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Barbaro's surgeon said the Kentucky Derby winner could be released from the hospital "in the not so distant future."
Dean Richardson, chief surgeon at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center, declined to offer a timetable for the horse's release.
"His departure from here depends on many things. In my mind's eye, he can leave in the not so distant future," Richardson said Dec. 13.
Richardson, who has been cautious in his updates since Barbaro was admitted for what doctors described as "life-threatening injuries," continued to sound optimistic Wednesday, saying the horse is still making good progress.
He said Barbaro's weight fluctuates, but that is common with hospitalized horses. He said the colt's appetite, vital signs and blood work are good and that the horse's coat "looks beautiful."
"As soon as we believe he can be managed as well somewhere else, he will go somewhere else," Richardson said.
The surgeon spoke as the center accepted a $114,710 check from a company that makes model plastic horses. The company also unveiled a 1/9-scale model of Barbaro.
The horse has been at New Bolton since breaking down at the Preakness in May. He also later developed a severe case of laminitis in his left hind foot.
"Right now, things are going really well and he's a happy horse," Richardson said, adding that the horse's left hind foot remains in a bandage and the fracture in his right hind foot has healed but needs a special shoe. "He will not be allowed any kind of free exercise for a long time."
Doctors have said that Barbaro will never race again, but that they were working to save his life and possibly preserve him as a stallion. His breeding future, however, remains uncertain.
"We haven't asked him at this point to jump a mare. We don't even know yet if the horse is fertile," Richardson said. "That's great if he ends up being a breeding stallion. … That's icing on the cake if we get that far."
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