It was last Friday that Lou Bizzozero, from Karlskrona, and her horse Down South were going for a lovely ride in the forest. After riding for a while, they get lost, something that doesn’t usually stress Lou out. But when they arrive at what turns out to be a bottomless swamp, something happens that neither Lou nor the horse could have predicted.
– The horse feels that we are on a wetland and takes a jump forward, and then I immediately understood that it would not end well, she says.
Suddenly the 550 kilo horse has been sucked into a swamp, and Lou realizes that she needs help.
– I tried to guide him up but it didn’t work. After only two minutes I called 112, says Lou.
“Handled the situation well”
Thirty minutes later, the emergency services were on the scene. Lou had also asked 911 to call her farrier who could guide them to their location.
– There were no roads leading to us, so I asked the emergency center to call my farrier who lives near me and knows the land. His partner ran and looked for me, while he met the emergency services and brought them to us.
Together, the emergency services along with Lou, her mother, the farrier and his family were finally able to get Down South out of the swamp with the help of hoses and wires attached around his body.
– He was so talented. When he went down, he got into a stable position that kept him from going down again, says Lou.
Dropped in the woods
Once back on his feet, the horse was checked by a vet, and although they noticed he was taken by the incident, he recovered quite quickly.
– When he came up, we saw that he was strained and that he was shaking. But he got drips in the forest and quite quickly we noticed that he woke up, and that made me very happy.
Although Lou Bizzozero is convinced that her composure affected the situation, it was, after all, a scary place to be in, she believes.
– It is clear that you were a little afraid, I will not stick under the chair with that. It was a terribly unpleasant experience that could have ended in a nightmare. But my horse is fine and is back with his friends on pasture – and then I feel fine. I am so grateful that so many people helped.
If there is one thing that she takes with her from the event, it is that she will always ride in the company of others going forward.
– I probably won’t ride off road alone again, she says.