Horse Rescued From Icy Grave

For at least four hours on Wednesday (02/04), Pencil, the walking horse, was up to his neck in a frozen pond. His owner ran a snow plow Tuesday evening (02/03), but when he came home around 10 p.m., Pencil didn't come to the barn with the other horses. Doug Oldiges went looking for him.

Northern Kentucky's technical rescue team was dispatched to the California, Kentucky farm on route 8. Firefighters kept Pencil calm and hatched a plan. They've trained for large animal rescues, but not under these conditions.

The rescue team geared up in ice suits and hauled in equipment. A backhoe couldn't make it to the pond, so about ten in manpower did what one horsepower couldn't do.

Pencil slid out of the hole and up to the bank. Ice had formed on his back legs, but in about a minute, he was up and walking. Volunteers from the Large Animal Rescue Team wrapped him in blankets. He was ready to eat.

Pencil had a lot of buddies to thank, well-trained buddies who know how to lead a horse *out of* water.