Late Daily

Heroic Rescue: Firefighters Save Two Clydesdales Trapped in Icy Lake. Two majestic Clydesdale horses found themselves in a frozen nightmare after fleeing a Pennsylvania farm—but thanks to brave firefighters, they were pulled to safety just in time! ❄️🐴💪

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by

Thuy
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The 15-year-old Clydesdales named Gunther and Wilhelm broke out of Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, on Saturday morning, WNEP news reported.

The animals appear to have run across the frozen Pine Grove Lake, near Hamilton Township less than a mile from the farm, when the ice gave way.

Rescue crews led by the Blue Ridge Hook and Ladder Fire Company needed a boat and chainsaws to cut a trench through the ice towards shore to lead the animals back to safety.

Rescuers carefully approach the hole in the ice on Pine Grove Lake where horses Gunther and Wilhelm fell through

Rescuers carefully approach the hole in the ice on Pine Grove Lake where horses Gunther and Wilhelm fell through

The rescue crew is able to reach the horses, but the size and weight of the horse makes pulling them out of the ice impossible

The rescue crew is able to reach the horses, but the size and weight of the horse makes pulling them out of the ice impossible

Firefighters and rescuers put together a plan to cut a trench through the ice with chainsaws

Firefighters and rescuers put together a plan to cut a trench through the ice with chainsaws

‘There was no way we were gonna pick them up, put them on the ice and slide them out on a boat,’ fire Chief Leon Clapper said.

Video footage of the dramatic rescue show crews lining either side of the hastily constructed canal using horses to guide Gunther and Wilhelm back to land.

‘Never in 54 years has this ever happened,’ local resident Arlene Reading told the news station. ‘We’ve never had an animal or a human lost in the lake, so this is a first.’

Reading and the other members of the community were on hand to help veterinarians warm the horses once they made it out.

The long trench is meant to allow the horses to make their way back to shore

The long trench is meant to allow the horses to make their way back to shore

Gunther and Wilhelm required some guidance after having been stuck in the freezing waters

Gunther and Wilhelm required some guidance after having been stuck in the freezing waters

‘Some of the other neighbors were horse people so they went and got heaters, their blankets and stuff like that,’ Chief Clapper told WCJB news. ‘It was, you know, one hell of a team effort.’

The lucky horses escaped their freezing ordeal without broken bones, according to Deborah DiPasquale of the Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm.

‘I haven’t met a horse that if they want to get out of somewhere they can’t find a way to do it,’ said DiPasquale. ‘They’re little Houdinis.’

Wilhelm, in the foreground, and Gunther arrive on land shivering and soaked from their ordeal in the lake

 

Wilhelm, in the foreground, and Gunther arrive on land shivering and soaked from their ordeal in the lake

Veterinarians and community members begin the process of warming up the Clydesdales with blankets and heaters

Quiet Valley farm is raising money to help with the medical bills for the recovering  as well as adding electrical wire to their fencing to prevent future excursions by the Clydesdales

The farm updated the status of the four-legged escape artists on Facebook Monday morning saying both ‘are steadily improving.’

‘Wilhelm is not very fond of his medicine but is tolerating it for the extra attention. He is being treated for some eye irritation and a bit of pain medicine,’ according to the post that included a link to a donation page.

‘Our big goal for today is to reinforce their pasture fencing with a second line of electrical wire to dissuade them from any more adventuring.’

The Quiet Valley farm website also states that the mischievous horses ‘are grounded for the foreseeable future: no after hours romps, girlfriends, cell phones, etc.’