HUDDLESTON, Va. – An unusual call came in on Tuesday night for the Huddleston Volunteer Fire Department: a horse in need of being rescued.
This is their second call this week for a situation like this.
“Any kind of animal that needs rescuing we treat it just like a person. We understand that is also a life and it’s a life that needs rescuing,” said Huddleston Volunteer Fire Assistant Chief, William Kirby.
Officials said in both instances, the horses were attempting to walk across frozen ponds when the ice broke. We’re told the horses then fell through the ice before getting stuck.
“We do have some members who are trained in a large animal rescue course and that are familiar with operations that take place,” said William.
With the help of neighboring departments and the Bedford County Special Operations Command as well as a few civilians, the horses were brought to safety.
“It takes all of us in the community, all the departments in the community to perform these rescues,” said Captain Doug Kirby.
Doug has served the department for over 30 years. He said during his time, he’s only experienced four horse rescues, two of which were just this week.
“It’s very uncommon to even get a call of this type and to have two of them back to back like this is extraordinary,” said William.
Although both horses were safely brought to shore, they have since passed away from their injuries.