PLANTATION, FLA. (WSVN) - Crews came to the rescue of a horse after it fell through a wooden bridge at a park in Plantation.
Plantation Fire Rescue responded to Volunteer Park, at 12050 W. Sunrise Blvd., Wednesday evening.
“I saw his hooves just laying there, and I thought he had a heart attack,” witness Marjorie Fazzini said.
According to officials, the horse, named Vertigo, was being ridden at the nearby equestrian center, located along Northwest 118th Avenue.
“We spoke to the owner of the horse, who said the horse got away from him after he was spooked by a car,” Plantation Fire Rescue spokesperson Aston Bright said.
Vertigo then ran onto a walkway in the park not normally used by horses, officials said.
One of the walkways slats gave way, trapping Vertigo on the walkway.
“His right hind leg fell through the bridge and was stuck,” Bright said.
7SkyForce HD hovered over the park where the animal could be seeing laying on its side.
Officials sedated the animal while Davie Fire Rescue’s large animal rescue team used specialized equipment to lift the horse. At one point, Vertigo almost kicked a nearby volunteer.
“We had to call the tow truck as well to lift the horse out of the bridge, and they were able to use all of their large animal rescue tools,” Bright said.
After being removed from the bridge, Vertigo was taken to a nearby green space, where it was sedated while veterinarians assessed his injuries.
“All the wounds, so far, everything seems really superficial,” Dr. Tiffany Trotter, a veterinarian, said. “There doesn’t even seem like anything that needed sutures, so we just went ahead and cleaned everything up, started him on antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and put some nice bandages on his back legs.”
After the sedative wore off, Vertigo got back up on his legs and walked back home.
Vertigo is expected to be OK.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.