Bearing witness to someone else’s pain is hard to watch. It’s instinct to want to help and be of service to end their suffering, but when you try to help and your efforts are wasted, it’s even more devastating. And, when it’s an animal and you can’t communicate effectively, you’re on your own to figure out a solution.
Marek Slodkowski, a farmer in Poland, has had horses for 13 years but never had something like this happen to him before. Imagine his thoughts and feelings when he walked into this totally unexpected scene one afternoon to see one of his horses in extreme distress. Strapped with a go-pro, Marek called firefighters for help and recorded everything.
His video tells the story of Freedom, the beautiful white horse, who found herself in quite the conundrum. She was standing on a wooden floor covering up a maintenance pit when it broke open from the weight of the unassuming horse. She fell in a couple of feet deep, unable to hoist herself up. Marek tried cushioning her with bundles of hay so she could squish it down in an attempt to raise her, but it wasn’t working.
While waiting for help to show up, Marek attends to her, feeding her and keeping her company. He’s trying to keep her spirits up, saying things like, “Don’t sleep. Don’t sleep. Don’t die. Don’t die…” But, she’s losing hope.
Then, the entire fire department shows up ready with all hands on deck to liberate Freedom and they hatch a plan. They use the fire hoses and loop them underneath her belly to get her on an angle so they can raise her just enough to bunch hay under her. The men tried and tried and tried with all their might, but no luck.
At this point, they are out of ideas, and Freedom is visibly tired and frustrated. The guys take a break, and step out to breathe and gather themselves when something brilliant happens! They all look over and notice Freedom stirring and getting a second wind. She’s not going down without a fight. She’s been able to gain a little height from the hay under her, so her angle is better. She’s trying to lift up when the guys rush to the scene and give her that bit of extra support she needs to get her through her darkest hour.
Click below to watch and see what happens next! It was a communal effort that ended miraculously!
