Keep up with the good thoughts!!

Barbaro is showing some improvement!! I found this article on Bloodhorse.com. For more information about laminitis, follow the links at the bottom of this page.

Barbaro 'Doing Much Better' Friday Morning
by The Associated Press
Date Posted: 7/14/2006 8:29:40 AM
Last Updated: 7/14/2006 11:04:00 AM

Barbaro was doing "much better" Friday morning, a day after his veterinarian said the classic winner was a "long shot" to survive a potentially fatal hoof disease.

"He had a good night last night, and even slept on his side," Dr. Dean Richardson said Friday at the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals. "He's doing much better."

"Barbaro was out of his sling for more than 12 hours yesterday, and he had a calm, restful night, sleeping on his side for more than four hours," Richardson said in statement issued later in the morning by the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center. "While his condition is stable, it remains extremely serious."

Richardson appeared a bit more upbeat than he was Thursday, when he told a packed news conference that Barbaro has a severe case of the disease laminitis in his left hind leg, and termed his condition "poor."

Impressive winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), Barbaro shattered three bones in his right hind leg just a few yards after the start of the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) on May 20.

Barbaro looked every bit the champion Thursday, but it's how he acts in the next few days that will determine how much longer he lives.

Laminitis, Richardson said, is an "exquisitely painful" condition, and Barbaro has a case so bad that 80 percent of the Derby winner's left hoof wall was removed Wednesday. It could take as long as six months for the hoof to grow back. The disease is often caused by uneven weight distribution to a limb, usually because of serious injury to another.

While the news was good Friday, Barbaro's condition could change at any time.

"If he starts acting like he doesn't want to stand on the leg, that's it - that will be when we call it quits," a blunt Richardson said Thursday at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center.

"It could happen within 24 hours," he added.

The vet, who has been treating Barbaro since the colt's breakdown, said Thursday that Barbaro looks fine - "his ears are up, he's bright, he's looking around." But that doesn't reflect the true nature of his condition.

"I'd be lying if I said anything other than poor," he said. "As long as the horse is not suffering, we are going to continue to try to save him. If we can keep him comfortable, we think it's worth the effort."