Custom prosthetic gives donkey a big leg up on life

Born premature and discovered nearly frozen on a barn floor, a miniature donkey named Elsa is now home for the holidays - and in the best health of her young life - after spending the summer and early fall at Washington State University, where equine veterinarians fitted her with a custom prosthetic.

"I hear my husband holler out, 'Brenda,' and he reaches down and scoops up this wet, furry blob. That's the moment I realized, oh my God, that's a baby," said Brenda Ohlsen, who owns Elsa with her husband, Mike. "We got her bundled up and we were trying to get her dry. Mike ran up and grabbed an old hair dryer. She was stiff."

Thanks to the efforts of Mike and Brenda, the hours-old Elsa made it through what would be one of the coldest nights of the year. But it was only her first hurdle. Weeks later, Elsa's mother, Mocha, died, leaving the foal orphaned. Soon after, Elsa developed a severe bone infection that would cost her a leg - and nearly her life.

Elsa developed a severe bone infection that would cost her a leg - and nearly her life.

Hints of the problem were first noticed when the Ohlsens saw the 2-week-olddonkey limping in their pasture. X-raysrevealed bone infections in both of Elsa's hind legs.

Just as the infections appeared to subside, Elsa suffered a freak fracture to her right hind leg that left exposed bone and nearly severed her limb below the knee.

Despite the best efforts of the Ohlsens and Dr. Paul Hafner, their primary veterinarian, including flushing the wound and prescribing powerful antibiotics, the infection worsened and was quickly working its way up Elsa's leg.

Knowing they were losing the battle and with euthanasia looming, the Ohlsens made the decision to amputate.

"It was a no-brainer for me," Brenda said. "Even with as bad as that leg was and the pain she must have been in, she was still a fighter and happy to see you. How can you look at her and tell her 'no' when she had fought so hard to get that far?"

That same day they got the news of the infection, Dr. Hafner called Dr. Kelly Farnsworth at WSU's College of Veterinary Medicine, in what was the beginning of a rollercoaster.

"We found out through the X-raythat it was all but terminal - that we'd lost this infection battle," Mike said. "The next day we're talking with WSU and with Kelly and the team, and the day after that we were there dropping her off."

Led by Farnsworth and Dr. Ted Vallejos of Rocky Vista University, WSU's equine surgery team - including Drs. Sebastian Larriva and Amanda Chagas - amputated Elsa's lower right hind leg near the damaged joint. Surgeons wrapped the flexor tendons over the end of the bone to create a cushion for the prosthetic, and then closed the skin over the stump.

[Link]Kelly Farnsworth, a WSU equine surgeon and professor of veterinary medicine, holds a custom prosthetic leg on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, in Pullman that was made for Elsa, a miniature donkey (photo by Ted S. Warren, College of Veterinary Medicine). [Link]A custom prosthetic leg is fitted Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, on Elsa, a miniature donkey who came into the Veterinary Teaching Hospital in WSU's College of Veterinary Medicine with a severely broken leg in Pullman (photo by Ted S. Warren, College of Veterinary Medicine). Elsa, a miniature donkey, lost a hind leg due to a bone infection, but was eventually fitted with a carbon-fiber prosthesis (photos by Ted S. Warren, College of Veterinary Medicine).

The surgery took less than three hours, but Elsa could not be fitted for a custom prosthesis until post-surgical swelling subsided, and a permanent prosthetic would take several weeks to arrive.

In the meantime, Farnsworth fashioned a temporary prosthetic using PVC pipe and other readily available materials.

"It's often a challenge to get an animal to accept and use a prosthesis," Farnsworth said. "But that wasn't the case for Elsa. She hadn't used that leg in quite a while, so she had to relearn how to put it down and move forward. She's now getting around and using it really well."

Farnsworth said Elsa's recovery reflects both her determination and her owners' commitment.

"They were very invested in the process," he said. "And it's a lifetime commitment, because the prosthesis has to be checked, cleaned, and fitted every day."

When the Ohlsens returned to pick Elsa up, she wasn't just wearing her new carbon-fiber prosthesis, she was bundled by WSU's equine surgery team in a handmade blanket featuring Disney's Elsa from the movie Frozen - a small gesture that underscored how deeply she had touched the team, who led her on a celebratory farewell tour through the halls of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

"We're pretty strong people, but I have to admit there were tears for me," Brenda said. "Seeing her wrapped up like that - it hit home. I knew she touched a lot of hearts, but I don't think I realized the impact she made until we actually picked her up."