Indiana Firefighters Save Horse Stuck in Frozen Pond

When your neighbor calls 911 about a horse drowning in ice, you don't get to say it's not your job.

Around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Monroe Township Fire Department in Clark County, Indiana got exactly that call. A horse had crashed through a frozen pond in the 7700 block of Henryville Otisco Road and was stuck 20 to 30 feet from shore, ice trapping it shoulder-deep.

The crew arrived to find a massive, terrified animal completely unable to move. They quickly secured the horse with a rope and called Charlestown Fire Department, which has a rescue truck with special ice rescue gear.

Charlestown firefighters suited up and waded into the freezing water. They secured a second rope around the panicking horse while Monroe Township crews held the first line from shore.

Together, the two teams guided the frightened animal through broken ice and frigid water back to solid ground. The whole operation required strength, coordination, and something you can't train for: patience with a huge, scared creature that doesn't understand you're trying to help.

Sunny's Take

Battalion Chief Jared Phillips says this isn't even their first horse rescue. A couple years ago, they saved one stuck in a muddy pond. Different terrain, same challenge: working calmly with a massive animal in crisis.

"Being in the mud is different than the ice, but still not having the skills and the patience to work with a huge animal that's scared and stuck," Phillips explained. "Knowing how to work together played a vital part."

He says the fire service started to fight fires, but now they're "kind of the catch all." When no one knows what to do, people call firefighters, and they figure it out.

The horse went home to its relieved owners cold but completely unhurt, thanks to two teams who treated an unusual call like any other life worth saving.