Blind horse trapped up to shoulders in water rescued from Colorado canal, video shows
A blind horse was trapped up to her shoulders in a fast-flowing Colorado canal and was too tired to get herself out, so firefighters stepped in, video shows.
It happened just before 10 a.m. in a canal at an intersection northeast of Fort Collins on Saturday, July 6, Poudre Fire Authority said on social media.
Rescue crews arrived and found Lacy, a mare in her 20s, stuck “up to her shoulders in moderate flowing water,” officials said. Information about how Lacy became trapped there was not available.
The department’s large animal rescue team worked alongside Colorado State University’s animal care team to help pull the exhausted horse to safety, officials said.
A firefighter trained in swiftwater and animal rescues got into the canal with the horse, video shows. One clip shows the canal’s current pushing the horse downstream as the rescuer holds her head and tries to reassure her.
The rescuer put a harness around Lacy “to ensure they would not be separated and to hopefully help guide her to safety,” officials said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The team considered using a boom truck to hoist her out of the water, but it would have been tough to access the river in that area, officials said on Instagram.
Before rescuers had to make that call, Lacy started swimming. The team guided her farther downstream and under a bridge to an area with “less steep banks,” hoping she’d be able to pull herself out there, officials said.
But she was already too exhausted, officials said.
“Lacy, already tired, did not have the strength to exit on her own even with the assistance from the firefighters on ropes,” officials said. “She laid down after a short attempt.”
Veterinary staff from CSU’s animal care team gave her a mild sedative to keep her calm, officials said.
Then the team came up with a plan to pull Lacy up the bank with a winch system, “which worked perfectly and put Lacy safely on shore,” officials said.
Video shows the tense moment rescuers hoisted the roughly 1,000-pound horse over the bank to the shore.
Veterinary staff checked her vitals and began caring for her, officials said. Lacy was able to stand and eagerly tear into a bag of hay when the sedation wore off, video shows.
“She suffered several cuts and scrapes on her legs but seemed to quickly put the rescue behind her with the help of some fresh hay and loving strokes,” officials said.
Poudre is about a 100-mile drive north and slightly west from Denver.
This story was originally published July 8, 2024 at 2:03 PM with the headline "Blind horse trapped up to shoulders in water rescued from Colorado canal, video shows."
