The owner Maria Gustavsson witnessed the accident up close and saw with his own eyes how the mare was pulled below the surface of the water.
– It was quite nasty to see a horse disappear like that, she says to Borås newspaper.
Maria acted quickly, fetched a skewer and a halter handle, and was soon helped by two neighbors who are also used to horses. Together, in dramatic minutes, they managed to save the life of the several hundred kilo northern Swede.
– I held her head above the surface of the water while the neighbor girls scooped the ice, says Maria Gustavsson to Borås newspaper.
The pasture was new to the horse
While Maria held Älva’s head above the surface, her partner alerted the emergency services. It was just after nine thirty in the morning when the alarm reached the emergency services, which immediately rushed out and sent four units to the scene, ready to take on the big rescue mission.
Several unfortunate circumstances were behind the incident. Älva had only been on the farm since Sunday and was in the paddock for the first time. That’s why Maria kept an extra close eye on the mare, who only had time to walk two laps around the paddock before she went through the ice.
– It just hit me in the stomach, so I just ran like crazy through the snow.
Picked himself up
But just as the first fire truck turned into the yard, the horse caught its hooves on the bottom of the pond, which is about two meters deep at its deepest point.
– When they honked at the road, she summoned her last strength and managed to get up on her own, says Maria – who will now put a fence around the pond.
When Älva got up and was dried off in the stable, she had to walk together with the box neighbor Sebastian to warm up again.
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