Polk County emergency personnel save horse trapped in 6 feet of mud and muck

LAKELAND, Fla. — Emergency officials in Polk County worked for hours over the weekend to rescue a 20-year-old horse that had fallen into a 6-foot-deep water-filled hole.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office received a call about the trapped horse at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, officials said.

The horse was on a property in Lakeland near Sleepy Hill Road and fell through rotting vegetation that was covering the hole, the sheriff’s office said.

Deputies and Polk County Fire Rescue crews responded with an A-frame rescue system and were able to lift the horse out of the hole.

The horse had been stuck in the mud and muck for about 2 1/2 hours, the sheriff’s office said.

Crews towel-dried the horse as two veterinarians examined it, and it was eventually able to get back on its feet.

The horse was covered with a blanket, led to a covered barn and given hay for the night.

Veterinarians said she was in stable condition after the ordeal.

Cox Media Group