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.
[ Photos: Horse rescued from mud pit in Polk County ]
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.