by Steve Bailey
Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Barbaro continues to improve a week after a suffering a significant setback in his laminitis-ravaged left hind foot, according to a press release from the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center on Thursday.
Chief of Surgery Dean Richardson, D.V.M., removed damaged hoof wall tissue from the laminitic foot on January 9 and 13.
During the second procedure, Richardson also cut Barbaro’s deep digital flexor tendon to reduce pressure on the coffin bone.
“Barbaro’s comfort level is improving steadily, and we are gradually tapering off his pain medication,” Richardson said in a statement. “His vital signs are stable, and his appetite is good.”
Barbaro, a homebred of Roy and Gretchen Jackson’s Lael Farm, shattered his right hind limb in the opening furlong of the Preakness Stakes (G1) on May 20 and subsequently developed life-threatening acute laminitis in his opposite hind foot that required 80% of the hoof wall to be resected.
The four-year-old Dynaformer colt remains in the intensive care unit of Penn’s George D. Widener Hospital at New Bolton Center.
The next update on Barbaro’s condition is expected on January 24 unless there is a significant change in his condition.
Steve Bailey is a Thoroughbred Times daily news editor