Meet Koda the world's smallest horse... who was also born a dwarf

He is so tiny, visitors often assume he's a stuffed toy.

Standing at 59cm tall, if Koda the horse wants an equal he has to turn to the vetinary cat for company.

The 'American miniature' horse - who suffers the double-whammy of being born a dwarf - has had a bout of health problems caused by his size, but he is now recovering and enjoying the life of a pampered pet.

He is so tiny, visitors often assume he's a stuffed toy.

Standing at 59cm tall, if Koda the horse wants an equal he has to turn to the vetinary cat for company.

The 'American miniature' horse - who suffers the double-whammy of being born a dwarf - has had a bout of health problems caused by his size, but he is now recovering and enjoying the life of a pampered pet.

The cheeky 'American miniature' horse was always meant to be small but at birth vets soon realised he was dinky even for his breed.

'He was no bigger than a cat,' said his vet Andy Lynch. 'He was diagnosed as a dwarf soon after birth.'

Koda's condition is rare and Lynch is amazed that he's still alive and kicking at 13-months-old despite a torrent of health problems.

Brave Koda has had lots of surgery to correct his stumpy, buckled legs but that hasn't helped his peculiar face. His lower jaw juts out and he has bulging eyes, upturned nostrils and a wrinkled nose.

'He had a punky look, a fuzzy forelock and his mane stuck up like a mohawk,' Dr Lynch said.


Koda's poor health prognosis left Dr Lynch with little doubt he should be put down.
But veterinary nurse Karen Stephenson, 23, was astounded by the resilience and spirit of the pint-sized pony.

'I'd never seen a miniature horse and I just thought him amazing,' she said.

'I fell in love with him as soon as I saw him and thought he deserved a go at some good quality life, so I took him on.'

Dr Lynch has performed about £5,000 worth of leg surgery on Koda, but his total vet's bill is expected to top £15,000.

The next step is extensive dentistry to remove protruding adult teeth that won't fit in his little mouth.

He has recovered well from every operation so far.

'He's very brave and takes his medicine like a little man,' said Dr Lynch.

'He's everyone's friend but he's also got a very naughty streak and he'll chew just about anything,' he added.

Horse that's allergic to grass

Shrouded in what looks like an ill-fitting Christmas jumper and leg warmers, she cuts a comical figure.

But the plight of Pandora the mare is no laughing matter.

The five-year-old thoroughbred has to be kept covered up because she is allergic to grass.
Even a single blade touching her coat is enough to leave her gasping for breath and covered in large, painful boils.

Her owner, Emily Pearce, has no option but to cover her up with a protective layer of high-tech polyester-based breathable fabric to avoid having to lock her away for her own safety.
She also wears a mask to protect her eyes. She is fed a special mixture of sugarbeet chaff and soya oil, along with 15 anti-histamine tablets a day.

'She does look silly but it is the only thing that helps her,' said Miss Pearce, 24, from Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.

Pandora's £185 rug, imported from a specialist firm in Sweden, is usually used to protect a horse from insect bites. It is designed so that it can be buckled around her but leave her moving freely.

The mask, which costs £50, fits snugly over her ears and down to her muzzle and is held in place with Velcro. Although it covers her eyes, it is so fine she can see through it. Miss Pearce, an auxiliary veterinary nurse, bought the 15.2-hand horse for £2,600 in 2007.

Last summer Pandora began to develop a large, itchy lump on her belly at her stables in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

The lump continued to grow and when it was joined by others, Miss Pearce tried steroid injections but they did nothing to relieve Pandora's distress. In the end, a battery of tests was carried out, revealing she was allergic to every type of grass.

It is not clear what caused the condition to appear so suddenly, and there is no cure. Vet Peter Fenton said he had come across only two other cases - and neither was so acute.

The shire that keeps getting higher

He tends to thunder or rumble past rather than canter or trot.

But then, nothing Duke the shire horse does is subtle. He stands at just over 6ft 7in high at the withers, or shoulders - a world record - and weighs more than a ton.

Astonishingly, the five-year-old will continue to grow over the next couple of years, so he could yet put on another inch or two.

Duke - who in equestrian terms is a little over 19.3 hands - was rescued in 2006 when his former owner died suddenly.

He has since become a star attraction at The Horse Refuge in Tenterden, Kent, where his new owners have had to build a special large stable for him. He also needs custom-made rugs and collars.

Carer Sara Ross said: 'Visitors can't believe it when they see him. Some joke that he must be crossed with an elephant.

'He towers over me. I go underneath him rather than around him when I'm with him to save time. When I'm grooming him I have to stand on something.'

