PHOTO: South Whidbey Fire / EMS responded to reports of a couple of four-legged Whidbey residents that needed rescuing over the course of two days.
Sunday morning, the fire district received a report of a horse stuck in a marshy area near Lone Lake. The owners found her up to her neck in mud after searching for two hours that morning when she didn’t arrive at the feeding area, according to an incident report.
“It was scared and wanted out,” Deputy Fire Chief Wendy Moffatt said.
The first responders dug around the horse to release some of the mud’s suction, then used a tractor and straps to lift and pull her out, Moffatt said. The yearling had last been seen the night before, so she had been stuck between three and 12 hours.
Moffatt said the rescue benefited from many of the firefighters’ personal experience owning or riding the animals.
“It was really nice to have firefighters that know about horses to be able to help manage and help calm it down,” Moffatt said. “It’s something we don’t train on.”