DENVER, April 21 (UPI) — A miniature horse in Colorado was fitted with a special prosthetic hoof after having one of its hind legs amputated following a dog attack.
The 3-year-old miniature horse, named Shine, was left with a mangled hoof and an infected left leg that would require amputation after the attack on a ranch in Florence, Colo.
Shine’s owners Jacque Corsentino and Lee Vigil treated the horse for several months before sending him to Colorado State University associate professor of equine orthopedics Dr. Laurie Goodrich and telling her to “do whatever it takes” to keep him alive.
“Dr. Stubblefield called Dr. Goodrich from my barn, and then at least we knew we had some options, other than sending him to heaven,” Corsentino said.
Goodrich performed the two-hour surgery to amputate Shine’s infected leg and later 3-D printed an exact replica of his hoof.
“It’s the first one I’ve done, but I’ve always wanted to try,” Goodrich said. “We had no way of preserving that limb. So we had to take it off, and this was the only option to preserve his life.”
Shine’s small size made him a better candidate for prosthesis than regular-sized horses who are often too heavy for prosthetics and are typically euthanized after such injuries.
Given a second chance at life, Corsentino said they may have also found a new calling for Shine after having trained him to be a show horse.
“He’s so comforting. You know when you have horrible days? Shine is my therapy,” Corsentino said. “I think he would make an amazing therapy horse for wounded warriors or kids with disabilities.”
