Apex firefighters, vet save 1,500-lb horse after stuck in pond
By Maggie Brown
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APEX, North Carolina (WRAL) — A 1,500 pound draft horse slid down an embankment into a muddy area of a pond in Apex on Sunday afternoon.
The horse, Tilley, had just been released from the North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine on Friday and still had a tracheotomy tube in.
According to neighbors, Tilley wandered out on Sunday morning and was found laying on her side with all four of her legs stuck deep in the mud. By chance, she landed with her head and tracheotomy tube out of the water.
Dennis Blankenship, who is the neighbor of Tilley’s owners, said the community came together to help her get out of the mud.
The Apex Fire Department and veterinarian Dr. Stephanie Freese arrived on the scene to help sedate the horse and get her back on her feet.
Firefighters hooked ropes and pulleys onto trees on Blankenship’s property and were able to pull her out safely.
“The horse owner is relieved,” Blankenship said. “My wife Sherri is keeping Tilley in our barn for several days per the vets guidance and we have let the owners know they can come and go as they please to watch over her.
Draft horses are usually large animals used for farm labor. This breed of horse can be more than 6 feet tall and weigh as much as 2,000 pounds.
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