The Patriot Ledger
HANSON, Mass. — Firefighters worked for hours to free a horse that became trapped when its leg broke through a barn floor Tuesday, but the animal wound up having to be euthanized.
One of the horse’s rear legs broke through a wooden floorboard in the barn at 158 Brook St., which is listed as Walking Horse Depot. The phone at that address was disconnected as of Wednesday morning.
Firefighters were called to the barn at 11 p.m. Tuesday, Hanson Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr. said.
He called in the Plymouth County Technical Rescue Team, which, using slings and a block and tackle, was able to lift the horse after working for nearly four hours, he said.
Thompson said the horse had broken through the floor at about 5 p.m. The owner called the fire department after being unable to rescue the animal.
Veterinarian Karen Kaczeroski, who was called in by the rescue team, said the female horse weighed 800 to 900 pounds and was more than 20 years old.
“Quite a bit of time went by, and there was a lot of damage to her leg,” she said.
Kaczeroski called the rescue effort heroic.
“They got her out, but most likely she would have had a long recovery, and this was something that she might never recover from,” she said.
Copyright 2010 The Patriot Ledger