Greenfield firefighters rescue horses that fell through frozen pond

Battling the freezing temperatures and snowy conditions in Highland County Wednesday, the Paint Creek Joint Fire and Ambulance District in Greenfield rescued two horses that had fallen through the ice of a pond. 

According to Chief Bradley George, the department received the call just after noon reporting that the horses were in the pond in the area of 12550 State Route 28. 

"They had walked out on the ice on the frozen pond," George said. "We think that when one was out there it was fine, but when the other one came out they fell through. Luckily it was not a very deep pond and the water was only up to about mid-body level on the horses."

George said they called for assistance from the Lynchburg fire department, which has ice rescue equipment. 

"Then we started testing the ice," he said. "Most of it was an inch and a half to two inches, which is more than comparable for somebody to walk out on. With our water rescue and some ropes, we started chopping the ice back toward land."

The horses, he said, were not stuck in mud or otherwise impaired so they were relatively easy to extract from the pond. 

"The first horse, with the help of some straw, came right out," George said. "The second one was a little more distraught. We couldn't get a rope around it and it kept backing away. We were eventually able to coax him out  to about mid-leg level water, and with some more straw he finally came out." 

George said that the property owners were not home at the time of the incident, but when they were notified he said he believe they were making arrangements for the horses to be inspected by a veterinarian. 

"Other than being a little bit cold, they seemed fine," he said. 

George said the same went for the firefighters who were working in the water and ice in temperatures that were in the 20s Wednesday. 

"We got a little bit wet and cold, but we were fine," he said. "It's just one of those jobs that the fire department does, and we took care of it."