Crews in Washington County rescued a horse from a sinkhole on a Scenery Hill farm Friday morning. The retired racehorse, named Chautauqua Worms, was uninjured except for a few cuts, rescuers said.
Responders lifted the 1,000-pound horse, named Chautauqua Worms, from the hole with an A-frame hoist borrowed from the county, said Ed Childers, a firefighter at the North Strabane fire department, which runs the rescue team known as CART.
The response team arrived at the Amos Road property about 6 a.m., pulling the horse from the pit at 9:30 a.m., Childers said.
"All in all, everything went pretty well," Childers said. "No injuries, no damaged equipment."
Neighbors identified the horse as belonging to horse farm owner Lisa Beinhauer. She could not be reached for comment.
Other than a few cuts, the retired racehorse was not badly hurt, said veterinarian Leah Mitchell, who examined it after the rescue.
"It could have been life-threatening," she said. "He was a lucky horse."
An underwater stream on the property eroded the land, producing the 4-foot-deep cavern into which Worms fell, Mitchell said.
"It was one of those freak things, with all the rain we've been having," she said.
Washington's CART responds to horse emergencies at least 12 times each year. Accidents occur most frequently during winter months, Childers said.
Reader Comments
to our Newsletter