Another "miracle" story from Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, about Riley, the horse with a prosthetic leg. Station KCSG News in Utah ran the story and there is a wonderful video at the link which shows Riley in action.
And while the report begins with a reference to Barbaro, "perhaps America's most well known horse" who suffered a traumatic leg injury, I do not think that Barbaro was a candidate for a prosthetic limb. First of all, Barbaro's leg did eventually heal while Riley's did not and there were lots of factors that made the "middle age" horse a good candidate for limb replacement.
Not the least of these is the fact that Riley is not a racehorse, bred to earn her keep on the track. As such, comments about her good natured and low key disposition all work in her favor. She was not, in other words, in the middle of training for the Triple Crown when she shattered her leg.
Second of all, amputation was the last resort--after multiple surgeries to repair her leg did not work. In other words, it was amputation or euthanasia. I do not like to hypothesize for other people, but my impression of the Jacksons is that they would have done whatever it took to save Barbaro and limb replacement was never an option on the table.
Riley is not out of the woods yet. She still could develop laminitis or any number of infections between now and the time she is fitted for her permanent prosthetic limb and even after that. But it is indeed amazing to see her walking around on three legs, munching grass in her paddock, leading what appears to be the "life of Riley."
FYI, an anonymous donor paid for Riley's surgery which took place in Wyoming and is estimated to have cost $20,000.
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