Emergency crews and animal-welfare workers Monday rescued an injured horse that tumbled about 100 feet down a steep East County slope.
Dobby the horse, though medics had administered treatment, had to spend the night in a ravine as rescuers had to suspend their operation due to darkness.
The eight-year-old slipped and fell off a trail near state Route 94 and Honey Springs Road shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday. His owner’s daughter had been riding him on a group horseback outing in the Hollenbeck Canyon area between Jamul and Dulzura, according to Cal Fire and the San Diego Humane Society.
Dobby’s rider was able to jump off, suffering only minor cuts and bruises as he went over the edge of the rugged embankment, said Brent Pascua, a Cal Fire captain.
While emergency personnel were en route, the injured horse’s owner made her way down to him and tried to stop his bleeding with padding material she removed from her riding helmet, Humane Society spokeswoman Nina Thompson said. When firefighters got to Dobby, they replaced the makeshift dressings with pressure bandages.
After responding to the emergency along with Cal Fire and the county Department of Animal Services, eight members of the Humane Society Emergency Response Team hiked about five miles down the hillside to Dobby. They found him stranded on the brushy slope above a creek bed, suffering from belly lacerations and cuts – one down to the bone – on two of his legs.
Following the emergency treatment, the team walked the horse down to level terrain across a stream that runs through the gulley. At that point, they hiked back, putting the rescue on hold as darkness fell.
About 1 a.m., the team went back down into the gorge to comfort the horse and provide him with food, water and a blanket.
About 7:30 a.m., the rescuers returned along with a veterinarian, who checked Dobby’s wounds. They initially hoped to airlift him to safety, but when no helicopter was available, they led him back to the staging area on the ground.
A veterinarian there re-bandaged Dobby’s legs, after which his owner, a Ramona resident, loaded him into a trailer for a trip to a North County veterinary critical-care facility.
One of the riders present when the accident occurred believed that Dobby’s fall may have occurred due to erosion of the pathway from recent rainstorms, Thompson said. She added that Dobby remained calm, much to the relief of his rescuers.
“We hope Dobby will make a full recovery,” the Humane Society spokeswoman said. “Our (emergency team) members say they are very impressed by his ability to maneuver the tough terrain while injured.”
– City News Service
