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Deputy Fire Chief thankful for help rescuing horses

Nov 26, 2015 | 4:41 PM

The Prince Albert Fire Department (PAFD) had to undergo a very uncommon rescue attempt when several horses fell through ice on Wednesday.

On a farm property just east of Prince Albert, the animals became trapped in a frozen slough.

Deputy fire Chief Corey Rodgers said they were called at 1:15 by RCMP, who needed extra help.

“We didn’t really know what we were getting into until we got there,” he said.

According to Rodgers, there was a lot of effort put into the rescue before they even got there. The owner got the animals closer to the slough’s edge and had ropes attached to each animal.

The PAFD used a chainsaw to cut blocks and make a pathway out of the ice. Soon, they had access closer to the shore.

“It was just a difficult process trying to get these 1,500 to 2,000 pound animals up on the ice surface,” said Rodgers. “For the most part they were very weak and weren’t able to stay up themselves.

“A big part of the project was keeping their heads up and just keeping them alert. They were starting to fail pretty fast and they were very tired.”

Rodgers said it was a very unique emergency.

“I’ve been here for 23 years and this is the first time I’ve been involved in something like this,” he said.

The rescue took a long time as they wanted to give the horses a chance to build strength. They covered them with blankets to keep them warm in the ice.

“It was quite the process.”

In the end, a great deal of effort was put in, but some animals perished in the conditions.

“We know that three are still alive today…and they lost four horses,” he said.

Rodgers explained that after several hours, four were retrieved. One didn’t survive the trauma, along with a pregnant mare and a colt.

“It’s difficult,” said Rodgers. “But everybody in the community, and friends and family, and all the people who were involved in the response, everyone who was there, played an important role in helping.”

“We thank everybody who was on scene and helping out.”

Supportive comments are pouring in on the PAFD’s Facebook page.

Candace Bernier, who owns the horses, responded saying, “Dean and I and our sons want to sincerely thank everyone for all their help. The PA Fire Department was amazing as well as the RCMP, neighbours, vets, Lakeland towing, local horse people, just everyone who helped us. It was a real team effort and everyone worked so, so hard. Unfortunately we lost 4 of the horses but 3 are still alive. One is doing quite well- Luna, and the other two (Fade and Blaze) are getting there. THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH!!!”

–With files from Nigel Maxwell

asoloducha@panow.com

On Twitter: @alex_soloducha