Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/well-horse/

“It’s not something we do every day. Usually, we get people out of places, not horses,” said North Whidbey Fire and Rescue Chief John Clark.

It was an unforgettable day for the Lang family who resides in Whidbey Island Station, Washington. What could have been a wonderful morning turned out to be a day of mixed surprise, anxiety, and excitement.

The Langs have five horses and as part of their family’s routine, Karl Lang’s daughter came out to feed them. She quickly noticed that one of the horses was missing!

Horse Named Blaze Fell into a Well Tail First

The concrete well is 15-foot deep, covered and protected by a barricade according to Lang. Its history went back to 1912, and this time another history was in the making.

How did the horse broke through the barrier was a mystery to Lang. How to get him out of the deep well was the more perplexing and worrisome question. Blaze weighs 2,000 pounds.

The North Whidbey Fire and Rescue team was very concerned too. They had not encountered this kind of problem before. A good thing that rescue workers from the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station arrived and Lang’s neighbors were also ready to help.

First, Blaze had to be sedated. A rescue worker went down the well head-first to accomplish it. Next, the firefighters joined hands with the rescue workers to place the 2,000 pound horse into a harness.

It was fortunate that one of Lang’s neighbors had an excavator ready, it made it easier to hoist the horse and take him to the local veterinarians.

Grueling Horse Rescue with a Happy Ending

According to the vets, Blaze appeared to have sustained just minor cuts. Nevertheless, they decided to put an IV on the horse and continue their monitoring to make sure that Blaze did not have any internal injuries.

For the rescuers, it was a good thing that Blaze fell into the well tail first. Had the horse fallen in another position, he could have broken his neck or drowned in the well.

“If he had gone down any other way he wouldn’t be alive,” said Lang. “Luckily he went down heinie first.”

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Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog