Fire squad pulls racehorse from Fla. swimming pool

[July 20, 2011]  MELBOURNE, Fla. (AP) -- A force of specially trained firefighters got the call when a 6-year-old former racehorse took a 5-hour dip in a Florida swimming pool.

Officials say three teenage boys were swimming Tuesday afternoon when the horse nosed its way into a screened-in enclosure in a neighborhood of equestrian estates. The boys tried to lead the horse away, but it got spooked and backed into the pool.

The teens and the homeowner tried to get the horse to walk up the pool stairs, but their efforts failed. They called a veterinarian and 911.

Brevard County Fire-Rescue spokesman Jeff Taylor says the team of firefighters was trained in animal-rescue.

They called in a wrecker, placed straps under the horse's belly and used the truck to lift the animal out of the water.

[Associated Press]

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