Barbaro: America's Horse Continues to Beat the Odds Six Months Later

Call him Barbaro, Bobby, America’s Horse, or The Big Guy—he’s the best-know horse in the country, maybe even the world, right now. It’s been six months since this amazing Kentucky Derby winner suffered his bone-shattering, life-threatening injury at the Preakness on May 20, 2006.

We still care.

Barbaro is getting better, we’re told. We gave a collective sigh of relief after the seemingly-miraculous surgery that put his right hind leg back together. We grieved on July 13 with the announcement of the dreaded laminitis in his left rear hoof. Dr. Dean Richardson, the surgeon who worked tirelessly to save Barbaro, decreed his chance of survival was poor at best.

But recover is exactly what the congenial bay has begun to do. Barbaro, now estimated to be a full 17 hands, has also gained some weight. He weighs in at 1135 pounds. His wonderful physique with the rippling muscles of a thoroughbred has wasted a bit due to a lack of exercise. However, his medical team has been quick to point out his athleticism and superb conditioning have made a big difference in his ability to recover.

Six months post-op, Barbaro remains in the Intensive Care Unit at the New Bolton Center (NBC) of the University of Pennsylvania vet school. However, he has just been moved to a more spacious stall—and a change of scenery—in the neonatal section. His right leg has healed. Where he once wore a series of casts to protect the fused pastern joint and the areas above and below it, he now sports a splint and a bandage. The staff reports as he adjusts to his new legware, he rests and lies down a lot.