Nearly 40 first responders rescued two horses stuck in deep mud in Connecticut after a grueling five-hour rescue mission.
According to the Lebanon Volunteer Fire Department, the horses got stuck in a “swampy area” in the forest on Sunday, May 12.
“They wandered into the area and got stuck on the lower sides,” the LVFD Facebook post read in part. LVFD personnel responded to the scene to assess the situation and quickly determined that it would require a fire department response.
“The access road was completely muddy and there was a river to cross half way,” the post continued, adding that “close to 40 people and required ropes, wood, saws, plywood, rescue equipment, vet supplies, food and water ” emergency response units were brought in to help with the situation.
A pair of horses rescued from Connecticut mud.
Lebanon Volunteer Fire Department Inc./Facebook
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While the LVFD cleared the road and built a makeshift bridge of wood frames, plywood and signs to allow personnel to cross the river, Durham’s animal welfare team arrived on scene and set up their sled equipment.
“The goal was to roll the horses out of the mud, which was up to the rescuers’ waists, onto their sled device,” LVFD added. “Once they got on the sled, all the staff would work together to pull it over the shift bridge and onto level ground approx. 30 meters from the swamp.”
In photos shared by the LVFD, one of the horses could be seen wrapped in ropes and lying on what appeared to be a sled.
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The first horse took almost half an hour to get out of the mud, while the second horse, which was “much more stuck”, took more than half an hour. In total, the rescue mission lasted five hours, according to the LVFD.
After their extraction, the veterinarian examined both horses on the spot. “Both were in mild distress and one was stuck in mud and water for over 7 hours,” the LVFD Facebook post continued, before adding that an hour after their rescue “both horses were warm enough to stand and we are happy to report that they both got up without a problem and were happily eating fresh hay.”
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According to the LVFD, no one was injured in the rescue mission.
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Source: HIS Education