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Saturday evening was a tense one near the Hansen Dam Aquatic Center in Lake View Terrace, where a horse had become stuck in muddy water and needed some help getting out.
The Los Angeles Fire Department came to the rescue of the large horse, who had three of its legs stuck firmly in the mud and half of its body covered in water. It took 40 firefighters working from the ground and the air to rescue the horse; 10 of the firefighters were in the water mainly focusing on keeping the horse's head above the water during the rescue.
Firefighters utilized 4x4 vehicles, carriers, back boards that float, and two-line rope systems. The Dart Team, a unique group including a veterinarian, responded tremendously fast and tranquilized the horse with a sedative while firefighters used manpower and rope systems to safely bring him to the shoreline. Then in a coordinated effort, a harness was placed around the weakened horse, and a LAFD helicopter lifted the him to dry land at a near by baseball field.
