Troy, the Marengo-area horse that was swept into floodwaters on Friday night and saved during an hours-long operation on Saturday, is home.

The Marengo Fire & Rescue Districts and others involved in his rescue were on hand Wednesday as Troy was returned to his barn on Anthony Road in unincorporated Marengo.

The horse, a Pony of the Americas breed, recovered from his ordeal at the Kendall Road Equine Hospital. His regular veterinarian, Nicky Wessel of Cutting Edge Equine Veterinary services, was one of the 40-plus people who were part of the rescue.

In front of gathered media, the 20-year-old pony emerged from a trailer early Wednesday afternoon and received an embrace from its owner.

Ashley Beaulieu, daughter of his owners, spoke to the media about the rescue and how he’s recovering.

Their barn hand, Trent Hinkle, was the first to find Troy standing in the flood waters, Beaulieu said.

“He tried to go into the water” but quickly realized he needed help, she said, and called 911.

Boone Creek runs through the property is usually 3 or 4 feet deep, Fire Chief John Kimmel said. But because of the recent rains, the water was an estimated 15 feet deep and there was no way to walk Troy out. Neither did they know exactly when he was swept out or how he ended up where he was.

But when firefighters arrived for the 8:30 a.m. call, they found the pony standing chest-high in floodwaters, 600 to 800 feet from the nearest bank, Fire Chief John Kimmel said.

Initially, the first team reached the horse by boat, carefully working in the fast-moving water. Additional personnel, including Wessel, waded into the waters to assist.

“They put me in a red Gumby suit” to keep warm, Wessel said, and took her to the horse on one of the boats. She brought some medications, hay and hot water with her to begin treatment.

Troy’s temperature should be about 100 or 101 degrees. It had dropped to 97 degrees, and the horse was suffering from significant hypothermia, she said.

On her way to the rescue, Wessel also reached out to the Wisconsin Large Animal Emergency Response Technical Response Team. That all-volunteer team arrived in the afternoon and helped bring the horse in, Kimmel said, as did swift-water rescuers from other fire districts.

Watching the ordeal was an emotional rollercoaster for her, Beaulieu said. Several times they feared the horse might give up. But she added he is a smart animal.

“He knew they were fighting for his life,” she said.

She could see he was scared but stayed calm throughout the rescue, she said.

The teams strapped Troy to one of the boats and floated him through the deepest water and back to a stable bank. Nearly two dozen personnel worked in the water and creek bank, moving Troy into the adjacent road, fire officials said.

It was after 7 p.m. before he was loaded into a trailer and taken to Kendall Road for continued care.

He was exhausted – too exhausted to stand – Wessel said, and had to be moved on a tarp out of the trailer at the equine hospital.

“Dude, it was cold,” in the floodwaters, Wessel said. She had to see if it would even be possible if Troy would survive if he’d swallowed flood waters, got water in his lungs, or gotten an infection in the muck and mud. None of that apparently happened.

He has some Appaloosa in him, she said. “They are hardy animals.”