OCALA, FL (352today.com) – A horse owner in Alachua County is grateful for the men and women who worked together to save his horse.
You can feel the sense of urgency in a deputy’s bodycam video of the rescue the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) has posted on its Facebook page.
According to the timestamp on the video, the rescue happened on Tuesday around 2:30 p.m. at a home on the northwest side of the county.
The sheriff’s office along with emergency crews from Alachua County (ACFR) and Lacrosse Fire Rescue (LFR) all responded to the call.
Deputies say when they arrived, they found a horse drowning and exhausted in a retention pond.
“ACFR responders dove into the pond to stabilize the horse and hold his head above water, as the rest of the team formulated a plan,” said the sheriff’s office.
The rescuers created a harness out of a 6-inch-wide strap, attached it to a winch on one of the vehicles and used a backboard to reduce the friction as they towed the horse out of the muddy water.
“Watch the back leg make sure it doesn’t get hung up,” someone is heard yelling on the video.
The video is a little more than one minute long and has been edited to show the highlights.
You can see in the video the horse was responsive and after some time it regained its strength, getting up on all four legs.
“Attaboy. Attaboy. You don’t gotta get up,” said the deputy wearing the body camera. “Let’s get away from that water, buddy,” he coaxed. “There you go. Little bit more. Everybody will feel better. Come on. Atta good boy.”
The sheriff’s office says the horse didn’t appear to have any injuries.
The video ends as rescuers pet its muzzle.