RICHMOND, Ky. — A 2-month-old filly was rescued recently after falling about 15 feet into a cistern on a horse farm in central Kentucky.
The 400-pound Tennessee walking filly was found standing in few feet of water at the bottom of the cistern, and could have been there for as long as 24 hours, according to officials on the scene last Thursday.
Rescue workers, including those from the Madison County Rescue Squad, White Hall Volunteer Fire Department and the Kentucky Large Animal Emergency Response (KLAER) team, worked much of the day Thursday to bring the filly to safety.
“She seemed fine,” said Michael Bryant, director of the Madison County Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program.
Bryant was on the scene to oversee workers during the hottest periods of the day and help prevent heat exhaustion in the humid, 90-degree weather.
“She had a few scratches on her nose and head, but once they got her out, she stood up,” he said.
The filly was pulled out of the cistern at about 2:45 p.m. Madison County Rescue Squad members were first on the scene after being dispatched at around 11 a.m. when farm owner Wayne Perkins noticed a mare without her filly.
“One of the vets and one of the firefighters (certified in animal rescue) went down in the cistern to sedate her and blindfold her,” Bryant said.
The cistern had a metal cover with a narrow hole in the top, he said.
“(Rescue workers) widened the opening of the cistern a little bit more,” he said. “I still haven’t figured out how (the filly) fell down in the cistern.”
The hole in the metal cover was about 18 inches wide and approximately 24 inches long, he said.
“They (rescue workers) are speculating that the filly may have fallen head first,” Bryant said.
The filly did not appear to be injured while standing at the bottom of the cistern in about 4 feet of water, he said.
“At one point in time, they lowered a bucket of hay down there and she was eating,” he said.
The filly was treated for its minor injuries by KLAER volunteers at the scene.
The KLAER is based in Versailles and is an organization consisting of veterinarians, firefighters and people involved in the filly industry that have been certified in technical large animal emergency response, according to information the organization’s Web site, www.kyanimalresponse.org.
Ronica Shannon writes for the Richmond (Ky.) Register.
CNHI News Service
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