Pogo the ‘Super Pony’ Overcomes Traumatic Amputation, Begins a Healing Mission

Pogo is a tiny pony—a “miniature” horse to be exact—with a very big will to live and apparently, a large destiny to fulfill.

He was found by a Birmingham-based equine rescue organization this past June and brought to the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine for treatment following traumatic amputation of the left hind limb.

Shelley Jones, of the Helping Horses of Alabama organization, rescued Pogo when he was spotted roaming free along a highway in rural Alabama.

“The pony was in really poor condition,” Jones said. “He was essentially wild and had apparently been running loose for a long time, was filthy, malnourished, and overall, in very bad shape.”

Moreover, the little pony had been surviving on its own with a severe and terrible leg wound that had left him surviving on only three hooves.

Pogo and two other miniature horses, it was learned, had been attacked by a pack of dogs, according to Jones.

“Two of the ponies were killed in the attack,” Jones said. “Pogo had lost his left rear hoof and had been surviving for several months unattended and untreated with a severe and really terrible-looking wound.”

Jones said they first believed the pony would have to be euthanized. “He was in such bad shape that we did not think he could survive,” she said.

But Pogo’s determination and will to live soon changed their belief. “We saw that Pogo was a strong and determined fighter,” Jones said. “We were determined at that point to do whatever we could for him.”

Pogo was evaluated by the college’s Equine Sports Medicine and Surgery Service in June for “traumatic amputation of the left hind limb from his fetlock down to his hoof,” said Dr. Lindsey Boone, an assistant clinical professor and an equine surgeon in the Department of Clinical Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine.

When evaluated by the equine surgery team, it was noted that the amputation had left exposed bone with

out adequate soft tissue protection. In order to save Pogo, faculty recommended surgical revision of the amputated limb and preparation for application of a permanent prosthesis.

Boone and her surgical team in the college’s J.T Vaughan Large Animal Teaching Hospital performed the surgery to repair Pogo’s badly damaged leg. “We removed the exposed bone, created a new skin flap to protect the amputation site and allow the site to heal properly,” she said.