Neighborhood rescues horse stuck in Pasco County swimming pool

PASCO COUNTY, Fla. - A horse got stuck in a Pasco County swimming pool Tuesday afternoon.

Cindy Buckel said her horse, Moe, is usually calm and sweet.

"Every day I come home and I give him a hug, and I'll put his head on my shoulder," Buckel shared.

Moe leaped into an above-ground pool and got stuck.

Buckel said she and her husband were doing yard work Tuesday, so they moved their horses, Moe and Huey into a different part of the backyard.

"They were like grazing where we could see them," she said. "And as soon as we came around the corner, I was like. What are they doing over there? And I said, ‘What are you guys doing in there, Huey? Yeah, you need to hide.’"

Buckel said they turned around for a few minutes, and saw Huey had cornered Moe near their above-ground pool.

She recalled turning back around suddenly to find Moe standing in the pool. Buckel said Moe appeared to have leaped into the pool.

"It was kind of a beautiful leap into the pool. I mean, he would have got a ten if it was a diving thing," shared the horse's owner.

After being rescued, Moe was fine according to his owner and firefighters.

In her decades owning and working with horses, she says this has never happened before.

"At first he was swimming," she explained. "And I'm like, You don't need to swim, though. You're okay. You don't need to swim."

Buckel said she jumped in right after him to try to calm him down and help him. She immediately called their vet while her husband called Pasco County Fire Rescue.

READ: Dead bat found in Bartow dog's mouth tested positive for rabies

"My thing was keep him calm, keep him over there until they came up with a plan," Buckel said.

Buckel stayed in the pool with Moe while one of their neighbors came with his tractor and Pasco County Fire Rescue came with animal rescue tools and harnesses.

Pasco County officials had to help rescue a horse that was stuck in a swimming pool. 

"He came up with his tractor," she said. "And at that point, all the firefighters were here and one of them was in a pool with me."

Eventually Moe was hoisted out of the water and back onto the ground safely.

READ: Free dogs in Plant City this weekend at mega-adoption event

"And they did such a wonderful job, you know, lifting him slow and putting him down slow," Buckel shared.

Thankfully, Buckel said Moe is doing well and happy to be back on the ground.

"He's amazing," she said. "And now I know I can add that to my list of equine stuff, water rescue."