Dramatic Video Shows Nerve-Wracking Rescue of Horse 'Freezing to Death' in Icy Pond

Mar. 15, 2025

Body camera footage from police officers in New York captured the harrowing rescue of a terrified horse who had fallen through the ice covering a pond.

According toa Facebook postfrom the Saratoga Springs Police Department, located north of Albany, officers arrived at an icy pond on Monday, Feb. 24, at around 3:45 p.m. after someone called 911 to report that a horse had fallen through the frozen surface and become stuck in the frigid water.

According toWNYTand theAssociated Press, the horse — a 22-year-old male quarter horse named Sly — belongs to Saratoga Springs woman Ali Ernst. The horse owner was watching her horses play in her backyard when she saw Sly fall through the ice.

Ernst quickly sprung into action, tying a rope to Sly’s harness, but she told AP that it quickly became apparent that she needed help in the “battle to keep him above water.”

“The horse was in imminent danger of freezing to death. Patrol Division officers were sent to the call and immediately began rescue efforts upon arrival,” the Saratoga Springs Police Department wrote on Facebook. “Officer Kyle Clinton was first on the scene and began to assist the owner in pulling the horse out with a rope. Officers Kris Camarro and Dominic Martuscello arrived shortly after Officer Clinton and immediately began helping to pull the horse out of the water.”

In the nerve-wracking body camera footage, officers and a few civilians work together and use their combined strength to pull Sly, a large, dark brown horse with white points, out of the water.

Sly the horse during his icy pond rescue.Saratoga Springs Police Department via Storyful

Saratoga Springs Police Department via Storyful

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The rescue group works to coordinate their movements to lift the heavy animal out of the freezing water, yelling, “One, two, three — pull,” as they heave Sly out of the pond. Police officers try to calm the animal down as they work, telling the horse: “Easy” and “Ho” as Sly flails his legs.

“I threw all the rope in the hole and just started pulling it back in sheer hopes that I caught a hind leg, and I did, and we all just started to pull,” Ernst told AP.

After several days of care, Sly’s body temperature returned to a safe range, and he was allowed to return home, where playtime on the ice is now forbidden.

“There’s an electric fence up around the pond now,” Ernst told the outlet.

“We are proud of their work and are grateful for the opportunity to share this incident with the Saratoga Springs community,” the police department added. “Please join us in congratulating them on a job well done.”

source: people.com