This past weekend, flood waters began to threaten the Brownburg area. When Chuck Damler, owner of Natural Valley Ranch in Brownsburg, along with his wife, Marie went to check on their horses early Sunday morning before they realized the flooding had started in earnest. They discovered their horses weren't in their normal place.
Brownsville horse threatened by flood water
Around 8:30 a.m., the horse owner called 911 because the water was too cold and moving too quickly to get safely across, and although the horses were not in immediate danger where they were, the flood waters were becoming more threatening.
© 2015 by Indianapolis Fire Dept
Instead, they were on high ground with a creek on one side and a drainage ditch filled with water about 6-feet-deep on the other.
The couple had already moved the goats and miniature horses, but the horses also needed to be moved, just to be safe.
In attempting to rescue the horses, their son rode one of the horses across the flooding waters, but none of the other horses followed. When he went back for another one, the water was above his waist. In 20-minutes time, the water had come up to his armpits.
Damler's son had gotten three of the 17 safely across, but Damler realized his family couldn't go over the ditch anymore to retrieve the animals. They were concerned about the rising water and the possibility of hypothermia for the horses.
Around 8:30 a.m., Damler called 911 because the water was too cold and moving too quickly to get safely across. The horses were not in immediate danger where they were, but the Damlers had no idea what conditions would be later.
The Brownsburg Fire Territory, Hendricks County Rescue Task Force swift water rescue crews from Brownsburg, Plainfield, Danville and Avon, and the Morgantown Large Animal Rescue Team responded to the ranch at 6310 E. County Road 350 North.
It took more than five hours to get all 14 horses safely rescued. At first, the horses refused to leave the area. A second attempt was made and rescuers were able to get two horses across, and then others began to follow. They were then taken to the barn to be warmed up from the cold water.
According to Stephanie Winegar, public information officer for Brownsburg Fire Territory, the horses were not injured and showed no signs of distress. No personnel helping with the rescue were injured either.