Source: Denver’s Channel 4
“It was horrible, it was terrifying…”
INDIAN HILLS, Colo. (CBS4) – A horse wandered onto an icy pond overnight, fell through the ice and was stuck for hours.
The incident happened early Sunday morning on Parmalee Gulch Road in Indian Hills. Crews worked quickly to save the horse’s life.
The ice-covered pond is in part of an enclosed horse pasture. Heavy snow Saturday made it difficult to tell the difference between solid ground and the thin ice. Karly Reece never imagined what would happen next.
“I almost puked. It was horrible, it was terrifying,” Reece said.
Reece had woken up to feed her horse Scarlett and pony Coco, but Scarlett never came. She looked out at the pond and realized Scarlett had fallen in.
“I walked over there and all I see is her head out of the water, so I called 911 and Animal Control and they called the vet and every fire department was out here.”
It took vets and firefighters about 45 minutes to pull Scarlett out of the water. They brought her into a barn to keep her warm until more help arrived to take her to a nearby animal hospital.
“She was real scraped up from either the ice or the weeds out there, so she had cuts. She was bleeding, she was shivering, she could barely stand.”
CBS4 cameras were there as vets and Animal Control walked Scarlett from the barn to an awaiting trailer. They had to wrap tin foil and blankets around her to keep her warm. If they hadn’t gotten there when they did, the horse could have died.
“She’s significantly hypothermic, so her body temperature isn’t reading on our thermometer, so that’s a big concern,” veterinarian Ashleigh Olds said. “Sometimes even if we get them warmed up they won’t recover from that.”
Nobody knows exactly how long Scarlett was in the freezing water. Reece was just relieved to see her rescued and alive.
“We were all screaming ‘woo!’ All the firefighters, I was, my sister was,” Reece said.
Reece said Scarlett is recovering but is at risk for frostbite and colic.
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Categories: Equine Rescue, Horse Health, Horse News
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Fast response by all agencies, saved her life!! Way to go!!!
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In such a harsh environment, she challenges the limits of life, she had won
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Hopefully she’ll recover without any problems. What a horrifying experience, but thanks to everyone there for saving her life!
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I wish Scarlett well and she comes out of this without any problems. She is alive thanks to the Emegency workers.
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Thank god so many good people saved this sweet horse! She must feel good that so many humans helped her 🙂
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Certainly could have had a different ending to that! Hopefully having been taken to the animals hospital it will make a difference.
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Thank You RT for this wonderful story, , quick response saved her life , hoping all goes well for Scarlet………………..Thank You Rescue People !!!!!!!
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Thank you RT and thank you Rescue People for rescuing Scarlet. I know I am repeating someone else’s post but saying “Thank you” many, many times is not enough to express my appreciation and love for this beautiful horse. I love horses and I am heart broken when I hear how BLM treats our magnificent Mustangs. So, saving even one horse is a good omen. God bless all of you wonderful people for being there for Scarlet and her mom. I am sure she is heart broken to see her little girl in such a state.
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Thank God for all the wonderful emergency responders and community residents. Our horse club,
Horse Promoters, saw the need to provide training for firefighters, police depts and other emergency people in our area because many are not familiar with horses and other large animals in emergency
situations. There were several trailer crashes in Illinois from trailers hauling horses to the “Killers”.
It was amazing that all the survivors of the crash were adopted and went to loving homes. In my area we are close to several major expressways. It proved to be a very worth while event. Many of those attending knew very little about horse behavior or how to handle them in critical situations. It was amazing what you could do with a bra in an emergency situation. The emergency trainees were given a list of local veterinarians to call as well as a list of community club members who they could call should an emergency arise. Time is essential to successful emergency rescues.
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That is excellent to have people trained and prepared. It could easily mean saving the life of the horse.
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Now I have to know = do you use a bra as a halter & lead? Other than that, the picture in my mind is a bit fuzzy!!!
Maggie
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Wishing that horse and owner the best. They were very lucky.
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