Crime & Safety

30-Year-Old Horse Rescued From Ditch

The Schnecksville Fire Department and Lehigh Valley County Animal Rescue Team helped save a horse Sunday that fell through a fence into a drainage ditch.

The Schnecksville Fire Department and Lehigh Valley County Animal Rescue Team helped save a horse Sunday that fell through a fence into a drainage ditch.

A passing motorist reported seeing Star, a 30-year-old brownish gray horse, laying on her side in a culvert at about 1 p.m. off 5063 Mill Creek Road, Lowhill Township, according to Victoria Schadler, coordinator for LVCART, a non-profit organization staffed by volunteers who rescue animals during disasters.

Horses can die if they lay on their side too long because their weight, which averages around 1,200 to 1,500 pounds, can cut off their circulation, Schadler said.

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"Their system works on slowly shutting down. They'll have difficulty breathing. They can't maneuver. There's a timeframe so it's important to try and get them at least right-side up. Their legs go numb and their blood circulation can't flow," she said.

Rescue workers swung into action. LVCART volunteers who were trained in large animal rescues brought a special harness which they strapped around the horse and hooked up to a front-ender loader provided by the firefighters, Schadler said.

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The rescuers lifted the horse and got her on her feet but kept her suspended a little bit so she could regain feeling in her legs. When Star recovered some stength, the owner walked the horse back and forth until a veterinarian arrived.

"We had it up and out by 2:30 p.m.," Schadler said.

LVCART and agencies like it across the state were created in 2006 by state emergency management agencies to prevent the death and suffering of animals after thousands perished after Hurricane Katrina. LVCART set up emergency shelters for pets during Superstorm Sandy.

The rescue on Sunday was LVCART's sixth or seventh horse rescue over the last year. 

"The animals wind up up in all different situations. It's always down and it's always in an awkward position," Schadler said.


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