LOVELAND, Colo. — Two horses are recovering after suffering severe injuries while evacuating the Alexander Mountain Fire.
It happened while volunteers were moving dozens of animals from Sylvan Dale Ranch's main property, when the fire broke out near the ranch Monday.
Denver7 spoke with Joshua Ciardullo, a rancher who leases property from Sylvan Dale, and who helped with the animal evacuations, and said it happened during a private volunteer effort after several people jumped in to help.
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Ciardullo said the horses, Bo, 5, and Hawke, 8, were hurt when a floorboard broke on a volunteers trailer, causing both horses to fall through the trailer and sustain severe injuries to their hind legs.
Both horses were stabilized and transported to Colorado State University Veterinary Hospital for emergency surgery, he said.
Ciardullo shared CSU veterinary staff told him both animals went through surgery and were doing OK after the procedure.
"They won't be giving horseback rides probably in the near future, but I think they can make excellent companion animals and help people, you know, maybe, serve as trauma therapy horses and things like that," he said.
More than a dozen other animals were taken to the Big Valley, which is a 600-acre parcel that is part of Sylvan Dale Ranch.
Ciardullo said they use the area to grow hay for the Sylvan Dale, and is approximately a couple miles southeast of where the fire was at the main ranch.
He also uses the land for his business, Ciardullo Cattle Company, where they raise cattle for the purposes of selling food and other products directly to consumers.
"I think they're doing very well. I think they're enjoying a change of scenery. They spent the first, probably three or four hours just running around, checking everything out, happy and and it's good for them to get out. They got a nice big pond to drink out of," he said.
He said Bo and Hawke still have a long road ahead, but he's hoping for a speedy recovery.
"I'm a huge animal lover. We have horses, we care about our livestock, our cattle, just like they're the family dog. So we take care of all of our animals," he said, recalling the moments the two horses were injured.
"Being right there with the horse, looking them in the eyes, seeing the fear, seeing them shiver, and having to talk to them and reassure them that they're going to be OK. If they pull through, which I'm confident that they will, it's going to be a silver lining to this whole thing."
Ciardullo has launched a GoFundMe fundraiser to help pay for their recovery.
You can donate to help the horses here.
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