CITRA, Fla. --
There was a dramatic rescue Tuesday afternoon in Marion County as people worked frantically to save a small horse that was trapped underground. The horse was pulled to safety in the small town of Citra and the rescue was caught on camera.
The horse is going to be fine, but was scared and left in need of a bath after spending three hours stuck in an old septic tank.
Mary Rolka is the proud owner of more than 30 horses, but one of them truly is her baby.
"Oh, yes he is, very much. He's got one beautiful blue eye and he stole my heart the day he was born," she said.
His name is Shooter and he's just three months old and apparently just like his mother.
"Well, she likes to jump fences. The grass is always greener. So she always jumps fences and the only way the baby can be with her is to learn to jump fences too," Rolka said.
That's what happened around lunchtime Tuesday and Shooter quickly found himself stuck in an abandoned septic tank. When firefighters arrived, all they could see was the colt's backside and tail and it was pretty tricky to get him out.
"They didn't want the concrete to fall on him and further harm him and they didn't want the steel rods to impale him as he lunged out," explained Heather Danenhower, Marion County Fire Rescue.
It took about an hour to dig Shooter out of the pit. He was a little scratched up and, despite his dark appearance after the rescue, he's actually a white horse. He'll need lots of soap and water and some TLC. Both of his mothers will provide plenty of that.
"When they got him up and he stood on all four feet, 'Oh, he's gonna be okay! Thank God!'" Rolka said.
The vet already checked Shooter out and he has no broken bones. He'll just need a little salve for the scrapes and a little time to forget about his misadventure.
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