According

to Dr. Richardson, Barbaro's life ended peacefully.

He had eaten grass and seemed okay early in the morning, but the fact he wouldn't lie down for a couple of days forced the vet and the Jacksons to make a painful decision.

The original break did not cause the complications:

"He developed a pretty severe bruise on the outside heel of his right hind foot," Richardson said. "He was bearing so much weight on that leg because he was getting off in his left hind. The consequence of that deep bruise on the outside of his right hind foot is that he ended up with an abscess under the sole in the heel region of his foot. The foot is not the location where he had his fractures. His fractures were in his pastern and fetlock region, which are above that.

"It was this right hind foot that started the (latest) problem. He developed laminitis in both front feet, the reason being he had no hind feet (to support him). He was uncomfortable behind, and then he started overloading his front feet."