The unnamed Taiwanese 1-year-old was lifted over barriers to feed a horse hay But when he was dangled over, the animal snapped at the food in his hand Along with snatching the hay, the large horse also bit part of his index finger off Surgeons spent 3 hours operating, but opted against reattaching his finger They said because it was bitten by the horse, it would have harmful bacteria Doctors have attached a toddler’s finger to his stomach after half of it was bitten clean off by a horse he was trying to feed. The unnamed Taiwanese one-year-old was lifted over the barriers to give hay to one of the animals at a ranch by his mother - ignoring all safety guidelines. But when he was dangled over the two wooden fences, the large black horse snapped at the food in his hand and bit part of his index finger off. His mother, Liu Ching-wen, 41, panicked and 'didn't dare look', but managed to pick up her son's severed finger. An ambulance was immediately called to the Weichuan Pushin Ranch in Taoyuan City to rush him away for emergency treatment. Surgeons spent three hours operating on the boy, but in the end opted against reattaching the severed finger right away. They explained that because the digit was chowed upon by the horse, it was likely to have harmful bacteria. Instead of taking the potentially deadly risk, they decided to attach his finger to his stomach. They wrapped the remaining section of finger with his abdominal skin, while the severed portion is currently being disinfected. Only once the doctors give the all-clear will they attempt to restore his finger to its previous, healthy state. Ms Liu, who called the incident 'the worst day of her life', has blamed the ranch for lacking adequate safety equipment. However, her protests have fallen on deaf ears as the popular tourist site was found to have installed numerous warning signs about not crossing the boundaries. The ranch, which first opened in 1957, has promised to help the family in any way possible, but they have not said whether they would be offering compensation. Source
