Bred for Speed ... Built for Trouble

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That would be the ideal outcome for Barbaro. But there are plenty of other, less-fussed-over racehorses that come to a sorrier end. Breeding and racing are multibillion-dollar businesses, and they're not likely to get smaller any time soon. The people who raise and run the horses do care about them deeply, as Barbaro's attentive owners show. The industry as a whole, however, may need to love its animals just a little bit more, if only to push them a little bit less. [This article contains a complex diagram. Please see hardcopy or pdf.] POWER ZONE

Horses are designed to run. All their muscles are concentrated in the upper body, supported by long, thin legs. The massive hind muscles of a Thoroughbred drive enormous stress onto ankles not much bigger than a human's

Gluteal muscles

Biceps muscles DANGER ZONE

The lower parts of the legs have no muscles at all, just a structural network of bones, tendons and ligaments. That makes the blood vessels particularly vulnerable to tearing when a bone breaks. If that happens, there's little hope

Metatarsal vein Cannon Metatarsal artery Sesamoid Hoof Pastern

Cannon 1 large, other small fractures Sesamoid Multiple fractures

Fetlock joint Dislocated

Pastern More than 20 fractures

THE INJURY Barbaro's disastrous misstep shattered three bones and dislocated a joint. Luckily, he did not injure his veins or arteries. Now he must fight off infection during recovery SAVING BARBARO 1 In a 4.5-hour operation, surgeons inserted 27 screws and a 15-in. (38 cm) plate in and along the broken bones. The bones will fuse over time. Barbaro should be able to walk again, even though his ankle won't bend Cannon Sesamoid Pastern 2 To keep him from thrashing about and reinjuring himself when the anesthetic wore off, Barbaro was lowered into a pool of water for about an hour Raft keeps horse dry 3 Once he was fully awake, Barbaro was hoisted from the pool and taken by monorail to a recovery area. He'll be confined to his stall for several months Sources: Corinne Sweeney, DVM, New Bolton Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals; Atlas of Topographical Anatomy of the Domestic Animals, Vol. 1 ; Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx Zoo; Animal Painting and Anatomy, by W. Frank Calderon (Dover, 1975) Graphic for TIME by Ed Gabel; reported by Kristina Dell