The Daily Inter Lake

A team of Flathead Valley rescuers saved a horse from drowning in a pond on Two Mile Drive Saturday morning.

Jerry Fredericks was headed for the shower at about 8 a.m. when he happened to glance out his window. He liked looking at the pond in the neighboring pasture, which often attracted ducks and deer.

This time, he saw a horse floundering in the water.

"At first, I didn't know what it was," he said. "I thought, there can't be any ducks out there. It's froze over."

Fredericks ran outside and saw Poky, a 4-year-old paint mare that had lived in the pasture for the last two years, struggling to find footing in the muck at the bottom of the pond. The water was up to her back.

Ice on the manmade pond was over a foot thick in most places, but about 20 feet out, where Poky had fallen through, Bowser Creek flowed through the pond, making the ice thin and unstable.

A horse owner himself, Fredericks grabbed a lasso, halter and lead rope, and set out to help the animal. He lassoed her so he could keep her head above water, then lay on the ice to put the halter and lead rope on Poky. He realized he couldn't get her out by himself, so he ran back to the house to call 911.

Volunteers from West Valley Fire Department responded to the call, as did Kalispell Police Officer Scott McConnell and Flathead County Sheriff's deputies Dan Linder and Brett Childers. By the time they arrived, Poky had been in the water for about an hour.

They used a chain saw to cut holes in the ice so they could get Poky into a better position. Then they used a pipe pole to fish a length of fire hose behind her front legs. They threaded a thick rope behind her hind legs and attached it to a block and tackle.

Together, the rescuers pulled on the ropes. A couple of men held backboards against the ice. Eventually, they were able to pull Poky out to shore.

"I'm very grateful to the volunteer fire department. I'm very, very grateful to them," Poky's owner, Jamie Fleming, said. "I don't know what I would have done without them. They were a huge help."

Fleming was ready with blankets as soon as Poky was pulled from the water. She took the horse to LaSalle Veterinary Clinic, where a veterinarian gave Poky a pain reliever and a shot of antibiotics to treat the cuts on her legs.

"She's had a pretty traumatic day," Fleming said. "But she's going to be OK in the long run."

Poky had to stay at the clinic overnight so veterinarians could monitor her for colic. If she is fine this morning, she'll be allowed to leave.

She won't be going home, though.

"I'm not going to bring her back out to that pasture for now," Fleming said, explaining that she's leased the pasture for the last couple of years. "I'm going to put her at my aunt's house where there's no pond. That was just a little too much for me."

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com