RAMONA -- Volunteers from across the county -- including an equine therapist, a ranch owner and a noted plastic surgeon -- have helped nurse a miniature horse named Spike back to health more than four months after he was mauled by a pack of pit bulls.

The volunteers, though not his owner, now fittingly call him "Chance."

On Jan. 31, four pit bulls dragged Spike from his corral in Paradise Mountain, east of Valley Center, according to owner Robin Hansen. The horse was left with a twisted spine and left front leg, a dislodged palate and a strip of skin ripped clean from his snout.

It was one of several reported attacks on livestock in the area earlier this year. The attacks, which killed two other dogs and injured a full-sized horse, ceased in March, residents said.

After reading about Spike in the North County Times, Laurie Baker offered her equine therapy services. The Valley Center woman owns Hands On Horses and has treated Spike twice a week since March. She's helped relax the animal's neck and chest muscles, which "locked up" after the mauling, she said. Her work, called craniosacral therapy, includes everything from deep massages to electromagnetic resonance stimulation. The treatments improve Spike's circulation and boost his immunity, the therapist said.

"Every time I work on him, he gets a little better," Baker said, preparing for another treatment on a sunny Monday at the Spots 'N Stripes Ranch, an animal rescue ranch in Ramona where Spike has been housed free for the past several weeks.

January's attack left Spike with a baseball-sized infection inside his nose and he wheezed considerably, his owner said. He was unable to raise his head and walked gingerly on his twisted left front leg.

To clear his breathing passage, the ranch's owner, Nancy Nunke, inserted a stent, or tube, inside his nose. Over a week, she literally "squeezed the infection out," said Nunke, who said she has spent four decades caring for rescued horses, and specializes in the care of rescued zebras.

With the infection gone, Spike is now able to take deep, long breaths that have helped his recovery, volunteers said. He's now able to hold his head high with the neck therapy and trot across the ranch's 6 acres.

"He's just 100 percent compared to where he was," Hansen said, her eyes fixed on her brown-and-white spotted mini. "He still has a long road."

The horse's nose is still raw months after the attack. Nunke treats it four or five times daily, she said, applying a small cabinet's worth of antiseptic cleansers and fly repellents.

With the help of a noted plastic surgeon, a permanent fix for the exposed snout could be on its way, Spike's supporters said.

Dr. Mayer Tenenhaus of UC San Diego's Burn Center examined the horse earlier this spring for free. He believes skin grafts may be possible for Spike, according to the physician's assistant and practice manager, Pat Washington.

"He wants to see how the nose will heal and make a determination from there," said Washington, noting the surgeon was out of town this week and unavailable for comment.

Tenenhaus has performed numerous procedures, including grafts, for mauled and burned animals in his career, Washington said.

Spike's supporters all said that the horse's turnaround has been dramatic. Nunke and Baker believe he would have withered and perhaps died within months without the extra care.

At age 15, the mini has 20 or 25 healthy years ahead, they said.

"I don't know where (his treatment) will end up," said Baker, the therapist. "But at least where he's at now, he will survive and be healthy. We're going to keep at it … and give him the fighting chance he needs."

For more about the Spots 'N Stripes Ranch, visit www.zorse.com. To contact Laurie Baker at Hands On Horses, call (760) 802-7777.

Call staff writer Chris Nichols at 760-740-5426.

CORRECTION: Story included incorrect phone number

An incorrect phone number for Laurie Baker, an equine therapist, was listed in a front-page North County Times article Wednesday about the recovery of a miniature horse. The correct number is (760) 802-7777.

We apologize.