I'm sure a number of you are wondering why Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro's chances of survival are still only 50/50 even after his successful surgery yesterday. The problem is that you can mend a horse's broken leg, but in doing so you may trigger even more serious health issues.

Horses are animals that live on their feet. Even a horse with a broken leg can't be kept off of its feet for long. One common problem that develops is laminitis, a sometimes fatal inflammation of the foot. A horse with a broken leg puts more weight on its good legs. The uneven weight distribution can trigger a case of laminitis.

In order to keep Barbaro's weight evenly on all four feet, he's been fitted with a special compression plate. But, there's always a chance that the devices will not hold and Barbaro will essentially break down again.

The third major factor working against Barbaro is the absolute stress of what he has gone through. In horses, stress can sometimes lead to colitis, which kills many horses and nearly killed Seattle Slew himself a few months after he won his Triple Crown.

But, it's not all bad news for Barbaro. So far, he sounds like an ideal patient. A lot of people have compared Barbaro's injury to what happened to the great fillies Go For Wand and Ruffian. It's not the best comparision. Go For Wand tumbled over when she broke down and was so severely injured that she had no chance and was destroyed on the track.

Ruffian's case, on the other hand, does have some similiarities. Ruffian had an initial successful surgery, but when she came out of the anesthesia, she went crazy and kicked and flayed around and jerked the cast right off of her broken leg. After that, there was nothing more they could do for her but put her out of her misery.

From the beginning, the fates worked against Ruffian. While Barbaro stood quietly and kept weight off of his hind leg, Ruffian reared up in anguish. When she was given a tranquilizer to calm her down, she had a paradoxical reaction and instead became more violent.

Barbaro may have the odds stacked up against him, but just as he did on the track, he's giving himself the best possible chance to win. But keep your fingers crossed for him. He won't be out of the woods for a couple of months.