The 9-year-old horse, Buddy, rested in his stable after the ordeal, but earlier, it wasn't looking good for him. The half-ton registered Morgan was treading water for his life. For more than two hours he was trapped up to his neck in a 20-30 foot irrigation well at the Echo Hills Ranch on North San Pedro Road in San Rafael. Right there to comfort him was his owner Linda Boyd who had gotten the horse only five weeks earlier.
"Oh it's stressful. It's stressful to see your horse down in a well and not being able to get out," said Boyd.
Sometime before 4:30 p.m., Buddy stepped on the wooden covering that was on top of the well and crashed into the water. Caretaker Greg Alvernaz who had just returned to the ranch heard a strange sound.
"Then I saw the top of the well kind of mangled. So I ran out there and I saw him treading water with his head up, sprinted back, called 911 because I knew this was something I couldn't handle," said Alvernaz.
When the drama started, buddy was about eight feet below the top of the well. The San Rafael Fire Department pumped in about 1,000 gallons of water so he would float to the top. The Marin Sheriff's Department and Humane Society put their heads together and a private crane was brought in to finish the rescue.
Despite the trauma and near death experience, Buddy had only a bruise over his eye and some scrapes on his legs.
"I'm relieved. I'm completely relieved. He looks like he's going to pull through so I'm happy," said Boyd.
