Horse rescued from icy pond in Malvern

MALVERN, Pa. (WPVI) -- A Chester County horse is recovering after it got stuck in an icy pond Tuesday morning.

Rescue crews were called to the scene along the 300 block of Hollow Road in Malvern around 11 a.m.

They had to use a pick ax and other tools to get the baby horse, named Ricky Ricardo, safely out of the frozen pond.

Owner Kim Simmons says her horse had been in the pond for more than an hour.

You can see in a viewer video that they tied ropes to his halter and a tractor was being used to pull him.

By that point, Ricky Ricardo had nearly threw in the towel.

"He was cold. He was starting to give up. He had ice balls on his ear and on his whiskers," said Simmons.

Simmons says Ricky is just a little over a year old. And it's his curious nature that got him into this mess.

"He was being a curious baby and decided that he wanted to check and see if the ice was think enough and it was not for him," she said.

Ricky walked right onto the frozen pond.

That's when the ice gave way.

Simmons says she was out on a ride with another horse when her daughter called.

"She said 'Ahhh the yearling is in the middle of the pond.' I handed the other horse I was on to the person I was with and said I gotta go,' she recalled.

But she says Ricky Ricardo remained calm.

"He was very calm and a lot of babies would have started freaking out," she said.

Simmons adds the East Whiteland Fire Department did an amazing job with the rescue. Together they got Ricky Ricardo out and he's expected to be ok.

"The vet came and he's doing fine," said Simmons.

Now it's all about warming back up after what could have been a disaster. And to help speed that up he got a special treat.

"We gave him a hot bran mash to warm the insides. (And) a little special treat," said Simmons.

She adds that he actually seems unphased by the whole ordeal.

She just hopes he learned his lesson and won't go back out on the pond again.