WESTHAMPTON — Fresh snow, ice, a fall.
It’s a nightmare for elderly humans. For a four-legged critter that weighs far more than any human, it can be a disaster.
On Wednesday morning, Audra’s Dream, a 40-year-old horse owned by Tom and Kathy Swiderski of Westhampton, went down and couldn’t get back up.
With the help of the Westhampton and Southampton fire departments, it looks like he’ll live. He’s lucky.
“Very successful rescue” said Brian Duggan, emergency management coordinator for Westhampton and a retired Northampton fire chief.
Horse rescues have about a 50-50 chance of success, he said, and there’s a high mortality rate when a horse goes down and can’t get up on its own power.
On Wednesday, the standardbred gelding was turned out into a paddock on the property where he has lived most of his life. Once outside, his hooves slipped and once down, he was stuck.
“It was too icy for him to get up,” Tom Swiderski said.
The Swiderskis have owned Audra’s Dream since he was 4. Together, they’ve lived at their Westhampton property for more than three decades.
When Tom realized Audra’s Dream couldn’t get up, he flagged down fire department member Steve Holt, who was plowing a nearby driveway. Holt summoned his department comrades and they got to work.
Duggan said that a homemade sled specifically constructed by the Westhampton Fire Department for horse rescue was used to move Audra’s Dream from the paddock to the barn. They got him onto the sled, strapped him down and dragged the sled to better footing inside the barn.
Once inside, Audra’s Dream was rotated off the sled and helped to his feet.
Kathy noted how hard Audra’s Dream had tried to get up on his own power outside. They hadn’t wanted him to die in such a situation.
“It was like 20 people clapping and cheering,” said Kathy, describing the reaction when Audra’s Dream stood on his own four legs. “The whole fire department was cheering.”
At first Audra’s Dream could not stand under his own power, so a strap was used to keep him upright. Pretty soon, however, the old boy was standing unassisted.
“They were so good to us,” said Kathy.
“Just tremendous,” said Tom, of the response.
The Westhampton Fire Department has been called upon to rescue horses not just in Westhampton, but in surrounding communities as well.
Veterinarian Jesse Sugrue and vet tech Sarah Morcom were called to assess and treat Audra’s Dream. Both women have treated the horse before, and Sugrue said that they hurried over when they heard that Audra’s Dream had gone down, noting his age.
Sugrue said that Audra’s Dream should “come out of this just fine.”
She instructed the family to keep him warm inside, give him anti-inflammatory medication and vitamins and feed him warm mash every few hours.
While recovering, Audra’s Dream ate a copious amount of Honeycomb cereal, a favorite treat for him. The Swiderskis toweled off Audra’s Dream by hand.
His barn mate, a 25-year-old named Rocket, seemed to pay close attention to his longtime companion in the next stall over. The Swiderskis’ daughter Rachel was also present.
Standardbred horses typically live until their mid-20s, so Audra’s Dream’s age is quite remarkable.
Tom and Kathy said that Audra’s Dream used to be a harness racehorse, one year before they bought him and for two years after. She said that his biggest win was in Hinsdale, and that he was set to be featured on the United States Trotting Association’s website soon, highlighting his age. Kathy also noted his longtime gentleness.