The Story of Barbaro

Barbaro, a chestnut [reddish brown] stallion, was a very famous racehorse. In 2006, he won the Kentucky Derby, basically the top race where only the greatest racehorses go. Two months later, Barbaro stumbled and injured his back left leg in another race. He was placed in a giant sling to keep weight off of that limb. It was broken, and very badly injured. The large animal vets who took care of Barbaro worked very hard to help him. They performed about 2 dozen surgeries, and America began to think of those vets as heroes. Barbaro became a great source of inspiration for the country as he fought to recover. In 2007, the vets decided that they could not save the great racehorse. Barbaro was put to sleep. Even though, in the end, Barbaro did not pull through, Barbaro had moments that he might not have had if the vets had not taken such great care of him. Many people think helping injured or diseased animals is the only thing vets do. However, vets also help people, as you can see on the following pages. See for yourself! [There are games!]

Barbaro was one of the greatest racehorses alive. He even won the Kentucky Derby!

These are the x-rays of barbaro's leg after surgery.Metal plates and screws were used to hold the fractured bone in place.