Calif. firefighters rescue horse stuck in pool for hours

By Kelsey Oliver
The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, Calif.)

SAN MIGUEL, Calif. — Firefighters rescued a horse stuck in a pool in rural San Miguel on Saturday.

Crews received notice of the animal rescue around 5:52 p.m. located on Turn Back Road , according to PulsePoint.

Cal Fire said in a social media post that crews were working to drain the pool to “safely remove the animal.”

Cal Fire Captain Marcus Dunlap told The Tribune as the horse’s owners were unloading one of their horses from their trailer, another got through an open gate, stepped on the pool cover and went into the water.

“When we got there, the homeowners had kind of coaxed the horse to the shallow end,” Dunlap said. “They had gotten the cover pulled all the way over to one side so the horse wasn’t tangled up in the cover anymore.”

Two engines, one rescue and Battalion Chief Steve Martin responded to the scene, according to Dunlap. He said that the Horse Emergency Evacuation Team, a local animal rescue group, also dispatched some of their volunteers to also assist in the response.

After realizing it was too difficult for the horse’s metal shoes to grip to the pool tiling, the volunteers worked with the homeowners and fire responders to drain the pool enough for the horse to walk on pool steps as the water was pumped down.

“The horse was exhausted from the whole ordeal,” Dunlap said. But overall, the animal was uninjured and was able to walk into the barn.

Dunlap said the whole operation lasted about three and a half hours.

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