MOUNT DESERT, Maine — A carriage horse in Acadia National Park apparently got out of his stall and into trouble Wednesday morning, triggering a massive effort to extricate the 1,800-pound animal from a deep hole in the stable floor.
Duke, a 12-year-old Belgian Suffolk Cross horse that helps pull carriages in Acadia, was put into his stall at Wildwood Stables at about 10 p.m. Tuesday. But when workers arrived just after 6 a.m. on Wednesday they found Duke out of his stall and stuck in a 4- to 5-foot-deep hole that opened when he broke through planking in another part of the building.
“The only things coming out of the hole were his head, his front feet and part of his body,” said Richard Rechholtz, supervisory park ranger at Acadia.
Over the next two-plus hours, about 30 people from Carriages of Acadia Inc. — the private concessionaire that operates the carriage rides from Wildwood — as well as the park service, the Mount Desert Fire Department and Mount Desert Highway Department tried to devise a way to lift the massive animal from the hole.
The group wrapped large fire hoses around Duke’s body as well as ropes and a winch-like device known as a come-along to eventually pull the horse from the hole. They had to cut a hole in the loft above the horse in order to use the stable’s rafters to lift Duke’s hindquarters while about 15 people pulled.
“It was a group effort,” Rechholtz said.
After Duke was removed from the hole, a local veterinarian, Dr. Brian Leeth, sedated the horse in order to check him for injuries.
“He did have some lacerations and so forth,” Rechholtz said. Otherwise, Duke is expected to make a full recovery.
Rechholtz said it was unclear how Duke escaped after being secured in his stall last night. Efforts Wednesday to reach officials with Carriages of Acadia Inc. were unsuccessful.
So Duke went a’courtin for the midnight show. I’m going to bet there was a filly involved.
Excellent work by the rescuers, just a cut or two on an animal that had to be near panic.
Great work, folks !
Glad to hear Duke will be ok. I do hope that whomever is responsible for the maintenance of the stable will check the entire building over to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
Oh Duke! You gave the staff quite a start to the season!
Glad all ended well and Kudo’s to those involved for keeping a clear head and devising a safe way to rescue DUKE.
He escaped because he could. That’s what horses do! Mine is a total escape artist. Glad it all worked out well.
they sure do. My neighbor has 6 horses. Every now and then they escape and come visit me so they can munch on the green grass. It’s quite a sight to look out your window and see 6 enormous horses roaming around your lawn. They’re beautiful animals.
Sounds like something I would do back when I was drinking…..
Good job, all!
Glad to hear a happy ending to the story :)
I hope they pay the state for the park, Fire dept and road workers time.
That’s all you’re concerned about? Whether the people who helped get the horse out of the hole for a couple hours got paid? Wow.
Just like when a hiker is lost in the woods.
Creative teamwork at it’s best. All of you did real good ! Now, to get those stall floor’s looked at since a Belgian Suffolk cross is almost a tank. But, hey, we’re in Maine and if there’s one thing that we Mainer’s can do is build with wood ! And no one does it better than Maine.
Awesome work by everyone involved! So glad to hear he will be just fine!
The horse was sedated prior to removal from the hole…
I sure was glad when we finally got rid of our horses on our farm.
I like horses….. as long as they are someone else’s.
Best of luck to Ol’ Dobbin.
I am so happy this turned out well. That poor horse must have been terrified.
Job well done to the rescuers! It’s amazing the horse wasn’t hurt badly and that no people were hurt in this long and difficult rescue. I love a story with a happy ending!
Glad there’s a happy ending. We took a carriage ride in Acadia during our honeymoon in June ’06. Great time.
Ok.So no one else will, I’ll ask. WTH is up with the giant, horse sized ,hole under the floor?
Thats where they use to hide the bodies.
If it’s anything like my barn, it wasn’t built on a slab and it doesn’t have a cellar. Nothing under the floor but air, for a certain distance (which varies with the landscape) until you (or a horse) hit the ground.
The horse should not be named Duke . . . his name should be Harry . . . as in Houdini.
Duke gets the summer off!
A horse walks into a hole…
Aw, poor thing; glad he’s OK.
First small picture… “Its okay guys, I got the tail” says the old nerdy guy with glasses in the back.