'Little Pony That Could' Gets Prosthetic Hoof

— -- He didn't earn the nickname "the Little Pony That Could" for nothing.

Shine the miniature horse is quickly overcoming the loss of his foot, thanks to a veterinary team at Colorado State University and a prosthetic hoof.

Last December, Shine was mauled in what was believed to be dog attack. His owner, Jacque Corsentino, immediately knew something was wrong.

“Shine always met me at the gate and he wasn’t out,” Corsentino told ABC News. He was covered in blood when she finally found him, with injuries to his lip and back leg. Corsentino said that although Shine seemed to be recovering well initially, his leg soon became infected.

After consulting with a number of veterinarians, the 3-year-old mini-horse was referred to Dr. Laurie Goodrich at CSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. An evaluation in March determined that Shine was small enough for amputation and prosthesis. He underwent the procedure at the University’s James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

Now after six weeks of recovery at the veterinary hospital, Shine is back home in his barn in Florence, Colorado, with his new hoof. According to Corsentino, he is going through physical therapy and slowly adjusting to the prosthesis.

“He tries to chew the buckles, he tries to shake it off,” she said. “Once he gets used to it I think we’ll see a major turn around. We’ll be able to turn him out to pasture and let him be a horse.”

Shine's inner “sock” of the prosthetic hoof needs to be changed every other day for the rest of his life. The medical expenses for the amputation cost nearly $9,000 according to Corsentino, and the family has set up a crowdfunding page to seek donations.

However, Corsentino said it was all worth it for this “really special” little horse. After he’s done recovering, Corsentino plans to bring Shine to local hospitals as a therapy animal.