Calif. Crews Rescue Horse Upside Down from Trench

July 30, 2014
A specialized animal rescue team was called to assist San Bernardino firefighters.

July 30--Firefighters in San Bernardino County made a dramatic rescue late Tuesday, using specialized equipment to free a horse that was trapped upside down in a ditch about 4 feet deep.

A rider was on the horse trying to move up a ravine when the animal fell down and ended up in the large ditch near Elm Street and Alta Mesa Road in Hesperia, according to the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

The agency dispatched more than 20 firefighters and called in a special animal rescue team from the the Rancho Cucamonga Fire Department.

A veterinarian was also brought in to tranquilize the horse while firefighters lifted the animal onto a hoisting device and worked to free it from the trench, Capt. Jay Hausman said.

"It was upside down," Hausman said in a telephone interview from the scene as crews lifted the animal safety.

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Copyright 2014 - Los Angeles Times

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