May 18, 2008: Molly

[xoxoxoBruce]

From SonnyRadio, via Bits & Pieces.

No, Virginia, they don't always shoot horses. Sometimes the horses are very rich(valuable), or very, very lucky.
Molly was the latter, in the end, but certainly not in the beginning.

She's a gray speckled pony who was abandoned by her owners when Katrina hit southern Louisiana, USA . 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.

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. 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.
The other important factor is having a truly committed 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. She inspires all who meet her.

'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.'

That ought to warm your cockles.

[Sperlock]

Am I the only one who is tempted to see Molly dressed up as a pirate?

[Cloud]

wow, that's pretty cool.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Sperlock

Am I the only one who is tempted to see Molly dressed up as a pirate?

As long as you don't say, "Well, you can't eat a special pony all at once".

[Cloud]

the "hoof" has a smiley face on the bottom. awwww!

[hulk]

"Everybody wants prosthetic foreheads on their real heads."

[Slight]

Hmmm the left photo is 'shopped on the left side, all the way to the leg with the prosthesis. Also, the sky is entirely fake. I doubt the veracity of what that photo (1 of 3) is attempting to portray, mainly that a pony wears a artificial limb. I don't doubt that such a thing is possible however.

Snopes and LSU and YouTube (2 min 15 sec) agree she is real.

[Cloud]

you're right, it doesn't look like it matches the other limb. hmm. (heads off to Snopes)

ETA: "true"

[sweetwater]

A pony with a fake leg - there must a joke here somewhere about quarter horses vs. three-quarter horses, but I'm at a loss.

[spudcon]

OK Sperlock.

[Imigo Jones]

I don't care what they do in the hopelessly corrupt and political human Olympics:
May 2007: "An Amputee Sprinter: Is He Disabled or Too-Abled?"
May 2008: "Double-Amputee Allowed To Compete for Olympic Bid / Appeals Court: No Edge Gained From Blades"

Molly's bionic prosthetic will give her a 25% unfair advantage on the track , where competitors have traditionally had to get by on natural ankles. Keep horse racing untainted!

[Undertoad]

But it's okay, because the track operators will be able to tell she's bionic-enhanced when her leg gives off that bionic sound effect.

[wolf]

I'm wondering what the implications here are for a case like Barbaro ... If they'd amputated and fitted a prosthetic, would he still have been eligible for stud?

[sweetwater]

They don't need a living horse for stud, only a formerly living one. Semen is often collected from big money animals and sold for years. It's quite a business.

[arallyn]

Originally Posted by sweetwater

They don't need a living horse for stud, only a formerly living one. Semen is often collected from big money animals and sold for years. It's quite a business.

Ya cant use AI for registered thoroughbreds. They have to be stood to stud using natural insemination.