Duke eats more than £110 of food each week, receiving two large feeds and a bale-and-a-half of hay in a winter week - more than four times as much as a normal horse.

Despite his formidable presence, Duke's best friend is Jasper - a Shetland pony.

Pictured: Riley the amputee horse saved from slaughter after a vet fits her with a false leg

A crippled horse has been given a false leg in a pioneering operation to stop her being put down after suffering an awful injury.

These amazing pictures show how technology has given the lame horse a new lease of life rather than face the prospect of being put down.

Now this mare Riley will spend the rest of her days in an animal sanctuary.


Thanks to the artificial leg, she is able to trot around her paddock and graze normally with her pony friends.

And the vet who treated her believes the surgery will be able to prevent many more otherwise healthy animals being destroyed because of broken or infected limbs.

Staff at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Wyoming feared the worst for Riley when she was brought in four years ago with what was describes as ‘an awful’ hind leg injury.

The buckskin horse had a severe cut on her left hind leg. Scar tissue formed, causing her tendons to contract to such an extent that her fetlock (or ankle) was pulled out of place.

The best option at the time was to surgically insert a metal plate into her leg to fuse the fetlock and straighten the leg.

For a few years, the plate helped Riley lead a decent life.

But despite the best treatment, the plate became contaminated and an infection developed around it, causing the bone to deteriorate.

Removing the plate and putting in a new one wasn’t feasible because it would entail removing bone that had grown around the plate, which would have destabilised the leg even more.

Normally in such a situation, the horse would be put down but sanctuary manager Jen Reid and the centre’s veterinarian Dr Tara Timpson were determined not to let that happen.

Then one day two volunteer workers at the sanctuary in Utah mentioned Vet Ted Vlahos in Wyoming, who had successfully fitted horse amputees with artificial legs.

He was one of three veterinarians who pioneered the procedure and came to assess whether Riley would be a good candidate for a prosthetic limb.

To endure recovery and get accustomed to an artificial leg, a horse must have a calm temperament because post-op rehabilitation involves spending a good deal of time hoisted in a sling.

If the horse is prone to anxiety, the stress incurred while in the sling could lead to colic.

The horse also needs to have a strong opposing leg - in Riley’s case, a strong right rear leg - because she would be bearing much of her weight on that leg until she adjusted to the prosthesis.

He decided she fitted the bill and agreed to perform the surgery a discounted rate while a generous benefactor met the cost of the treatment.

The vet transported Riley to his clinic where he amputated her leg just below her knee and fitted her with a temporary prosthetic limb.

Five months ago Dr Vlahos loaded Riley into his horse trailer and transported her to his clinic where he fitted the first of three titanium limbs she will receive while the swelling in her stump heals.

Not long after the procedure, she was trotting, running and even playing, as well as easily bearing the weight of Dr Vlahos’s daughter, whose birthday wish was for Riley to be well enough to ride.

Then last month Riley returned home to Best Friends.

Though stiff from the long ride, she now wanders her pasture grazing, trotting and flirting.

Jen Reid said: ‘She’s eating great. She takes lots of naps. She likes to flirt over the fence with her male neighbour.

‘She’s doing everything a normal horse would.’

Best Friends spokeswoman Barbara Williamson said:

‘Each year, thousands of horses are put down for reasons very similar to those that necessitated the amputation of Riley’s leg.

‘Nowhere has that fact been more apparent than at the racetrack, where countless thoroughbreds have been destroyed after breaking a leg.

‘Riley now shows that horses’ lives don’t have to end that way, thanks to this advance in equine medicine.’

She added: ‘This procedure isn’t for every horse with a broken or severely infected leg, but many horses can be saved from a death sentence if people simply knew that having a prosthetic limb fitted is an option.’

Tara Timpson who is now taking daily care of Riley said: ‘She has always been an amazing patient.

‘We knew we needed a horse like that to be a good candidate for this procedure.’

Dr Vlahos said the ideal candidate for the procedure was a thoroughbred racehorse because they are incredibly fit.

He added: ‘We really feel that its old school to quit on these horses.’

He stressed it isnt for every horse with a broken or severely infected leg, but feels many horses can be saved from a death sentence if people simply know about this option.

Currently, two other veterinarians, Dr Barrie Grant of California and Dr Rick Redden of Kentucky, perform the procedure.

Dr Vlahos believes that eventually the prosthesis option will become a common practice.

He went on: ‘We’re hopeful that horses like Riley will get the word out that we don’t always need to kill them.

‘We have thousands of guys who come back from Iraq with amputated limbs. We don’t throw them away, and nor should we with horses.’