Injured Alabama horse flown to Wyoming for amputation surgery, via FedEx

Published 7:55 am Friday, March 29, 2024

The scene at Billings-Logan International Airport almost certainly turned a few heads this week. It’s not everyday you see a horse disembarking from an airplane.

But that’s exactly what happened this week as Buck, an Alabama horse in need of a leg amputation, flew across the country in a FedEx airplane to visit one of only a handful of veterinarians in the country to perform equine amputations and the construction of prosthetic legs.

Although Dr. Ted Vlahos with the Yellowstone Equine Hospital in Cody, Wyoming, has performed this type of surgery many times, the Billings Gazette reported, it was the first time a patient flew to him for surgery.

Buck was injured when he got his leg caught in a barbed wire fence. After weeks of treatment at Auburn, the owners decided amputation and a prosthetic leg was the best choice to prolong the life of their beloved horse.