Equine Amputation Celebrity Scene: Molly the Pony, Meet Riley the Mare

Now hear this: Horses can and do survive on three legs. Most will survive amputation surgery. Prosthetic limbs can be built and fitted for a horse's leg. Owners and caretakers are capable of removing and re-attaching the device.

But it's not something you hear about every day.

If Dr. Ted Vlahos has his way, that's all about to change.

Following the success of the #1 best-selling children's book, Molly the Pony, this summer, many people shook their heads in wonderment and said, "Amazing!" "A miracle!" "What a breakthrough!"

But to a group of hard-working veterinarians who have been perfecting the procedure of equine limb amputation and prosthetic therapy, Molly wasn't as much a miracle as she was the poster child that they needed to make the veterinary world take a second look at amputation as a viable alternative for salvaging injured horses who might otherwise be euthanized.

Molly the Pony isn't alone in the spotlight anymore. This week, the well-known Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah unveiled their new resident, a three-legged buckskin Quarter horse mare named Riley. When Riley hobbled into Best Friends last spring, she was knuckling over on one hind leg, and the shelter opted for fusion surgery. Unfortunately, the surgery was not successful and the mare suffered from infection.

Enter Dr. Ted Vlahos of Sheridan Equine Hospital in Wyoming. For years, he has been working on amputation cases with Dr. Barrie Grant in California and Dr. Ric Redden in Kentucky. Together, they could fill a stable with their successful cases. Vlahos had the mare sent to Wyoming, where he performed the amputation surgery and tended to the mare's recovery.

On Tuesday of this week, Riley returned to the Best Friends horse facility with her new leg and her new outlook on life. Dr. Vlahos instructed the staff on how to care for her and the prosthetic limb.

Riley will live out the rest of her days at the Sanctuary, where she will be treated, for the most part, like any other horse, albeit one who requires a few extra steps in her stable routine. The Sanctuary hopes that Riley's good health and mobility will be a feather in Vlahos's cap, and encourage more veterinarians to seek amputation options for horses who might otherwise have only one option.

Note: If the name of Best Friends sounds familiar, there's a reason. They are certainly a high-profile animal sanctuary organization in their own right, but they were in the news this summer for successfully rehabilitating 22 of the pit bulls confiscated in a dog fighting raid at the home of football star Michael Vick.

Molly the Pony vs. Gustav the Hurricane

Molly: 11. Hurricanes: 0.

Since Molly the Pony was foaled 19 years ago, 11 hurricanes and named tropical storms have darkened the skies over her home state of Louisiana. Andrew, Opal, Josephine, Danny, Frances, Georges, Lili, Katrina, Rita, Humberto, and Gustav have all sent people and ponies scurrying for high ground. Katrina in 2005 almost was the end of the little Pony of the Americas mare; she was abandoned in a barn that later collapsed and Molly was only accidentally found by rescuers.

Molly's post-Katrina road to recovery turned bloody when she was attacked by a pit bull at a rescue farm. Her leg could not be saved, and things looked grim but Molly's friends convinced Louisiana State University's College of Veterinary Medicine to perform an experimental amputation surgery. With the help of an artificial leg, Molly has not slowed down since! She is now America's most celebrated therapy pony, and spends time each week visiting hospitals, schools, and nursing homes and inspiring all who come near.

So it was a relief to hear today that Molly survived yet another hurricane, Monday's Gustav. Even so, the "Kids and Ponies" Foundation Farm outside New Orleans was damaged. Roofs are leaking, one barn is flooded and there's lots of clean-up work to do, says Kaye Harris, Molly's benefactor and director of the foundation.

Molly is the subject of a best-selling book, Molly the Pony by Pam Kaster, published in April. The first edition sold out in a month, and a second printing is now on sale. Click here to learn more about Molly and to order her book.

Click here for a link to a PayPal donation page where you can make a donation of any amount to help rebuild the farm for Molly and the 19 elderly, retired or otherwise unwanted ponies who have found a sanctuary there.

Survivors like Molly deserve the best.

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