Bubba the Clydesdale died on Wednesday, just days after Delaware City firefighters saved the horse in a frozen marsh and then helped him out of his stable.
Due to internal injuries suffered in the second rescue, the 2,000-pound horse on Cozy Quarters Farm had to be put down, owner Pam Collacchi said.
Firefighters first met Bubba while he was stuck in a frozen and muddy creek on Sunday. With a 1-ton Clydesdale stuck in the Dragon Run Creek, the local firefighters had to improvise.
The Kent County Large Animal Rescue Team would have taken too long to arrive, so they managed to haul him out using supplies they had available: an Ford F-350, wetsuits and fire hoses.