Shine, a miniature horse, is walking again thanks to a prosthetic hoof.
Last December, Shine lost the use of his rear left leg after he was mauled by what was believed to be a dog.
“Shine always met me at the gate and he wasn’t out,” Jacque Corsentino, her owner, told ABC News. The horse was covered in blood, and his hip and back leg was injured, and soon became infected.
Two bones were broken, and her hoof was barely attached.
After consulting with different veterinarians, Corsentino was referred to Dr. Laurie Goodrich at Colorado State University. An evaluation determined that Shine, who was only three years old, was young enough for an amputation and prosthetics.
After the surgery, Shine spent six weeks at the hospital before he was taken back to the farm, where he’s undergoing physical therapy to adjust to the prosthetic hoof.
At first, the horse tried to shake it off and even tried to bite it, but now he has adjusted to the prosthetic.
“He tries to chew the buckles, he tries to shake it off,” Corsentino said. “Once he gets used to it I think we‘ll see a major turn around. We’ll be able to turn him out to pasture and let him be a horse.”
The inner “sock” in Shine’s prosthetic hoof will have to be constantly changed for the rest of his life, and the medical bills have added up to nearly $9,000. A crowdfunding page has been set up to help the farm pay for the cost of her operation.
Corsentino said that the cost was all worth it to save this “special” horse, and that he'll be taking him to the local hospital as a therapy animal in the future.
