Dramatic video shows rescuers free trapped horse from cesspool on Long Island
ISLIP TERRACE, Long Island (WABC) -- A horse on Long Island was rescued on Thursday afternoon all thanks to a big team effort.
The animal found its entire hind quarters submerged in a cesspool on private property in Islip Terrace just after 4 p.m.
Suffolk County police said the 6-year-old horse named Santino escaped from his barn and began grazing on grass in the backyard of the home. That's when he fell into the collapse cesspool, which was a hole about 6 feet in diameter. The horse's head was about 4 feet below ground, and he was up to his neck in water and waste.
Newscopter 7 was over the scene of the rescue and captured the moment the horse was pulled from the hole. Watch the video in the player above.
Emergency crews pumped out waste and water from the hole, and a local construction company brought in a pay loader to help build a ramp to help get the horse out of the hole.
The horse then managed to walk on its own into a barn on the property.
Veterinarians examined Santino and said it does not appear that he was injured during the ordeal.
Santino's owner, Angelo Buonomo, purchased the American Quarter Horse two years ago in Louisiana, the day before he was scheduled to be slaughtered.
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