ARUNDEL — A horse is safe after first responders from Arundel Fire and Rescue were able to pull it from a frozen pond Wednesday.

Firefighter James Gambino said Thursday about a dozen first responders from the fire department worked to pull a horse from a pond on its owner’s property Wednesday afternoon, after it had fallen through thinning ice on the pond, to which it had access.

According to Gambino, a passerby noticed the horse submerged in the water and notified the property owner, who was not identified. When they realized they could not rescue the horse on their own, the fire department was called.

“It was pretty close to the edge, but the ice had just gotten pretty thin over the past few weeks,” Gambino said. “A passerby noticed and stopped and told the property owner, and they tried to get it out, but realized it’s a daunting task and (the horse was) heavy.”

Gambino said the horse was about submerged in about 10 feet of freezing cold water, and that only its head was visible.

It took a small army of a dozen firefighters to drag the horse from the water, Gambino said.

“We were able to hook onto the horse and, with all that manpower, pull the horse up and out with rope. Once it got its front legs out, it got easier,” he said.

Once out of the water, the horse was taken to its stable where it was covered with blankets and hot packs and dried off with towels, Gambino said, in attempts to bring its temperature back to normal. An equine veterinarian was called to the scene, he said.

Gambino did not know the horse’s status on Thursday, but said it was on its way to making a swift recovery at the end of emergency operations Wednesday.

“Before we all cleared, (the horse) was already doing a lot better,” Gambino said. “Its core temperature was 96 degrees, and 99 (degrees) was normal for a horse, the equine vet said.”

— Staff Writer Alan Bennett can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or abennett@journaltribune.com.