De Luz horse sports artificial limb

By: WILLIAM FINN BENNETT - Staff Writer | Wednesday, January 7, 2004 10:09 PM PST ∞

DE LUZ ---- Swaying back and forth in her body sling, 9-year-old Arabian mare Rafeanna whinnied and appeared to grin as her owner Michelle Swank approached the stall.

Seconds later, the thoroughbred was chomping away contentedly on a carrot stick, as Swank rubbed the horse's forehead.

The three-legged horse was in the sling while Swank's father repaired the artificial foot to Rafeanna's recently fitted prosthetic leg, Swank said.

The horse broke her leg in eight places in late 2001 while running in her corral. But Swank was not willing to give up. She refused to euthanize Rafeanna, even though that's the typical outcome after such an accident.

"I love that horse, so putting her down was out of the question," Swank said.

Before the amputation, she paid $13,000 in hospital bills in an effort to save Rafeanna's leg, Swank said.

After making the decision to amputate the leg rather than euthanize the animal, she had an animal prosthesist make the first artificial leg, Swank said. But it didn't fit properly and when the man returned to correct the problem, he picked up the leg and never returned it, alleging that she hadn't paid him all the money she owed.

Fortunately, however, he left the foot behind and ---- with the help of local specialists Temecula Valley Orthonics & Prosthetics ---- she was able to have a new leg made and fitted to the artificial foot in early October, she said.

Prosthesist Michelle Whitehead said Tuesday that making a prosthetic leg for Rafeanna was a first for her, because she specializes in human prosthetics.

"It was really challenging; with a human you get feedback on whether it's hurting, but with a horse it's hard to tell if there is a painful spot," Whitehead said.

"You just have to watch and really look at the stump and get visual feedback instead of verbal feedback," she added.

Whitehead first took a plaster cast of the remaining portion of Rafeanna's leg, to design a proper fit for the new limb, which is made of carbon graphite and acrylic resin. Once the limb was made ---- at a cost of about $2,000 ---- she had to do several fittings and adjustments before the job was complete, she added.

Weight is also a problem in designing a leg for a horse, Whitehead said. Most humans weigh 200 pounds or less, while Rafeanna tips the scales at about 900 pounds. So, five or six layers of lamination ---- which strengthens the prosthesis ---- were required for her leg, compared with the one or two layers used for human prosthetics.

Swank said that artificial limbs for horses are unusual but not unheard of. The key factor is the owner's desire to keep an animal, rather than take the more typical route of euthanasia. Equally important, she said, is the horse's temperament.

"You have to have a real dedicated owner and a horse that won't go crazy in its sling ---- a lot of horses won't tolerate this," she said.

Often, the determining factor in whether to euthanize or amputate and use a prosthetic limb is the horse's value. For pricey thoroughbreds, it's often worth the investment, she said, especially if they are used for breeding purposes.

Seven months after Rafeanna's amputation Swank bred the mare, using artificial insemination. The thoroughbred's foal is now 8 months old.

At the time Swank made the decision to breed Rafeanna, the veterinarian questioned the wisdom of impregnating a horse with only three legs, Swank said.

"My response was that she really loves her babies and that's her purpose for living," Swank said.

Horses that are amputees don't lose their basic instinct to procreate, she added.

She said that a veterinarian who specializes in amputations on horses told her that he was once caring for a stallion and a mare, both of which were amputees fitted with prosthetic legs. One evening, the veterinarian left the pair in the same corral overnight and he woke up the next morning to a surprise, she said.

"He found the mare with the stallion's artificial limb hanging from her mane, so it was obvious he had been mounting her," Swank said.

Contact staff writer William Finn Bennett at (909) 676-4315, Ext. 2624, or wbennett@californian.com.