A Maryland horse got into a serious — and unusual — situation this week.
On the morning of Thursday, Aug. 14, firefighters in Maryland’s Baltimore County responded to a property after a horse stepped on a wooden plank that suddenly broke, causing the animal to fall into an eight- to 10-foot pit.
About 30 first responders from both the Baltimore County Fire Department and the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services’ Special Ops team worked together to rescue the horse.
“Confined space animal rescue. Horse was sedated and extricated from the pit,” the fire department wrote on its official Twitter/X account. “Vet on scene evaluating the horse.”
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After the horse was safely sedated, a local towing company used a crane to lift it out of the hole around 9:36 a.m. Photos shared by officials show the careful operation, with crews surrounding the pit and guiding the horse out so it could stand on all fours.
The rescue took about two hours. The horse did not seem injured and was placed under a veterinarian’s care to recover from the sedative.
No explanation was given for why the hole was there.
Sadly, this isn’t the first time an animal has been in this kind of situation. Earlier this year, a zebra faced something similar.
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In June, after being missing for a week, a zebra named Ed was spotted running through neighborhoods and on the highway in Tennessee. Video footage showed the animal being captured and air-lifted from a pasture in the Buchanan Estates subdivision.
Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office shared a statement on Facebook at the time, saying Ed was safely returned to his owners.
“Deputies were on standby for the safety of the residents who live nearby,” the statement read. “Ed was airlifted and flown by helicopter back to a waiting animal trailer.”
