NYPD doesn’t horse around rescuing muddy equine from Bronx beach

The NYPD showed Friday that it doesn’t horse around when it comes to rescuing equines. 

After receiving a call Friday afternoon that a horse named Bear was stuck in muddy water on Orchard Beach — a public beach in the Bronx once known as the “The Riviera of New York” — multiple units gathered to heave the animal to shore, police said on social media. 

The 15-year-old horse was stuck in the mud in approximately three feet of water at the Pelham Bay Golf Course and Shore Road Shoreline, the NYPD confirmed to CBS News.

The horse and rider were riding along a trail, when the horse veered onto a different trail and into the mud, police said, and while struggling to get out of the mud, the horse fell onto its side with the rider underneath. 

The rider was able to free herself, suffered no injuries and refused medical attention, police said.  

A team of about 15 NYPD officers culled from Aviation, Emergency Service, Harbor, Scuba and Mounted units were called in to assist the distressed gray and brown horse that was lying on its side on the shore.

The team used ropes and a rescue glide under the back, side, and front of the horse to pull it from the mud, a video posted on social media showed. 

As helicopters circled overhead, the team counted in unison and pulled on the ropes until the horse was lifted out of the water. 

“I’m walking him up, I’m walking him up,” one of the officers said as the horse shook off the ropes and started walking. 

Police assessed the horse and found that the horse was stable. Once on shore, the horse “received medical attention,” from a veterinarian the NYPD said in a message on Twitter.