'Thrilled' At Barbaro's Progress

It's been just over three months since Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was severely injured, breaking his leg while running the Preakness.

Though his recovery has been slow and anything but steady, the colt's doctors are very encouraged by his recent progress, according to The Early Show's resident veterinarian, Dr. Debbye Turner.

She went to New Bolton Center at the University of Pennsylvania College of Veterinary Medicine in Kennett Square, Pa., to visit Barbaro and his surgeon, fellow veterinarian Dr. Dean Richardson, and filed an exclusive update on the thoroughbred's condition.

From the start, Turner said, Barbaro has faced some steep odds against survival but, "He's a fighter, and has done his best to buck those odds."

When Turner stopped by Monday, Barbaro went out for a short walk and some grazing, something Turner says seemed nearly impossible just five weeks ago when Richardson discussed his prognosis during a news conference.

"I would say poor," he said then. "I'd be lying if I said anything other than poor."

But thanks to round-the-clock care, and effective pain management, Barbaro is on much surer footing now, Turner observed.

"I'm thrilled that he is pulling me around," Richardson told Turner, "and that's he's able to walk … comfortably. I'm thrilled, absolutely thrilled."

Barbaro shattered his right hind leg at the Preakness, then suffering a debilitating and potentially life-threatening condition called laminitis in his left hind foot. As a result, Barbaro's entire left hoof had to be removed.

So how has he bounced back so far, so soon? Is it him or Richardson?

"No, it's not me," Richardson chuckled as he responded to Turner's query. "It's certainly not me. A lot of it's the horse, and good luck."

And it doesn't hurt to have the support of thousands of well-wishers.

"We are still getting letters and cards written to Barbaro every day, every single day," he told Turner.Barbaro gets daily half-hour walks for a little exercise and some fresh air.

"He likes looking at the cows," Richardson says. "He likes looking at the bicyclists who go by."

His treatment has a hefty price tag, Richardson noted: "For what this horse has had done to him and the type of care that he's had, if this were in a human, we'd probably be up to a half a million (dollars) or $1 million, at least. We're nowhere close to that, as you know; in veterinary medicine, nothing even remotely approximating that."

Tens of thousands of dollars have been spent to save Barbaro, Turner said, but no amount of money guarantees his survival.

"No," Richardson said, "he's not out of the woods. But at the moment, he has a clearer path through the woods."

Before Barbaro can be considered safe, Turner explained, he has to completely re-grow the left hoof, which will take about a year. Doctors also won't know if he will completely recover from his injury on the right, the broken one, until they take the cast off and see him walk.

What was Turner's assessment, as a veterinarian herself?

"I think he looked great," she said. "When I saw him, his attitude is bright, his eyes are bright. He's very alert. He's a sassy little horse. I held my hands out thinking he'd sniff me. He tried to bite me! He's got a little spunk."

What's the best case scenario for Barbaro?

"Of course," Turner told co-anchor Julie Chen, "they're looking for survival. Secondly, they're hoping he can stud, that he'll be able to mount a mare and breed. Dr. Richardson says he thinks that's possible by 2008. He hasn't given up hope on that."

Turner added that Barbaro is "in a minimal amount of pain," according to Dr. Richardson. "He's on the equivalent of a couple of aspirins a day. They say it was the pain management that really was the key that got him over the terrible hump."