LARGE ANIMAL RESCUE SKULL SESSION
July 22

  DRAFT HORSE IN THE LAKE

HOW THE INCIDENT WAS RESOLVED

This problem is based on a real scenario and is presented for a "Skull Session" discussion in the Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue Facebook Group.

A number of excellent comments were posted to the group. Here is a recap of the incident as presented, followed by group feedback and the actual details of how the rescue was achieved.

Location

The incident has occurred in a large lake and recreation area managed by the State Parks department. The lake has a sandy bottom that includes strata of unstable lake bed that can entrap animals and people alike. The adjacent beach has a great deal of loose sand beyond the wake line that tends to get vehicles stuck that try to drive over it.

Date and Time

Mid-afternoon on the Labor Day holiday.

Incident Details

You receive a call from State Parks stating that a Belgian Draft Horse is bogged in the water in the lake. Parks personnel and bystanders have tried unsuccessfully to extricate the horse for nearly four hours.

Equipment on-scene includes a couple of State Parks vehicles, a State Parks brush fire truck and a citizen's 4-wheel drive pickup that has an electric winch parked at the water's edge.

Upon arrival you see the horse in the water, surrounded by civilians, with its head being floated on an inner tube. It becomes immediately clear that the horse's legs are stuck fast in the lake bottom sediment and he can't simply be pulled free.

The scene on your arrival.

Skull Session Questions

  1. What are your priorities?

  2. What are the safety issues?

  3. What resources do you need?

  4. Describe your action plan.

Group feedback.

Please note that the details of this incident were described in generalities in order to generate the broadest spectrum of perspective as to what was occurring and what was needed among the skull session participants. Excellent thought processes were expressed by the participants.

Recurrent responses.

Safety first. Appoint a "Safety Officer." Keep unnecessary people away. Put people in protective gear (e.g., helmets, flotation devices.) Identify "kill zones." Keep people from getting mired in the silt.

Assess the horse. Is this a viable save or will we just be tormenting a dying horse? Is hypothermia an issue? Call a veterinarian.

Use a Nikopolis needle to get straps under the horse. Jet the horse's legs free from the silt. Rig a sideways drag to move the horse from the water. Use a slide board or Rescue Glide to reduce abrasion.

Provide appropriate slow warming and follow-up care once the horse is out of the water, as well as the day after.

  ACTUAL RESCUE ACTIVITIES

A veterinarian was not available that day. The Rescue Glide was not available that day. (We since have a obtained a second glide for the area.) It was a holiday and only four trained volunteers were available within the critical time remaining, two for water work and two for shore support and safety. The Portable Water Supply unit with jetting wands and equipment got stuck in the sand about 1/4 mile from the horse. We had less than two hours of daylight left.

Upon arrival we assessed the scene and the horse. We determined that the horse was bogged up to his gaskins and forearms in silt and was laying at about a 45 degree angle. His head was being floated by a swimmer who had brought out an inner tube.

One team member immediately slipped into the band of unstable silt and had to be pulled free. We marked the unstable area with a shovel with a shirt tied to it. Although boating is allowed in the lake, no personal flotation devices were at hand. (We now carry extra life jackets.)

The horse's owners were a farrier / veterinary technician and his wife who appeared to be very competent around horses. We identified two swimmers who seemed competent and would listen to instructions. Another two swimmers were used as "runners" to retrieve equipment from shore. (Given that this was a holiday, sobriety was a significant factor as to who would be allowed to assist and who was sent off for "shore tasks" such as looking for broken glass and other beach hazards in our haul path.)

One of the park rangers operated as safety officer from shore. The park fire crew brought a brush fire rig since the Portable Water Supply was stranded in the sand. A lake visitor positioned a pickup truck with an electric winch in a viable location to winch out the horse.

Organizing the rescue. A rag covered shovel handle indicates the boggy area.
Someone had already managed to get a tow strap around the horse. We used that strap to pull our assist straps under the horse. We strapped both the front and hind ends of the horse using "through the legs" configurations as we had to independently control the front and hindquarters of the horse in order to position him for an effective sideways drag.

We had to develop a method to get the horse's legs free from the silt and suspend them until he could be dragged to shore. In this case it required carefully jetting around the horse's legs, a rope or strap looped around each leg, with one helper keeping each leg suspended while staying clear of the kill zone. Specific instructions were given to minimize rescuer risk.

Before this operation commenced, the horse owner dove under the water and established the locations of each leg. (This action had to take place while all legs were completely immobilized.)

Locating the horse's legs and placing lifting ropes or straps around each.
Setting up the jetting wands.
Each leg was jetted as one would do in a hydraulic mining operation until the respective leg could be raised by its rope or strap. Underwater jetting took a lot of water. The brush fire rig ran out of water and had to go refill from the stranded portable water supply. The jetting process had to be suspended during that time and resumed after the brush fire rig returned and the hoses were hooked back up. (Note: The PWS has drafting capability so had it made it to the lake, we would have had an infinite water supply.)
Reassessing the situation and resuming the jetting operation.
The next step was to rotate the horse's hindquarters to facilitate a sideways drag.
Rigging the rear sling to rotate the horse out of the bog.
We employed a sideways drag to get the horse out of the boggy area, however it was difficult to keep his head out of the water during this operation. Once the horse was over firmer lake bottom sand we switched to a forward assist and carefully winched the horse onto the beach.
Rigging a forward assist.
Sternal position, forward assist.
One of the fundamental safety issues that is repeatedly taught is that horses will often "fish flop" during rescue operations. This incident proved to be no exception. As the horse reached the shore a number of spectators rushed past Safety to see the horse. Fortunately all they suffered was a silty shower.
The horse attempting to rise as bystanders come close.
Everyone gets clear as the horse falls over.
Maintaining head position to keep him from drowning until everyone regrouped and the scene is secured.
The Safety Officer has to consider that bystanders will do foolish things, especially when alcohol is involved.
Protecting the horse's "down side" eye as he is brought on shore.
The horse was cold and exhausted. He was blanketed and a campfire was built nearby. His owner gave him small portions of grass hay. After about an hour's rest he stood up on his own and walked over to his companion horse a half-mile down the lake shore.
Back on his feet some 8 hours after entering the lake.
The horse was transported to an area stable for a veterinary exam and care. The next morning he was back in his pasture wandering around, eating grass, with no long term after effects.

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This material is intended for the use of the Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue (TLAER) Facebook Group. TLAER is a trademark of Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue.