It was quite a Saturday morning for Buddy, an Appaloosa horse whose leg became stuck in mud in an icy pond on private property just south of Loveland.

The Loveland Fire Rescue Authority was dispatched to 2519 South County Road 13 at approximately 8:18 a.m. Saturday and found the horse in about 3 feet of water near the edge of the pond, unable to remove his leg from some mud, said Division Chief Michael Cervoski. 

After an attempt using a water pump device to break up the mud was unsuccessful, fire officials called upon officials from Loveland Water and Power to bring a crane trucks and pull Buddy to safety. 

“They came out and helped us with what we call a high-point anchor, which is basically just the crane’s tip that is used to hoist the horse up out of the mud and bring him over the shore to warm up,” Cervoski said. 

A main concern of officials working the incident was that Buddy might be suffering from hypothermia. They immediately covered him with a blanket and used a little portable propane furnace to warm him up. 

“After about 30 or 40 minutes, he hopped up on his own and began walking on his own,” Cervoski said. 

In total, the rescue took a little under 90 minutes. 

LFRA fire officials were assisted by Thompson Valley EMS, Loveland Water and Power.