Seven horses were rescued from surely certain death after they fell through the ice into a river in Russia on 16 February 2020

Unstable weather conditions in winter resulted in dangerously thin ice but the horses crossed it thinking it was as thick as usual (about 0.5m; 1.6ft) before they fell in.

The footage shows six horses struggling to get out of the cold water onto the ice. The men, horse breeders from Iglinsky district of Bashkiria, had already pulled out another animal.

One by one they pull the rest with a tractor and rope. The whole process took about eight minutes although the last horse took about three minutes to rescue as it resisted being caught with a rope.

Horse breeders from Iglinsky district of Bashkiria rescued several horses that fell under the ice on the river.

Unstable weather conditions in winter were a consequence of this situation. Horses entered the ice out of habit, thinking that the ice was there as usual with half a meter.

The footage shows how six horses are trying to get out of the cold water onto the ice, the farmers have already pulled out another animal. One by one they pull the rest with a tractor and rope. The whole process took about eight minutes. At the same time, the Russians took the last horse about three minutes, since the frightened animal could not be caught with a rope.

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