Dramatic rescue saves horse from icy pond in New York

A horse that fell through the ice of an upstate New York pond was saved by rescuers who pulled together to free the animal from the frigid water.

Body-camera footage from responding officers shows the team of Saratoga Springs police and neighbors grunting and straining to pull Sly, a 1,300 pound (590 kilogram) horse, from a hole in the ice late Monday afternoon. Sly can be seen flailing his front legs while rescuers shout “One, two three, pull!” and “C’mon, baby. We got ya!”

Sly’s owner, Ali Ernst, said she noticed her three horses playing on the pond when she came home from work, which was not uncommon. But when she looked out again, the 22-year-old quarter horse had fallen through the ice.

Ernst made a series of calls for help as she ran to the hole in the ice, grabbed Sly’s halter to keep his head up and waited for help.

“I was losing the battle to keep him above water alone,” she said in a phone interview Wednesday.

Officer Kyle Clinton arrived first and helped Ernst get Sly’s full head back up on the ice. They were soon joined by others, including two more officers, neighbors and family members.

They were initially able to tie a rope to the halter around Sly’s head. Eventually, the group of about nine people had three ropes on Sly, Ernst said.

“I threw all the rope in the hole and just started pulling it back in sheer hopes that I caught a hind leg, and I did, and we all just started to pull” she said.

Once out of the water, Sly was able to get to his feet after several minutes. He was sent to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, where Ernst works as a technician.

Ernst said Sly was initially hypothermic, but had recovered enough Wednesday to go back home, where playing on the ice was no longer allowed.

“There’s an electric fence up around the pond now,” she said.