I've written articles over the years about horses who survived amputation surgery. There was Boitron, the California Thoroughbred stallion who could service mares after amputation surgery. There were Dr. Ric Redden's dramatic cases of founder survivors who galloped around his paddock on artificial feet with "transplanted frogs". Dr. Chris Colles had the never-say-die Appaloosa in England with the spring-loaded foot. And who can forget that paint yearling in India ? Or the landmine-maimed elephant amputee in Thailand ? Longtime Hoofcare and Lameness Journal readers will remember them all. So when I first heard that a pony had survived amputation surgery at Louisiana State University 's (LSU) equine hospital, I didn't run to the keyboard and beg for photos. A few weeks later I did, though. Meet Molly. She's a gray speckled pony who was abandoned by her owners when Katrina hit southern Louisiana . She spent weeks on her own before finally being rescued and taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled. While there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier, and almost died. Her gnawed right front leg became infected and her vet went to LSU for help. But LSU was overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare case. You know how that goes. But after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, he changed his mind. He saw how the pony was careful to lie down on different sides so she didn't seem to get sores, and how she allowed people to handle her. She protected her injured leg. She constantly shifted her weight, and didn't overload her good leg. She was a smart pony with a serious survival ethic. Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee and a temporary artificial limb was built. Molly walked out of the clinic and her story really begins there. "This was the right horse and the right owner," Moore insists. "Molly happened to be a one-in-a-million patient. She's tough as nails, but sweet, and she was willing to cope with pain. She made it obvious she understood (that) she was in trouble." The other important factor, according to Moore , is having a truly committed and compliant owner who is dedicated to providing the daily care required over the lifetime of the horse. Molly's story turns into a parable for life in post-Katrina Louisiana . The little pony gained weight, her mane felt a comb. A human prosthesis designer built her a leg. "The prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life," Allison Barca DVM, Molly's regular vet, reports. "And she asks for it! She will put her little limb out, and come to you and let you know that she wants you to put it on. Sometimes she wants you to take it off too." And sometimes, Molly gets away from Barca. "It can be pretty bad when you can't catch a three-legged horse," she laughs. Most important of all, Molly has a job now. Kay, the rescue farm owner, started taking Molly to shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers. Anywhere she thought that people needed hope. Wherever Molly went, she showed people her pluck. She inspired people. And she had a good time doing it. "It's obvious to me that Molly had a bigger role to play in life," Moore said, "She survived the hurricane, she survived a horrible injury, and now she is giving hope to others." "She's not back to normal," Barca concluded. "She's going to be better. To me, she could be a symbol for New Orleans itself." This week, Molly the Pony , a children's book about the pony who has already inspired thousands of people around New Orleans , has been published. It's not a book about amputation or prosthetics, it's a book about people and ponies. But the photos you see here are from the book. Maybe Molly won't make the vet textbooks, but she might reach more people from the pages of this book for children. If you know a child, a library, a hospital, or maybe a therapeutic riding program that can use a lift, here's a book that can do that. And you can explain how the leg and hoof work! HOW TO ORDER: This book is an oversized, square "laminated" (so it wipes clean) hard cover book. Hoofcare Publishing is proud to offer it for sale to you at the price of $15.95 each plus $6 post. A portion of the sales price will go toward Molly's fund. To order, send check or money to Hoofcare Books, 19 Harbor Loop, Gloucester MA 01930 . Telephone orders to ( USA ) 978 281 3222. Fax orders to ( USA ) 978 283 8775. Email orders to books@hoofcare.com . Visa or Mastercard accepted; please supply account number and expiration date. When ordering, please give phone and/or email details. You will LOVE this book--and Molly!

This is Molly's most recent prosthesis. The bottom photo shows the ground surface that she stands on, which has a smiley face embossed in it. Wherever Molly goes, she leaves a smiley hoof print behind! Posted by Fran Jurga http://hoofcare.blogspot.com/2008/03/pony-romps-to-new-role-in-lifeon-three.html

Who leads the herd?

