North River Fire Department rescues horse from swimming pool

P.E.I.'s North River Fire Department was involved in an unusual rescue Wednesday night after being called to help pull a horse from a backyard swimming pool.

'We don't usually get a horse drowning in a pool call,' says Lt. Dean Smith

Richard Woodbury · CBC News · Posted: May 12, 2016 2:43 PM EDT | Last Updated: May 12, 2016

The horse was left laying in about a foot of cold water. (North River Fire Department)

P.E.I.'s North River Fire Department was involved in an unusual rescue Wednesday night after being called to help pull a horse from a backyard swimming pool.

I went right to her … and in her eye, I knew she was going to survive this.— Owner Mike Arsenault

"That's very unique because we don't usually get a horse drowning in a pool call," said Lt. Dean Smith.

When fire officials arrived at the scene in Emyvale, P.E.I., they found a 33-year-old mare stuck in an in-ground pool.

The 33-year-old female horse was stuck in an in-ground pool. (North River Fire Department)

'A very tough horse'

According to the fire department, a tree fell over on the fence enclosing the horse's pasture, allowing the horse to escape and step onto the pool's trampoline-like canvas cover.

One of the horse's legs burst through the covering, causing the horse to fall over and leaving it laying in about a foot of cold water.

Owner Mike Arsenault arrived home to find the rescue efforts already underway.

"Being 33 years old, I figured she's going to not do well with this thing," he said.

"I went right to her … and in her eye, I knew she was going to survive this. She's a very tough horse."

Once the horse was removed from the pool, it took about two hours for it to stand up. (North River Fire Department)

Rescue process

Firefighters placed straps under the horse and lifted it manually in order to hoist the horse out of the pool. The process took about 15 minutes.

"We didn't want to use ropes or anything because that would be too narrow and would cut the horse when we started to pull," Smith said.

The in-ground pool has a cover made of a trampoline-like material. (North River Fire Department)

"The straps that we used are like a belt strap that we use ourselves going up in the ladder truck. And they are probably six to eight inches wide, so it gave more of working surface on the horse when we went to pull her out of the water."

It took the horse about two hours to stand up once it had been pulled from the pool, Smith said.

"We were quite concerned about the horse's health and how it was going to fare at the end of the day," he said.