Shaktiman, the police horse that was beaten mercilessly by a BJP MLA, might have lost his leg but not his spirit to survive. Following the attack that led to Shaktiman's amputation, the horse has been given the gift of a prosthetic limb - an artificial wonder that will help him stand on all fours and trudge forward. But will it make him gallop with the wind? That's a question that needs answering. The horse whisperer Jamie M. Vaughan, a training expert from the US, became Shaktiman's saviour when she swooped in to fix a temporary prosthesis on Shaktiman. The horse may be making a headway with progress, but the road ahead is not getting any easier for him.

The experimental limb

Shaktiman's case is a first for India. In the US, artificial limbs have been fitted on horses weighing less than 200 kgs. Even though Shaktiman weighs over 400 kgs, hopes are high for him fully accepting the prosthesis.

That being said, had Shaktiman been an army horse, the only solution would have been euthanasia. And Major General (Retd) Dr R.M. Kharb agrees, who serves as the Chairman of Animal Welfare Board of India.

According to the Board, that was constituted under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (1960), "Euthanasia is a humane method of alleviating animal suffering in cases incurable disease, injury or debility. It is an effective and permanent way to relieve severe pain and suffering".

But since Shaktiman is not an army horse that can be culled, and since animal experts are working on reviving his health completely, one only wishes that this experiment works. Because only then animals stuck in a similar fate tomorrow can be offered a true chance of survival.