A horse that fell through the ice of an upstate New York pond was saved by rescuers who pulled together to free the animal from the frigid water.
In body-camera footage captured by responding officers, a group consisting of Saratoga Springs police and local residents can be seen exerting effort to rescue Sly, a 1,300-pound (590-kilogram) horse, trapped in a hole in the ice on a late Monday afternoon. The video shows Sly struggling with his front legs as the rescuers encourage each other with shouts of “One, two, three, pull!” and “Come on, we’ve got you!”
Ali Ernst, Sly’s owner, recounted that upon returning home from work, she observed her three horses frolicking on the pond, a common sight. However, she soon realized that her 22-year-old quarter horse had accidentally fallen through the icy surface.
Ernst made a series of calls for help as she ran to the hole in the ice, grabbed Sly’s halter to keep his head up and waited for help.
“I was losing the battle to keep him above water alone,” she said in a phone interview Wednesday.
Upon Officer Kyle Clinton’s arrival, he promptly assisted Ernst in lifting Sly’s entire head back onto the ice. Their efforts were later boosted by the arrival of additional individuals, including two more officers, nearby residents, and members of Ernst’s family.
They were initially able to tie a rope to the halter around Sly’s head. Eventually, the group of about nine people had three ropes on Sly, Ernst said.
“I threw all the rope in the hole and just started pulling it back in sheer hopes that I caught a hind leg, and I did, and we all just started to pull” she said.
Once out of the water, Sly was able to get to his feet after several minutes. He was sent to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, where Ernst works as a technician.
Ernst said Sly was initially hypothermic, but had recovered enough Wednesday to go back home, where playing on the ice was no longer allowed.
“There’s an electric fence up around the pond now,” she said.
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