Horse is Fire Survivor, International Horse of the Year and Possible Olympian Thanks, in Part, to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Louisville, KY, January 21, 2012 --(PR.com)-- On May 31st, Memorial Day 2011, horse trainer Boyd Martin and friend and fellow trainer Ryan Wood were called on in the small hours of the morning to become heroes. The two men rushed through the flames and smoke into the burning barn that housed 11 horses, including Boyd’s current Three Day Eventing champion Neville Bardos (winner of USEF National CCI3* in 2009 and 10th at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in 2010), who like Boyd and Ryan is originally from Australia.

Six horses would die in this fire, four others escaped and Neville Bardos, was saved after being found cowering and scorched in a corner of the barn. The chesnut geldings’ throat and lungs were severely damaged from smoke and heat inhalation, and he sustained multiple burns to other parts of his body.

Fast forward 3 months later and defying all prognosis from Veterinarians and Boyd’s highest expectatations, Neville is back in the game, finishing seventh at the prestigious Burghley Three Day Event in England-and now, possibly on his way to the Olympics.

After the fire, Neville received extensive treatment at the New Bolton Center, associated with the University of PA, as well as being treated multiple times in a Veterinary Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber (www.vhbo2.com) at Fairhill Equine Therapy Centre (www.fairhilletc.com). Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatments in conjunction with antibiotic and fluid therapy helped heal Neville‘s burnt airway and lung tissue and assisted in the prevention of a severe infection causing further complications. Surviving this type of injury is unlikely in itself but a high level equine athlete returning to peak performance is nothing short of miraculous.

HBOT involves treating a patient in a pressurized chamber while breathing 100% oxygen. This therapy has been commonly used for the treatment of scuba divers with the bends but also has many applications in the medical field in the treatment of humans and animals. There are currently 13 approved conditions that HBOT is used to treat in human medicine. For a full list of these conditions please visit www.uhms.org. In the treatment of animals, HBOT has proven a valuable adjunct therapy in the treatment of respiratory conditions, wounds, fractures, joint inflammation, infections, gastric conditions and as a before and after surgical treatment.

The success of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the veterinary field has led to the development of a specific governing body, The Veterinary Hyperbaric Medicine Society (VHMS) www.vet.utk.edu/vhms. The VHMS, www.vet.utk.edu/vhms, recently collaborated with the National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technology NBDHMT, www.nbdhmt.org to design the Certified Hyperbaric Technologist-Veterinary (CHT-V) certification exam. Qualifying applicants who complete the required pre-requisite training will be able to sit for this internationally recognized title. This huge advance in training for veterinary hyperbaric specialists will help pave the way for quality control in treatment standards and safety of veterinary hyperbaric medicine. The “crossed paths” between human and veterinary hyperbaric medicine will also allow for greater developments in terms of research and clinical case studies of conditions that have previously been regarded in the human field as “contra-indicated” to HBOT.

Neville was recently awarded the 2011 International Horse of The Year for Eventing by the United States Equestrian Federation, awarded to the “horse/s that has excelled above all others in equestrian competition.”

He is a now the top contender for a berth in the Summer Olympics in London, where Britain’s historic affinity for equestrian events will give the sport an unusually high profile.

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