Firefighters rescue horse who fell into owners' pool in Penngrove

A horse who escaped its enclosure was rescued early Monday after falling into its owners' pool in Penngrove, according to a Rancho Adobe Fire District official.

The horse, named Spirit, is about 20 years old and never escaped its enclosure before, Capt. Rene Torres said. But it decided to jimmy the lock and explore its owners' yard some time before 8 a.m.

Spirit then wandered onto the deck and fell into the pool.

When firefighters arrived, Spirit was shivering but didn't seem overly anxious, Torres said.

Since the owners planned to get rid of the pool anyway, firefighters

used a chainsaw to cut into the wraparound wooden deck and cut the sides of the pool to create a makeshift door. Then they constructed a ramp so the horse could walk out of the pool, Torres said. Altogether, the rescue took about 45 minutes.

"The horse had couple a little abrasions on her legs and that was it," Torres said.

Bernal said this isn't the first time the fire department has rescued a large trapped animal before.

"I've had a horse once tangled in a wheelbarrow," he said. "Sometimes they fall in wells. Large animals find themselves tangled up a little more often than you think."