May 18, 2006.
Horse racing.
I love horses. From the time I was a young child. I told my father, as a two year old, the morning of December 25, 1957; that having an American Flyer Model Train under the tree was interesting, but, where was my horse? Later that day, my father and grandfather emerged from the basement with a newly carpetered rocking horse. I felt love. I don't know what it is, but, horses have been a source of fascination for me all my life.
When a precious champion race horse has a serious injury and will become a 'sire' to many offspring; it is time to reflect not only on the horse but the industry and the genetics of the modern day thoroughbred. Genetic Medicine may very well have a place in today's breeding program. I guess I miss the 'era' of Man O' War. Sturdy and profoundly sound of heart, lung and legs. That 'line' of thoroughbreds along with Bold Ruler, Princequillo has never let their owners down.
And 'large animal' medicine doesn't get any better than the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Horse Center. I've transported many a fine animal to that veterinary haven. The operating rooms are managed by huge lifts that carry disabled horses into a surgical suite where the best of the best have 'know how' from long studied research. Tilt tables where anesthetized steeds lie helpless and a sleep while their skilled surgeons perform miracles. It's a fascinating place for people that love these great animals which once carried human beings into war.
Derby Winner Barbaro's Surgery Successful (Click on)
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. (AP) -- One day, Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was on the road to a Triple Crown. A day later, he was on a long and perilous road to recovery.
The doctor who performed five hours of intricate surgery on the colt was satisfied with the result, but blunt about the future for a horse who had put together an unbeaten record until he broke down in the Preakness Stakes.
''To be brutally honest, there's enough chance for things going bad that he's still a coin toss, even after everything went well,'' Dr. Dean Richardson said Sunday after the surgery at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center for Large Animals.
