Flooding in Rio Grande City not only spread fear to people, but also to a farmer who worried his horses would drown.
Sadly, four of them did — but one was saved thanks to the urban search team called Texas Task Force 1.
This almost seemed like an impossible rescue mission. But Fort Worth firefighters would take their chances — in boats — searching for several horses that had been stranded for three days when floodwaters inundated ranch land along the border.
Lt. Ralph Diamond described what happened when they found the first horse. "It was a pretty young, strong horse, and didn't really want us to get too close to it," he said. "The vegetation was so thick there was no way we were going to be able to get to it."
The rescue team they had to make the decision to leave it behind.
They found two other horses that needed help, including Irish Paint Lady — a 17-year-old mare that had been trapped when heavy storms flooded the Rio Grande last Thursday.
It took about a half hour of just talking calmly before she would take her first step to safety.
"You could tell she was really apprehensive," Diamond recalled. "She was getting scared. She froze up and wouldn't let us take her any further."
A second boat was called in to help get Irish Paint Lady into a harness — mindful of the cactus plants below the water's surface.
"She started to close her eyes and lay her head down, and I didn't know if she was trying to give up," Diamond said.
But the volunteers urged her on, and wrangled her to higher ground.
"Man, it was great. I was like, 'Man, she is going to make it,'" Diamond said.
Irish Paint Lady is expected to be OK along with a second horse that made it to dry land.
E-mail ddenmon@wfaa.com
