovery efforts are so costly.

Luckily, Barbaro is a great breeding prospect. Also, his owners have said they would do all they could to keep him alive, regardless of his breeding ability, because they're so attached to the horse.

Hope he gets well soon.