MIDDLETOWN, Ky. (WDRB) -- As the saying goes, "you can lead a horse to water" — but two Middletown police officers had to lead one out of a swimming pool.
It happened just before 3 a.m. in late October, when two horses wandered away from a nearby farm and into a neighborhood off Old Henry Road. One of them got more than a drink of water — it fell through the cover of a backyard pool.
Homeowner Brenda Morris said she and her husband were asleep when their dog started barking.
“Our dog, Penny, started barking about 2:30 in the morning,” Morris said. “I looked at my Ring camera and noticed there were two horses walking on our driveway.”
Moments later, she realized one of them was in serious trouble.
“As I’m walking to the window, I hear splashing noises,” Morris said. “I looked out and saw a large horse that had fallen through our pool cover. All four legs were stuck, and the horse couldn’t get out.”
Morris immediately called police. Within minutes, officers Trey McKnight and Sgt. Ricky Guffey arrived to find the animal struggling to stay afloat.
“I didn’t know how long the horse could hold his head above water,” McKnight said.
Body camera video shows the officers working quickly, using a garden hose as a makeshift lasso to pull the horse toward the pool’s steps.
“So I composed a lasso, and me and my sergeant pulled him over to the stairs, and he walked right out,” McKnight said.
After several tense minutes, the horse was safely out of the pool with only a few scrapes.
Sure, the officers have heard all the jokes about leading a horse to water — but this time, they proved they could lead one out of it too.
“I did tell my sergeant that they could take my gun and issue me a lasso,” McKnight joked.
“When I got home that morning from work, I had to tell my wife about it,” Guffey added. “She obviously laughed.”
For Morris and her neighbors, it’s a story that’s become neighborhood legend.
“I think my husband’s told everyone he knew the very next day,” Morris said. “You won’t believe this — and I’ve shared it with a few people too.”
Other than a few scrapes on its leg, the horse is expected to be OK — and back at its nearby farm.
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