Horses rescued from icy pond

(Updated)

Some dramatic video out of Stevensville where two horses needed to be dragged to safety after falling through ice into frigid a pond Monday afternoon. Two black, four-year-old horses trapped up to their necks in frozen water. Owner Julie Ayres says they were frolicking in the pasture near a pond when they fell through the ice.  “I Guess it was not as frozen as we thought it was going to be.”

The Fort Erie Fire Department was called in to help rescue the animals one at a time. Tying a rope around its neck, the first horse was easily pulled to safety. But the second was quickly losing energy.

Randy Reichelt is with the Fort Erie Fire Department.   “So we attached the rope around the rescue to give it a bit of leverage. Pulled her out of the water. And as soon as she came out she jumped up on her feet.”

The horses had been under water for about 20 minutes. And continued to shiver after being pulled to safety. Ayres says the fire department did a fantastic job responding.   “Good thing too because we were going in. They would have had a whole bunch of people and horses to rescue.”

And while the horses were clearly shaken up, Julie says.   “They’re scared. Once we get them calmed down and warmed up they’ll be ok.”

It looks like they’ll be back out to pasture in no time.