Mini Horse Gets a New Leg - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

2 months ago KX News brought you the story of a miniature horse in need of a leg.

Rafiki is a rescue horse from Minnesota who suffered a major injury.

When he arrived at Triple H Miniature Horse Rescue he was hopping around on 3 legs--his 4th leg a stump.

10 weeks later that little pony has a new leg to stand on.

Ag Reporter Sarah Gustin takes you back to Triple H to show you how a prosthetic leg has improved this little horse's quality of life.

(Alison Smith / Triple H Miniature Horse Rescue) "It's been a whirl wind, but I am glad. It's turned out better than I ever expected." 

After 10 weeks of casting and fitting at a vet in Sheridan, Wyoming Rafiki is home and here to stay.

(Alison Smith / Triple H Miniature Horse Rescue) "Took the cast off and put that on..simple done. his stump healed perfectly. There's no pain. Everything went just by the book. It was very successful." 

Rafiki finally has 4 stable legs to stand on.

Out of habit he still sometimes hops on three, but this little horse with a big will to live is once again enjoying life.

(Sarah Gustin / sgustin@kxnet.com) "Every other day Rafiki gets a new sock to wick away any moisture that is developing underneath his prosthesis as well as to check for any pressure sores."

(Alison Smith / Triple H Miniature Horse Rescue) "Very simple pull the old sock off put the new sock on and put his prosthesis back on. It's very simple and that's really it for any type of daily care and he's doing really well with it."

Rafiki is only 4 years old. 

Smith says if horses can live to be more than 30 years old--he's got a lot of years of life to live and those should be well spent.

(Alison Smith / Triple H Miniature Horse Rescue) "If they can be fixed and have a quality of life then we do that, and for whatever reason this one did tug at my heart strings because he was getting no care and he was hopping on 3 legs and we had never spent that kind of money on a rescue horse but for me personally, I don't know where to draw the line in that life is life. So if you can improve this one and that is the one you have at the time, you do it." 

The process cost the horse rescue about 15-thousand dollars.

You can follow Rafiki's story on facebook at helping Rafiki Get a Leg Up in Life.