A Horse Named Legs Got Stuck in a Ditch
By: K Ann
Tags: Horseback Riding, Teamwork, Park Ranger, Equestrian, Horses

A Horse Named Legs Got Stuck in a Ditch

He walked out several hours later with the help of a backhoe, a few park rangers, the local vet, and two Animal Control officers K Ann Follow Dec 25, 2020 · 4 min read

Photo by Mat Reding on Unsplash

When I showed up to work one hot July morning, I had no idea I would be spending the day outside in the sun, helping to rescue a horse that fell into a ditch.

My office is next to a natural area with miles of trails for hiking and equestrian use. It’s a popular place for people to bring their horses out to ride for the day.

Just before 10 a.m., a couple ladies knocked on the door to the office. I answered, and they said someone had flagged them down a few miles up the road. A lady had been riding a horse, thinking she was on the official trail when she was actually following a game trail that was most likely used by deer and coyotes.

The trail came too close to the edge of a drainage ditch and the bank gave way. The horse and rider fell down into the ditch. The rider was not injured, but the horse was stuck with its legs underneath so it couldn’t stand up.

The rider soon realized the horse was really stuck, so she walked over to the main road to ask for help. She thought she needed a couple strong men to give the horse a boost so it could stand up and walk out of the ditch.

I asked a couple of our guys to go with me to help the horse. It wasn’t long before we all realized he needed more help than we could give him. The horse had worn himself out already, trying to force his way out of the ditch and he was dehydrated from the hot sun.

We called the vet and Animal Control for help with the horse. Maintenance staff and volunteers from the local park came out with a backhoe and (thankfully) a few bottles of water.

The vet gave the horse several bags of IV fluid and buckets of fresh water to drink. The other volunteers sprayed the horse down with bottles of rubbing alcohol. The vet explained that the alcohol evaporates quickly and it was cooling the horse down faster than spraying it with water would have.

In the meantime, the men operating the backhoe smoothed out a ramp so the horse could walk out easily, if we could get him back on his feet.

The owner of the horse kept asking me if I thought he even had a chance, and if not, she would have him put down right there. We could use the backhoe to dig him a grave.

I kept assuring her that the horse would be fine, while on the inside I was praying that the horse did actually have a chance to live and that he would walk away on his own four legs. I tried really hard to assure her over and over that her horse would be able to walk out by himself.

Legs being pulled from the ditch with the backhoe. Photo provided by the author.

Five hours passed before the vet decided the horse’s legs probably didn’t have any feeling, like if you sit on your foot for too long and it restricts the blood flow. Everyone got together and put two tow straps under the horse (not around his belly because that would hurt him) and they ended up lifting him out of the ditch with the backhoe and laying him on the ground. Volunteers began massaging his legs and moving them around to get some blood moving.

The poor horse tried several times to stand up and the vet had almost decided he wouldn’t be able to get out on his own and had given up the will to live. They kept massaging his legs, but he only had so many chances left that day.

After at least half an hour of this treatment, and again with the help of the backhoe, the horse stood up on his own. Once he stood up, I realized why his owner had named him Legs. This was the tallest horse I’d ever seen. We all thought, “no wonder he couldn’t stand up in the ditch.” Those long skinny legs were tucked under that horse the whole time!

Seconds after Legs stood up, he started to pee. It went on forever. His owner made a joke that that was what finally made him stand up — his bladder was full! All that IV fluid and those buckets of drinking water had caught up with him and he had no choice but to stand up and GO.

Somehow, Legs was not injured from his fall. His backside was scraped up a little and he was bleeding, but they were minor scratches. After a few shaky steps, he allowed himself to be led away from the trails and into the waiting horse trailer.