Horse rescued from basement after falling through window well

An Elbert County homeowner got a morning surprise when she awoke to find her horse trapped inside her basement. The family horse fell into the basement of a home, triggering a four-hour rescue operation that included the help of a county backhoe and personnel from road and bridge, the Rattlesnake Fire Department and the Elbert County Sheriff’s Office.



The call came into the sheriff’s office at around 9 a.m. after the homeowner heard a noise in her basement. She went downstairs to find Summer the horse trapped inside, said Elbert County Sheriff Shayne Heap. Summer had fallen down a four-foot window well and landed in the basement, which was not constructed with a walk-out door.

“We thought of bringing her up the basement stairs,” Heap said. “But the stairs didn’t look safe enough to support her weight.” A veterinarian sedated Summer, who sustained minor cuts and injuries in the fall, and a coring company was contacted to cut into the foundation of the home. The initial plan was to expose an area around a second window well, remove a portion of the foundation and create enough space to bring the horse out of the basement, Heap said.



The road and bridge crew brought in a backhoe to clear an area around a second window well, which was situated closer to ground level. Once the window was removed and exposed, crews found Summer could fit through the window. At around 1:15 p.m., Summer walked out of the basement on her own. “We’re glad it worked out the way it did,” Heap said. “The horse was fine once it was all over.”

With more photos. There's a news video here.