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Up and out: Tusayan Fire Department rescues trapped horse
Cattle guards on public lands cause challenges for wild horses; agencies tasked with removing them

A crew from the Tusayan Fire Department was able to rescue a feral horse trapped in a cattle guard near Ten X Campground Feb. 9. Although it could have ended tragically, the horse was able to walk away with only minor injuries. (Photo/Greg Brush/TFD)

A crew from the Tusayan Fire Department was able to rescue a feral horse trapped in a cattle guard near Ten X Campground Feb. 9. Although it could have ended tragically, the horse was able to walk away with only minor injuries. (Photo/Greg Brush/TFD)

TUSAYAN, Ariz. — For members of the Tusayan Fire Department, Feb. 9 produced an unlikely rescue mission – a feral horse was trapped in a cattle guard along the Highway 64 corridor.

While cattle guards are specifically designed to keep livestock corralled without the need for a gate, they’re often dangerous for horses. Horses unfamiliar with the grates may try to cross them anyway, and because their hooves and legs are more slender than that of a cow, they fall through the grate and become stuck. The guards are especially dangerous during snowy weather, when drifts of snow can obscure the guards.

That was case Feb. 9 when the Tusayan Fire Department was dispatched to the entrance of Ten X Campground to rescue a feral horse whose back legs had fallen through and become lodged in the grate. As soon as the crew got to the scene, however, Fire Chief Greg Brush said they were called to a medical incident at the same time.

Fortunately, the crew was able to split into two groups and assist the individual as well as free the horse.

When crews arrived on the scene, Brush said the horse had likely been trapped for several hours.

“She was just exhausted,” he said. “But she was actually pretty calm while we were working. We were all hopeful when we realized her legs weren’t broken.”

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Tusayan Fire Department was able to rescue a wild horse trapped in a cattle guard Feb. 9. (Photo/Greg Brush/TFD)

The horse’s hind legs were both stuck in the grate, and firefighters were able to wedge boards in between the steel bars so she could eventually walk herself out of her predicament. With one last slap on the behind, Brush said she realized she was free and she trotted away with nothing more than a slight limp and some abrasions on one of her legs.

“The crew did such an awesome job,” Brush said. “Hats off to Captain Greg (Lawrence), Kate (Johnson), Anthony (Diluzio), Travis (Moreno) and Bob (Pes) for an amazing job.”

Unfortunately, said Brush, it’s not a rare occurrence. He said the Tusayan Fire Department has already responded to two other calls in the past year involving horses in cattle guards, and those two cases had not had a happy ending for either his crew or the horses.

“Their legs were broken, and at that point, there was absolutely nothing we could do,” he said. “No one likes to get that call.”

Each scenario brings up a bigger question, however – who is responsible when livestock, feral or otherwise, gets trapped in a cattle guard and injured or killed?

Brush said he doesn’t know who owns the cattle guard, but said other agencies such as the Forest Service and the Department of Public Safety haven’t offered a lot of solutions in the aftermath of the other incidents.

The Tusayan Fire Department had enough personnel on hand that day to resolve both incidents – the medical call and the horse rescue – simultaneously. Brush said funding allocations from the town over the past couple of years have allowed the department to maintain enough personnel and equipment to sometimes have two crews operating at once to the best of their abilities.

“We’re really thankful for the support we’ve received from the town,” Brush said. “We’ve got a unique situation here and they’ve really helped us by allocating funds and even purchasing equipment.”


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