Kennett Square, Pa. – For eight months, Barbaro took fans of horse racing and lovers of horses on a bumpy ride of hope and worry as he struggled to recover from devastating injuries suffered in the Preakness.
Monday morning, that struggle ended, as the Kentucky Derby champion was euthanized at the New Bolton Center veterinary hospital.
Barbaro’s surgeon, Dr. Dean Richardson – brushing away tears and with his voice breaking – said that, in the end, Barbaro’s discomfort was just too great.
“It was more than we wanted to put him through,” Richardson said in a news conference at New Bolton. “We intensified all pain medication and continued to through this morning, but we couldn’t succeed.”
The horse’s fight had evoked the passion of fans in and outside the sporting world. His battle proved more inspirational than his six racing victories – including the biggest winning margin in the Derby in 60 years.
“Until (Sunday) night, he had been an exceptionally calm and relaxed horse who would lay down and sleep,” Richardson said. “But (Sunday) night, he was clearly in distress. He wasn’t comfortable laying down or standing up. You could see he was a different horse. You could see he was upset.”
So, at 10:30 a.m., with Richardson and Barbaro’s owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, in his stall, talking to him gently, Richardson performed the euthanization.
“We were all there. He knew us,” Richardson said. “My guess is he…”
Richardson stopped to compose himself before continuing.
“He was in the sling,” he said. “He was comfortable. He ate his grass. He was alert and aware. … It couldn’t have been any more peaceful.”
Gretchen Jackson said: “Grief is the price we all pay for love.”
The end came 37 weeks after Barbaro broke down in the first furlong at Pimlico Race Course on May 20, fracturing his right hind leg in three places and shattering the pastern bone into 20 pieces.
Complications were layered upon complications throughout the ordeal. Barbaro required five-plus hours of surgery on May 21 just to repair the catastrophic fracture.
He needed another surgery on July 8 to fight an infection in his right leg. Five days later, Richardson acknowledged the horse had laminitis, an often fatal infection that can destroy the hoof.
Richardson described Barbaro’s chances for survival at the time as poor.
Throughout his treatment, there were daily arrivals of fruit baskets, carrots and flowers at New Bolton Center as well-wishers squeezed close for any view of the colt. Thousands signed giant get-well cards.
By early August, after more than two months in intensive care, Barbaro made it outside for 20-minute grazing sessions.
By November, the cast was removed from his lower right leg. Then, on Dec. 13, Richardson projected that Barbaro might leave the hospital in the “not so distant future” because his condition had improved so much.
But the 4-year-old dark bay took a turn for the worse in the second week of January.
A series of last-ditch attempts were not enough. Monday morning, there were signs of laminitis in Barbaro’s two front legs.
“It was a difficult decision to make, but it hinged on what we said all along,” Richardson said. “It was about his quality of life and whether we had any reasonable expectation of saving him.”
Throughout the days of hopeful reports from New Bolton often followed by words of caution, the horse-racing community understood just how much of a long shot it was for Barbaro to recover completely.
“It’s not about money,” Gretchen Jackson said when Barbaro’s treatment began, “It’s not about limelight. It’s more about the horse and its beauty and integrity on a lot of levels.”
Roy Jackson reiterated that sentiment yesterday, saying as far as he and his wife are concerned, “There is nothing we would have done differently.”
Treating Barbaro
* Equine veterinarians say that innovations used in treating Barbaro could benefit many other horses in the future, including the use of a “locking compression plate” to hold a long-bone break together.
* Barbaro fans have donated $1.2 million to the New Bolton Center for equipment and research.
* Several vets said they believe other owners now might consider trying to save a horse they would have euthanized before.
* Barbaro’s owners spent tens of thousands of dollars to try to save him. He could have been worth an estimated $30 million as a commercial stallion.