New world record for biggest horse

Overcoming Your Horse’s Fear Of Water

There are times, particularly with a young horse that whilst out riding you’re your horse comes across a puddle or small pool of water and refuses to cross it. If this has ever happened to you then you know how frustrating it can be. It doesn’t matter what you try to do nothing will get him to go through. This a common problem, so how do you cure it? First you need to build the trust he needs in you and to do this you must take the role of the leader or alpha mare. He needs to feel confident that you are not asking him to do anything that would harm him. Then you need to lead by example. In a herd, if the alpha mare does something others follow in the knowledge that it must be safe to do so. So you have two choices here. You jump into the puddle yourself and get wet shoes and socks, or more sensibly have a friend walk a trained horse through the puddle first so that your horse can see nothing disastrous occurred. The chances are then that your horse will dutifully follow. For the more nervous horses create a puddle in a sandy area, ideally in an area that the horse is already comfortable with and has walked through regularly and doesn’t see as a threat. You will more likely find that your horse will just leap across the puddle, but that’s a step forward as he did cross it, so don’t see this as a problem. It is a step in the right direction so praise your horse. If you have a tarpaulin or other such material, you could use this to create larger and larger pools of water to train your horse, but normally if he is happy to walk through a small one, larger ones are alright for him too. Whatever you do, do not get angry at your horse for refusing to cross a pool of water. Be sympathetic. It is his fear of the unknown and inbuilt perception of danger holding him back.



Saving Horses

There are many equestrians around the United States and in foreign countries. Some compete with their animals and some just ride for fun. However, most probably do not know about the cruelty that is happening throughout the equine industry.

A nurse mare foal, is a foal who was born so that its mother might come into milk. The milk that the nurse mare is producing is used to nourish the foal of another mare, a more “expensive” foal. Primarily these are thoroughbred foals, though certainly not limited to the thoroughbred industry. The foals are essentially byproducts of the mare's milk industry. A thoroughbred mare's purpose is to produce more racehorses. A mare can give birth to one foal each year provided she is re-bred immediately after delivering a foal. Because the Jockey Club requires that mares be bred only by live cover, and not artificially inseminated. The mare must travel to the stallion for breeding and may be shipped as soon as 7-10 days after giving birth to a foal, but a period of 3-4 weeks is generally allowed.

Traveling is very risky for these newborn racing foals, and insurance costs are prohibitive for the foal to accompany the mother to the stallion farm. At this point a nurse mare is hired to raise the thoroughbred foal. In order to have milk, the nurse mare had to give birth to her own baby. When she is sent to the thoroughbred breeding farm, her own foal is left behind. Historically, these foals were simply killed. Orphaned foals are difficult to raise and no one had tried to raise large numbers of them. Now, these foals do have value ... their hides can be used as “pony skin” in the fashion and textile industries, and the meat is considered a delicacy in some foreign markets. This is where a lot of rescue organizations come in. They rescue these foals by purchasing as many as they can, tend to their needs, and find them loving, secure homes. Please help us help them. More on Horse Cruelty...

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Remember that all your Donations go to help to House, Purchase, Feed and Nurture Back to Good health all the Horses that we can Rescue. More on Donations Here.....



What Is Involved in Rescue?

The needs of orphan foals can be overwhelming. Even at their healthy best, they need lots of milk, nutritional support, and daily hands-on care until they are adopted into their new homes, when their new families take on these responsibilities.

Some healthy foals are quickly taken into their new homes, but many stay with us for longer periods of time, struggling to survive.

Foals in severely compromised heath have advanced needs that can exceed $75 to $100 a day per foal in veterinary and intensive care. Once a foal is in in stable health, these costs decrease dramatically, and are readily manageable by their new surrogate families (caring for one or two is a breeze compared to eight or twelve!).

So, if you are an equestrian, love horses, and would like to rescue a baby in need, look in your area for nurse mare foal rescue organizations. Saving a life of these wonderful animals can be very rewarding. Regardless of your interests, whether it be barrel racing, hunter jumper, dressage, trail riding, competition trail riding, rodeo, calf roping, western pleasure, anything that involves the majestic horse…save a life, and adopt a nurse mare foal for your next champion.