Horses Rescued from Drowning

Horses threatened by Rising Water

On the night of Tuesday, October 31, 2006, a fierce north-westerly storm lashed the coast of the Netherlands’ northern provinces. The water soon rose almost 5m above its normal level, a nightmarish situation in this low-lying country. Along the coast of Friesland, beyond the dykes, the salt marshes were submerged. A large herd of horses had been grazing in the area. Suddenly, the animals found themselves surrounded by rising water...

The following evening, in the village of Oude Bildtzijl, 32-year-old Micky Nijboer was watching news coverage of the floods on television. A horse lover and passionate equestrian herself, she was shocked by the images of the trapped animals. Two hundred frightened horses, some already up to their heads in water, were crowded onto a tiny knoll, a sliver of land in the flooded salt marsh. Micky recognised the location, just beyond the dyke at Marrum. The dyke was only 2km away: she could see it from her living room.

It wasn’t unusual for horses to wait out high waters on a knoll, Micky knew. Farmers would often simply let their animals stay out in the salt marsh and find higher ground. It wasn’t a problem when there were only a few horses. But this crowded knoll was a potentially tragic situation.

Micky immediately sensed that she had to do something. She could imagine the horses’ fear and rising panic. But how could she help? It was dark, the dyke was blocked off and trained rescue workers from the army, fire department and police had already launched a plan to get the horses to safety.

Pondering the problem, she peeked into her children’s bedrooms. Casper, six, and Iris, four, were both sleeping peacefully. Micky headed for bed, too, but hardly slept at all that night.