It took nearly eight hours, a veterinarian, swift water crews and more than two dozen emergency workers to bring Troy the horse home.
The 20-year-old horse was swept away during last weekend’s storms and became stranded in a flooded creek in McHenry County on Saturday, authorities said. By Wednesday afternoon, Troy was back on his home farm after reuniting with his family for the first time since the rescue on Anthony Road in unincorporated Marengo.
For Ashley Beaulieu, the reunion came after a long and frightening wait.
Her family rescued Troy 18 years ago, and during parts of Saturday’s operation, she said she feared he would not survive.
“It’s just really hard to see something suffering and your instinct is you just want to help it; you can’t just jump in to help him especially as your own horse, it’s awful,” she told NBC Chicago. “Everyone was going through different emotions trying to figure out what the next step is to help him.”
The family’s barn hand had gone out to check on Troy and his siblings after the storms when he noticed Troy was missing Saturday morning.
The horse had ended up in the flooded creek near the family’s home. The barn hand tried twice to rescue him, but he could not reach Troy because the current was swift and fast moving. In some parts, the cold water was 15 feet deep.
Beaulieu said all she could do was wait for help.
“You could tell [Troy] he was looking at us wondering why we weren’t out there helping him and I felt so bad,” she said. “I didn’t want him to think we were just watching him.”
Emergency personnel, including firefighters, were called in for the animal water rescue. Authorities said Troy was stranded on a small peninsula at least 600 feet from shore.
“We started building a raft system that we moved the animal across with the boat across the creek,” Marengo Fire Protection District Chief John Kimmel said. “About 4 o’clock that afternoon we activated the MABAS box alarm system for swift water technician.”
As the rescue continued, a veterinarian crossed the creek to reach Troy and give him aid and medication. By that point, he was already showing signs of hypothermia, according to authorities.
Dr. Nicky Wessel of Cutting Edge Equine Veterinary Services said Troy was stabilized at the scene.
Rescue crews then brought in more manpower to guide him out of the water, onto the road and into a trailer so he could be taken for further treatment.
The operation relied on help from multiple teams, Wessel said.
“We would not have been able to do this completely without the Wisconsin Large Animal Rescue Team. They were amazing,” Wessel said.
By Wednesday, Troy was recovering at home.
Beaulieu said she was grateful to the crews who helped save him and thankful to have him back on the farm after the hours-long rescue.
The rescue on Saturday took nearly eight hours and involved more than two dozen emergency personnel, authorities said.
