Western Cape -
|||Western Cape -
National Sea Rescue (NSRI) volunteers have helped in the dramatic rescue of a horse which had become trapped on an island in a raging river in the Wilderness area of the Western Cape.
The horse, Firefly, was finally brought safely out of the river on Friday morning.
The Wilderness volunteers were called out on Thursday evening, after news about Firefly’s stranding on an island in the Hoogekraal River, near Karatara, got out.
Garth Dominy, NSRI Wilderness’s duty coxswain, said the owner and a veterinary surgeon had also become trapped on the island during attempts to rescue the horse from drowning in the river.
“The horse had reportedly been missing for two days. The owner, Don Hartig, found it battling to keep its head above water earlier on Thursday.
“It’s suspected that the horse had wandered upriver and then tried to swim to safety, but had ended up in deep water, with steep cliffs on either side of the river bank.
“It was struggling to stay afloat and had nowhere to go.
“Don paddled to the horse using a borrowed canoe and tried desperately throughout Thursday to keep its head above water while also trying to coax it to either swim downriver to a safe landing or climb on to a small island.
“Eventually the horse managed to climb on to the little island, but it collapsed from exhaustion and stress, although it was physically uninjured.”
Vet Dr Rolf Lambrecht, of the Knysna Veterinary Clinic, had been summoned and Don ferried him to the island in the canoe.
The vet then sedated the horse and he and Hartig stayed with it while it regained its strength.
Don’s wife, Carien, had also been ferried to the island in the canoe to assist.
“As the light faded they become quite desperate to find a way to get the horse to safety and concerned friends and neighbours called NSRI Wilderness with a plea for help.”
The volunteer crew towed two sea rescue craft – with full-scale swift-water rescue kits and night kits (which include donated headlamps and torches) – to the scene.
Dominy continued: “It was decided to initially send in a reconnaissance team to investigate and our sea rescue craft were launched on to the river.
“By coincidence, one of our NSRI Wilderness volunteers, Dr Torsten Henschell, is a retired veterinary surgeon himself and another one of our NSRI Wilderness volunteers, Jacques de Bruyn, is an ex SA Defence Force Equestrian Unit officer, so it was obviously decided they should be sent on the initial recce.
“After consulting with Don, Carien and the vet, the decision was made to ferry Carien and Dr Lambrecht to the low-water bridge to release the vet, who had to leave to attend to another emergency, and to allow Carien and our remaining sea rescue crew to put together a provisions pack so that the owners could consider staying on the island with the horse overnight.”
A decision was then made that the horse and her carers would remain on the island overnight and the NSRI crew left supplies, including hay for the horse.
“Our NSRI volunteer sea rescue duty crew returned to base at 22h00.”
By early Friday morning a sandbank had emerged and Firefly was walked out through the less deep water.
The horse was later reported to be “grazing safely at home”, said Dominy.
Weekend Argus