First responders work together to rescue horse that fell through ice in Clayton
CLAYTON – The Town of Clayton Fire Rescue and Winnebago County Sheriff's Office found themselves in an unexpected situation Saturday after receiving a call for a horse that had fallen through ice on a pond at a boarding facility.
Chief, a 13-year-old, had been one of six horses to break out of a paddock at the boarding facility, his owner, Melinda Bosmans, said. While roaming free, Chief stepped onto a frozen pond and broke through the ice, falling into murky water up to his neck.
Fortunately, Bosmans said, one of the owners living on the property was home when the horses got out and was able to act quickly and call 911 for help.
"If she wasn't home, there's no way that Chief would have survived," Bosmans said.
The Winnebago County Sheriff's Office arrived before the Town of Clayton Fire Rescue. While Bosmans wasn't at the boarding facility yet, she was told that the sheriff had called for reinforcements to bring a truck to pull Chief out of the water, when he gave a mighty leap and freed himself.
While Chief had been safely brought back to a barn, he was cold and visibly shivering when the Clayton Fire Rescue arrived, Town of Clayton emergency manager Kaylin Van Stappen said. In response, the fire department brought a heater out from a fire engine to help dry Chief with warm air.
The large heater is usually intended to help provide warm air to people in emergency situations.
"We keep it on the truck at all times, but especially this time of year, where we might have a cold car accident that takes a while to get someone out. We can keep them warm while we're working on the vehicle," Van Stappen said.
The fire rescue team used flexible ductwork that comes with the heater to blow warm air beneath Chief's blankets, warming him up until Bosman arrived.
"That's not something that we typically plan for, but it was a great opportunity for us to be able to help the horse and the owners and also get a little use out of that heater, which we just purchased last year," Van Stappen said.
Bosmans said when she arrived at the barn, she entered to a scene of people working to care for her horse; giving Chief warm air with the heater, brushing his fur to help dry him off and increase his body temperature and providing him with hay and grain for to eat and warm his stomach.
"When I had gotten there, they were all so calm in the barn. One of the barn owners was there, the sheriff was there and all these folks from the fire department — and everybody was very calm," Bosmans said. "Everyone just did a phenomenal job, and I am extremely thankful."
Bosmans said Chief has been doing well since his fall into the pond. He has been cleaned up and received veterinarian treatment to prevent any medical problems he may have caught like pneumonia, which can develop from swallowing water. Chief has also since been happily reunited with his herd, Bosmans said.
"I appreciate everything that everyone did, because honestly, he wouldn't have been here without the help of all those individuals," she said.
Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ArseneauKelli.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Clayton, Winnebago County first responders rescue horse from icy water
