A show horse wandered away from his stable and ended up in need of rescue.
The horse thrashed in a creek for hours during to try and free itself on Tuesday morning, WESH 2 News reported.
But it took several fire crews and concerned neighbors to free the horse from a creek south of Winter Garden.
The man who owns the stable where the horse escaped from didn't even know the creek was behind his property, but when he arrived at the stables on Tuesday morning, he realized one of the horses was missing. So, he went searching for the horse and found it trapped in the creek.
At first rescuers hoped the 1,600-pound horse would have enough strength left to help them. They tried twice to pull him from the front while cheering him on, but neither time worked.
But they did get the horse out of the water enough so that they could sedate him so that there wasn't any chance of him sliding back into the creek and possibly drowning.
Rescuers then attached harnesses to the horse and used manpower instead of horsepower to get him out of the creek.
The veterinarian who helped get the horse out had nothing but praise for the firefighters.
"They were awesome, wonderful. I couldn't say more," Cristina Arellano said.
It turns out that Rex broke out of his gate on Monday night. No one knows how long he was in the creek or how long he struggled.
"I (was) kind of worried because not knowing what's going to happen. Is he hurt? Is he OK? Can we get him out?" said stable owner Will Durden. "Because then I'm standing there and he started thrashing with no one else here, and the more he thrashes, the more you run the risk of him hurting his legs."
Vets will keep a close eye on Rex to make sure he's drinking water and keeping hydrated. He was extremely tired after he got out of the water, but they are hopeful he will be fine. After the drugs wore off, Rex was able to walk onto a horse trailer.
Durden said Tuesday evening that except for a couple of cuts, Rex should be OK.
To comment on this story, send an e-mail to Dave McDaniel
Copyright 2006 by WESH.COM. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.