After inches of snow fell Saturday night into Sunday morning, Milford firefighters were prepared for a lot of calls.
But they didn't expect the one they got from Oronoque Road around 8 a.m.
A horse had trouble with all the snow and ice and couldn't get up.
The Hartford Courant reports that the horse had been on the ground for at least four hours.
But the horse was in luck. Milford Fire Captain Bernie Belgey had taken a large animal rescue class last year.
Firefighters teamed up with Rick Cranley of Silver Horseshoe Stables to oversee the rescue. Medium-pressure air bags were placed under the horse, which when inflated, lift up the object they are placed under.
After its ordeal, the horse was lethargic and firefighters had to support some his weight.
"Once we had it lifted up, were were able to get a harness underneath the horse's abdomen and hook it up to the crane, " Captain Belgey explained. "That took the weight off the horse's legs and allowed a couple of minutes for the horse to loosen his legs up. The owners were massaging them to get the circulation back up and then we were able to walk him with the harness still on."
The horse was taken into his barn where a veterinarian checked him out to make sure he was okay.
Fire officials say they believe this was the department's first horse-life assist.
"The Firefighters of Milford are here to protect the entire population of Milford and also its visitors, even if they walk on four legs and eat carrots," fire officials said in a news release.
