A horse had to be rescued after it fell into a ditch on a Maple Ridge property Sunday afternoon.
Maple Ridge firefighters were called to the incident just before noon on Sunday, May 1.
The elderly horse had fallen into a small ditch on the property, explained assistant fire chief Bryan Vinje.
Based on the position of the animal, it was unable to get its legs underneath itself to get up again, said Vinje.
About 10 firefighters responded to the call to assist the animal. They had to drag the animal horizontally on the ground before hooking up what is called a high point, a large tri-pod with a harness for the animal, to lift the horse back onto its feet.
Firefighters regularly train in this type of rescue, noted Vinje, adding that it is fairly unique rescue that the Maple Ridge department trains in.
The rescue took between about 60-90 minutes once the equipment was laid out and a veterinarian arrived on scene.
On Monday a crew did have to re-attend the property to assist the same animal.
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“But it was a little bit more of a stream-lined event because we had been there the previous day,” he said.
Same animal, a different ditch on the property.
When they left the scene the horse was being attended to by the veterinarian and the owner.
“It was standing and walking around when we left,” said Vinje, both days that they responded.
Vinje estimates that Maple Ridge fire crews go out to about three to six large animal rescues a year.
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