On Wednesday morning, fire crews responded to a unusual rescue request — a horse that had fallen through the floor of his barn and was stuck in his stall.
Shortly before 8 a.m., crews responded to 11 Preston Hill Road, and when they arrived, found that the floor of the stall had given way, and that the horse was standing on the dirt ground below the barn.
New Ipswich Fire Chief Gary Somero said initially, the 23-year-old horse, named Ben Franklin, was lying on its side in the dirt floor under the stall, about a four foot fall from the main floor of the barn.
“We first waited for a veterinarian to show up to sedate the horse, as he was pretty active,” Somero said.
Somero said the horse was checked by the veterinarian, but did not have any major injuries.
Crews cleared the debris from around the horse and called for assistance from the Keene Fire Department, which provides mutual aid to the town during technical rescues and large incidents.