Poudre firefighters rescue blind horse from ditch near Fort Collins
Firefighters rescued a blind horse from a canal northeast of Fort Collins on Saturday.
A Poudre Fire Authority (PFA) crew responded at 9:52 a.m. and located Lacy, a female horse in her 20s, up to her shoulders in moderate flowing water, according to a news release from the agency.
PFA's Large Animal Rescue Team, a Colorado State University animal care team and a UCHealth ambulance responded to help the horse.
A firefighter trained in swiftwater and animal rescues entered the canal to be with the horse and put a harness on her to ensure they would not be separated and to help guide her to safety.
Lacy was alert but not moving and tucked against the steep bank, the release stated.
Responders considered using a boom truck to hoist her out, but access was difficult so they helped guide her farther downstream and under a bridge to an area with much less steep banks in the hopes that she could climb out, the release stated.
CSU veterinary staff members provided recommendations and answered questions about how best to keep Lacy calm and safe.
The horse did not appear to have the strength to exit on her own even with assistance from the several firefighters on ropes and laid down after a short attempt, the release said.
Responders comforted her and the animal care team provided a mild sedative for her, and the team made a new plan to pull her up the bank with a winch system.
"Although the sides were much less steep, they still posed significant risks, especially since the horse was tired," Poudre Fire Authority Public Information Officer Annie Bierbower said in the release, adding the bank was rocky and still at an incline. "The team had hoped to coax her out even a little farther downstream where the exit would have been easier, but she wouldn't move anymore," Bierbower said.
The rescuers used the winch system on the front of the PFA brush unit to pull the horse up the bank and safely to shore where the CSU medical team immediately began care.
The horse was able to stand once the mild sedation wore off. She suffered several cuts and scrapes on her legs.
The entire rescue took three hours.
Firefighters were not able to say how Lacy escaped her pen but it is believed to have happened sometime the previous night.
The incident happened near the intersection of North Giddings Road and East County Road 56.
