Horse Rescued in Zionville After Being Stuck in Drained Pond for Hours | New

ZIONVILLE – A horse was rescued after getting stuck in a dry pond in Zionville for hours on Thursday, October 21.

According to Watauga County Emergency Services, Zionville volunteer firefighters were dispatched to 1791 Silverstone Road at 6:30 p.m. for animal rescue. Watauga County Fire Marshal Shane Garland said a pond on the property had been emptied and a horse had wandered into it.

“The horse got over there and just sank,” Garland said. “You couldn’t even see the horse’s legs.”

Garland said any attempt to dig up the horse was going nowhere, leading the Hampton Demolition Department to use one of their vehicles to assist it.

“Hampton ended up coming up with his big rotator troubleshooter and was able to get some big straps around (the horse) to get him out of there,” Garland said, adding that it had taken about three hours to finally free the horse.

According to Garland, there was a veterinarian on the scene to watch the horse.

“Once we got him out he was able to walk to the barn on his own and it looked like everything was fine,” Garland said.

As to why a fire department and towing service were called for an animal, Garland noted that Watauga County does not have a specialized service to rescue the animals.