I feel obliged to post about Barbaro; after all, he is the poster child for what we all do to help horses. It's also pretty darn interesting if you scroll down this page and watch the disaster story unfurl.
Not everyone agrees. Check out this scathing editorial on over-Barbarozation:
http://www.sportsfanmagazine.com/sfm/articles.html?id=2775
I apologize for the sheer number of posts, but this blog will stand as a record for anyone who wants to be able to document anything about Barbaro in the future, which is also why I post what New Bolton Center provides me, unless stated otherwise, such as direct communication with Rob Sigafoos, the chief of farrier services at New Bolton.
Unlike most of you, and certainly unlike the SportsFan guy, I don't have an opinion about this case, just a lot of hope that everything reflects positively on the vet and farrier and equine health professions and that we all learn something from this horse and his high-profile struggle.
I'm not there and neither are you. All I can do is believe that they can and will do everything they can and I am sure that they are in consult with experts around the world.
Many people have asked why Chris Pollitt's cryotherapy was not used. Well, we
don't know that it wasn't! Pollitt has published a paper in which he induced laminitis; one leg was placed in a deep ice boot and the other left in ambient temperature. The cold leg did not contract laminitis.However, that was "traditional" laminitis, i.e. carbohydrate-induced, not support limb overload laminitis.
And here's a special detail for all you nay-sayers and doubting Thomases out there: Pollitt's co-author on the cryotherapy paper and former student is now a resident at New Bolton. So, they have cryotherapy expertise right on staff, had it been pertinent to the case.
I also hope that somehow more money will go to laminitis research. Please visit these web sites to learn more about how you can help with laminitis research:
http://www.ahf-laminitis.org
http://www.laminitisresearch.org
Thanks.
