Proper training makes all the difference when it comes to saving a life.
On Oct. 12, Puslinch Firefighters were dispatched to a ‘public assistance’ call for a horse stuck in a horse trailer.
Ten firefighters were at the horse farm on Wellington Road 34 in Puslinch Township within seven minutes.
A 14-year-old mare named ‘Heidi’ was trapped halfway through the side door of the trailer and could not move forward or backwards.
The owners and bystanders assisted in keeping the horse calm and relaxed while fire personnel quickly derived a plan of action to free the trapped horse.
It was determined that the best and safest option was to use hydraulic spreaders above the horse to spread the opening apart while devices and cutting options were out of question due to safety and noise that could further hinder the stuck mare.
Dealing with a matter of inches, Heidi was quickly freed. Miraculously, she sustained zero damage or injury from event. The horse trailer also sustained minimal damage. The entire process took a total of 13 minutes.
Among the firefighters who responded, three of them had recently attended the Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue (TLAER) course only eight days earlier, organized by Equine Guelph and instructed by Dr. Rebecca Gimenez (TLAER Inc.). The course was very informative and covered both in-class sessions and practical scenarios on both artificial and live animals.
“Utilizing the information from this course proved valuable both in maintaining personal safety zones around the animal and scene while coming up with an effective plan to quickly and safely extricate the large animal,” said firefighter Michael Dailous.
The incident was the second horse rescue call for October – both calls came only days after several firefighters had taken the TLAER course.
Article submitted by Puslinch Fire Chief Steven Goode
