Firefighters cut through backyard pool to rescue horse

March 3 (UPI) -- Firefighters in California used power tools to cut through a resident's deck and pool to rescue a horse that fell through the cover and into the cold water.

Kery Poteracke of Penngrove said she awoke Monday to find her 24-year-old horse, Spirit, had dislodged the lock on her corral and wandered the yard until falling through the cover of the pool on the home's back deck.

Poteracke said her family tried to coax Spirit into climbing out of the pool, but they ended up calling 911 when their efforts were unsuccessful.

Firefighters from the Rancho Adobe Fire District responded to the home and used power tools to cut through the deck and the pool to give the horse a path to freedom.

"They asked if I wanted to have a crane come in and I said, well, my husband doesn't want the pool so I guess you can cut it apart," Poteracke told KPIX-TV.

Poteracke said Spirit suffered some minor cuts and scrapes, but no major injuries.