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Home  News Latest Horse saved off of bridge
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Horse saved off of bridge |
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Thursday, 26 June 2008 |
Submitted to the I-O By Heather Bruce
It started with a knock on our door at 3 a.m. on Saturday.
One of the boys from a floating party had walked along the railway tracks and all the way up Fowler Road to our house, a walk that took him about five hours.
My husband (Gary Bruce) took him to his pickup then, as Search & Rescue had been alerted that kids on a float trip had failed to arrive at their pick-up point on time. He volunteered to help look.
Gary came home, got a horse and drove down to Fowler to ride along the river. The gate he’d hoped to go through was locked and as he went to cross the tracks to see if there was access from the other side, three rattlesnakes spooked Dutch, his horse.
The horse bolted onto the railway bridge and his hind legs became wedged between the ties about 20 feet out, with a good 30 foot drop below.
Gary was lucky to have had some cell phone reception and was able to call me (Heather Bruce).
I was on my way down anyway, so I called 911 to get them to alert Burlington Northern Railway that a horse was stuck on a bridge.
It was terrifying. Gary was on the bridge with Dutch, trying to keep him calm and not go any further over the edge of the bridge.
Basically, it was his hind legs being wedged between the ties that was keeping him from going over.
Search & Rescue took me to Mark Grubb’s house where he was woken. It was still only 6 a.m. at this point, but he didn’t hesitate to help.
Veterinarian Wade Spears was called as Dutch would need sedating to get him out.
Grubb drove his tractor down to and on the bridge. Spears sedated and put on a harness that was necessary to lift the horse, and they, plus two sheriff‘s deputies and Gary, did the most amazing job I’ve ever seen.
At one point we thought we had the horse out, but one hoof wouldn’t come free. A jack was found that moved one of the rail ties the small amount needed to do the job. Dutch was lifted out, moved off the bridge and except for badly mangled legs, is fine.
I want to give my heartfelt acknowledgement to the heroes from Saturday’s rescue.
For one, to Mark, whose driving was amazing, going out onto a bridge with probably only six inches between his tractor tires and a sheer drop.
To Wade, whose veterinary skills got the horse calm enough to move and to Deputies Eddy Erickson and Mike Galloway who were with us every step of the way and whose calm assistance made all the difference.
Deputy Galloway should have been off-duty at 3 a.m. but stayed on to help, first to look for the kids, then to help us. And to Search & Rescue who took me where I needed to go to get help, and the Conrad police who were at the end of the phone when we needed them and to Garrett Grubb who climbed down off the bridge to see if he could free the trapped hoof.
These people are the most amazing friends and neighbours anyone could ever hope for.
There was no hesitation when a call for help came at 6 a.m. I owe them all such a debt of gratitude and hope that public acknowledgement of their efforts will go part way towards letting them know how appreciated they are. They are all heroes, in my book anyway!
By the way, the young men on the float trip are all fine.
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