POCATELLO — A horse found itself in a tough spot Tuesday morning after falling off a cliff and becoming stranded on a ledge.
Luckily, with the assistance of a local general contractor, the horse was rescued.
Bannock County Sheriff’s Office deputies and search and rescue personnel responded to the incident in the Blackrock Canyon area south of Pocatello shortly after 9:15 a.m. Once at the scene, they found a 1,700 to 1,800-pound draft horse stranded on a ledge. The horse was unable to get out on its own.
That’s when Kevin Fay, owner of FM Construction, got a phone call requesting assistance. He was doing construction work in the Johnny Creek area at the time and was in possession of a backhoe that later proved vital to the horse’s rescue.
Using the backhoe, Fay dumped small rocks and gravel into a nearby crevice in the black lava rocks, which allowed the horse to climb out on its own.
As the horse was freed, one of the rescuers at the scene yelled, “it’s a good day” while others cheered and celebrated.
"Horses usually don't get caught in situations like this," said Bill Jons of the Bannock County Sheriff's Office. "The horse worked with us pretty good. It was just a tight squeeze for him to get out of."
Aside from some bumps and scratches, the horse was miraculously uninjured, even though it fell an estimated 12 feet off the cliff.
“He was a lucky horse,” Fay said. “All and all, it turned out pretty good. The only other way to get him out of there was with a crane.”
