A horse named Summer got into a bit of a jam Monday morning when she tumbled into a window well — and her owners’ basement.
It took Elbert County rescue teams four hours to get the mare out of the house.
Cory Stark, director of emergency management for Elbert County, did not know what caused the horse to fall into the window well of the Sun Country Meadows neighborhood home around 9 a.m.
But Sheriff Shayne Heap theorized that the deeper-than-average window well was obscured by tall weeds.
“She took everything out on the way through,” Heap said.
When rescuers arrived, the 1,100-pound horse was standing in the basement.
Veterinarians checked out the animal and determined she was not seriously hurt.
“It was a little scraped up and excited from the incident,” Stark said.
But the horse had other problems.
Rescuers could not get her to walk up the stairs, and although the window well she dropped into was larger than normal, it was too small to navigate an exit up and out.
They sedated the horse, then decided to excavate dirt from around the window well.
With the help of the horse’s owners, the animal was freed around 2 p.m.
It could have been much worse, Stark said.
“Horses can break their necks, legs and bleed arteries, just like everyone else,” he said. “But they are also quick on their feet.”
Members of the Rattlesnake Fire Protection District and Elbert County Road and Bridge Department aided in the rescue.
It was a first for the sheriff, that’s for sure.
“I’ve never seen a horse in the basement,” Heap said.
Carlos Illescas: 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com
