Mini Horse Can Trot Again Because He Has A Brand-New Hoof

Things are finally look up again for this miniature horse named Shine - and he's got the moves to prove it.

A few months back, Shine was nearly killed in a suspected dog attack while at home on his farm in Colorado. Although he did manage to survive initially, his rear leg was so badly injured it wasn't clear at first if he would make it in the long run.

"He didn't meet me at the gate like he always does, and he was standing funny," his owner, Jacque Corsentino, said in a statement. "I shined the flashlight on him, and he was covered in blood."

Fortunately, a local veterinarian was able to stabilize Shine and bandage him up, allowing him to maintain some mobility - but his road to recovery was far from over.

After weeks passed and the mini horse's leg showed no signs of healing, his owners still refused to give up on him. Instead, they sought help from Colorado State University's veterinary teaching hospital.

The experts there agreed he was very much worth saving.

Turns out, Shine's leg was more seriously injured that previously thought, but there was one thing that could still save him - a prosthetic hoof.

"It's the first one I've done, but I've always wanted to try," said Laurie Goodrich, a specialist in equine orthopedics. "We had no way of preserving that limb. So we had to take it off, and this was the only option to preserve his life."

Though such prosthetics for horses are rare, a local manufacturer, OrthoPets, was able to provide Shine with the perfect fit.

Sure enough, all that effort paid off.

Within days of getting his brand-new hoof, Shine wasn't just back on his feet - he was already trotting again.

If it weren't for the dedication of Shine's family, and the veterinary staffers who dedicated their time to helping him, things might have ended up much differently.

"We've come a long way since that horrible bloody morning when I found Shine standing in a pool of blood after being attacked," his owners wrote on Facebook. "It's been a long journey. Shine never gave up and neither could we."

Watch a video of Shine's uplifting story in its entirety below.