OT: Barbero News

[Nanci]

http://timwoolleyracing.com/

Barbaro Updates: Sunday morning, July 29th: Barbaro remains comfortable; his condition remains stable but serious

[Bluetree]

http://timwoolleyracing.com/

Barbaro Updates: Sunday morning, July 29th: Barbaro remains comfortable; his condition remains stable but serious

According to the Thoroughbred Times, the hoof is starting to grow back from the coronary band -- an hopeful sign.

http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/tod...65358&subsec=1

[Nanci]

Wow, that's great news. If the coronary band is intact, he's got a chance. If the laminitis doesn't occur again...

[Bluetree]

Yes, from everything I've read and heard, Barbaro has been an amazing patient. To take the pressure off his hind feet, he has taught himself to "dog-sit" while in the sling. He has also been entertaining himself by swinging back and forth, like a kid on a swing. I'm still not convinced he can be saved, but it is encouraging.

[Nanci]

He really looks like a sweetheart when you see pictures of him and the vet staff. Still- (I used to be a farrier, have a degree in farrier science) when your hoof falls off, that's almost always a death sentence. I wish they would have put him in a sling to begin with...But it's hopeful news.

I always wanted to teach a horse to sit. The most I could manage was yes and no. Oh, and shake hands, on one of my first horses. Never did that again. I trained my ex-husband's horse Darla the Idiot to say yes and no, then I'd ask her questions like Are you the stupidest horse in the universe? and she'd say yes. Are you going to be good today? No. Are you going to be good ever? No. Man, she was difficult to deal with. I just hate it when you have a horse you can't ever really trust not to blow up over some silly thing. She'd blow up over _everything_! Did the whole John Lyons deal with her, and everything. That _did_ really help with her fear of having her head/ears touched. After working with her using the John Lyons method, we could get her to lower her head so far she'd touch the ground. Pretty cool. She was _very_ afraid of shots, too. I'll never forget the first week we had her. She was quite expensive, a pure Polish Aladdin granddaughter (Arab) who came to MN from Long Island. She'd been raised as a halter horse, and was a pampered princess. Not broke. We moved her out of her show barn to a nice facility. I put her in cross ties and went to bug spray her. She _flipped over_ backwards in an instant the second the spray touched her!! Gave us _heart failure!!!!!_ But ended up with only a tiny scrape. Of course we got her used to bug spray, then, but that was pretty much how she handled anything frightening for the rest of her life.

[maillotpois]

Darla the Idiot was an Arab? Well, that would explain it. Most irrational, crazy animals there are. But beautiful! Mine was only 3/4 Arab so he had some moments of sanity. He'd drink lemonade out of a glass. But every once in a while he'd return to his roots: "OMG! I know I have seen that trash can a million times before, but this time I KNOW it is actually a bear and I am going to FREAK OUT!!! Right now!!!"

Good news on Barbero. Wow, that was just so sad. I hope he continues to make progress.