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Horse resting after water rescue

Both Kyrie and her owner, Susan Musial, were looking forward to some quiet time and rest Tuesday following their harrowing ordeal Monday night.

Kyrie is the 26-year-old horse who struggled for hours after falling into a spring off West Creek Road. She was rescued by the Pittsford Fire Department.

Dr. Lisa Hickman, treating veterinarian of Clarendon Animal Clinic, said Kyrie suffered injuries including a deep gouge to her front right leg joint, a network of lacerations along her underside, and a deep puncture wound to her flank in addition to shock and exhaustion.

"Well, I think we're going to have to take it day by day, infection is going to be a possibility," Hickman said. She gave a good prognosis for Kyrie's eventual recovery.

Hickman praised the work of the fire department for their careful action in rescuing the injured horse.

"She was lucky there's so many horse people among the Pittsford Fire Department," Hickman said. "There were all these familiar faces, at least half of them were clients."

Pittsford Fire Department received a 911 call that a passing motorist had spotted a horse that appeared to be stuck in a well.

Rescuers originally described the horse as stuck in a well, but Musial, who owns three other horses, said Kyrie fell into a natural spring that is encased with a culvert in one area.

The uncovered enclosure measures 5 feet in diameter and is approximately 4 to 5 feet deep according to Musial.

"I've never had an issue with that, it's been like that for years," Musial said. "I honestly don't know what happened."

"When we arrived the horse was entirely submerged under water," said Pittsford Fire Chief Tom Hooker. He described how Kyrie had only her head and front hooves above the water.

Hooker said he cut a piece of the department's 4-inch supply line to thread a rope through, which was then attached to a tractor to pull out the horse. The tractor belonged to neighboring horse owner Debbie Hathaway.

Hickman and Dr. Donald C. Hunt of Middlebury Large Animal Clinic were called to the scene in order to care for the injured horse.

"I got paged a little after 8 p.m. that a horse was in a well," Hickman said. "Then I got a call that the horse was dying."

"On the way down, you never know exactly what you're going to find — so I did have some concerns," Hunt said.

Musial, who works as a respiratory therapist at Rutland Regional Medical Center, had received a phone call while at work at approximately 7:40 p.m. from her 22-year-old son, Travis Bovey, reporting that Kyrie had fallen into the spring. She was unable to arrive on the scene until after the rescue was complete.

"I was beside myself waiting for my replacement to come," Musial said. She said she was kept up to date on the rescue attempt by her son, who called her multiple times throughout the night with updates.

"As soon as I heard the situation I knew there that was a possibility of having to put her down," Musial said. "I was prepared to make that decision."

Hooker said the rescuers' hope was renewed when Kyrie managed to stand on her own, then proceed to make her way back to her stall.

"The fact that she was standing and went immediately to eating was promising," Musial said.

One thing that remains unknown is how exactly Kyrie managed to fall into the spring. According to Musial, she has let Kyrie graze in that pasture for the past 10 years.

Hunt said he has seen this with other animals. He said he believed Kyrie fell into the spring back end first. Hunt came up with a couple of theories as to why the fall occurred: perhaps the horses were playing in the pasture, or the accident was the result of Kyrie being bossed around.

"I think it's a freak thing, but even though it's a freak thing I think precautions need to be taken," Hickman said.

For the immediate future, Musial said she plans to keep her horses out of the pasture where the natural spring is until it can be fenced off. She has already measured the encased area so she can start making a cover for the spring.

"I think you never really think about the dangers of what could happen till it happens," Musial said. "Hindsight is 2-0/20."

Contact Sara-Megan Walsh at sara-megan.walsh@rutlandherald.com.