Firefighters rescue 34-year-old horse after fall on barnyard ice
OAKWOOD — Katie Brown says her “special old man” has made a great recovery after a four-hour ordeal following a fall in his icy paddock.
“I learned to ride on him when I was seven, as did many other people,” Brown said of her beloved horse, Clyde.
The Belgian/Clydesdale gelding fell on the ice on Friday morning while coming to greet Brown at her Oakwood area farm, about 53 kilometres west of Peterborough.
But at age 34, an age which most horses don’t reach, the fall was especially hazardous.
“I was going to do the chores about 7 o’clock that morning, and he usually stays near the barn. He’s no stranger to ice,” Brown said.
“He’s been around long enough to know about ice, so, I don’t know what made him start walking toward me.”
She said she tried to help the horse off the ice, but both she and the horse fell. All of her efforts to get the horse back on his feet failed, even though she tried putting salt and Kitty Litter down to give him traction.
Brown said she knew she had to get help, as the longer a horse is down, the greater the toll it takes on the animal.
“I was bashful to make a call to the fire department,” she said. “But, Clyde’s gums were turning white and he looked like he was going into shock.”
City of Kawartha Lakes firefighter Shawn Farr, captain of the Oakwood Station, said the call came in about 9 a.m. and by that time, Clyde had been struggling for well over an hour.
“We needed to get him to dry ground so he could try and get up, but he’s a big horse; about 1,200 pounds,” Farr said.
But, he said firefighters decided to figure out a way to help Clyde without causing further stress. When putting straps around his upper body and trying to drag him didn’t work, Farr said they decided to try a backboard, which has sliders underneath.
“It took about six of us to get him onto it,” Farr said. “But, he didn’t kick or struggle, he just laid there.” Farr also called for a tow truck to help pull Clyde off the ice.
The rescue itself took about two hours.
After dragging the backboard across the ice, firefighters built a wall of hay bales around Clyde to protect him from the wind and cold.
Brown said her regular veterinarian was already out on calls, and the vet who did arrive was Dr. Harry Morrison of Port Perry Veterinary Services.
“I hadn’t seen him in years; he was my vet years ago. He took a look and said, ‘Is that Clyde?’ I was so glad to see him, he’s a senior vet who has seen it all.”
Although Clyde was exhausted, she said his vitals were fine.
Neighbour Belinda Taggart said she, too, came to help.
“I was amazed of the teamwork that the fire crew had to pull this big guy without hurting him. The grass he was on was also frozen, leaving little traction for Clyde to get to his feet,” Taggart wrote. “With the high winds the icy cold I was very afraid we were losing him.
“After about 25 minutes, Clyde surprised us all and with super human strength from Katie and her sister, got to his feet and staggered to his barn.”
Taggart and Brown both said without the help of the firefighters, the story would not have had a happy ending.