CLINTON TWP —- Fred's a fighter at heart.

Even at age 34, a senior citizen in horse years, the brown quarter horse found enough spunk to help free himself from the muddy ditch that held him captive and threatened his life Thursday afternoon.

But it also took eight firefighters, three farmers and two other horse lovers to help.

Fred's owner, Donna Napolean, a school teacher who was at school when the event took place, later thanked everyone for their gracious efforts.

But instead of joy in the successful rescue, Napolean tearfully noted the circumstances of the event were telltale signs that Fred's death is near, in days if not hours.

“When you have a pet you love, you know,” Napolean said of the gelding she's owned nearly three decades. “He's lived a fine life. A long one and a good one.”

Fred, a one-time show horse, is spending his retirement enjoying the green grass at the rolling 35-acre Braeface Farms at 370 Saxonburg Boulevard.

Napolean no longer rides him. His boarding stall proudly proclaims: “Put out to pasture and loving it.”

Having spent a few days indoors because of the bad weather, Fred and the other 15 horses that call the farm home made quick work of the day's sunshine, gobbling grass and stretching their legs.

But consecutive days of rain had created a hazard of sorts in the pasture. Sometime about 11:30 a.m. Fred apparently took a misstep and ended up lying in a muddy ditch.

Sandi Myers of Sarver spotted Fred's predicament on her way to retrieve her own horse, Midori.

“We don't know what happened,” said Gretchen Ciccarelli, who works at the stables. “He probably slipped in the mud, lost his footing and went down.”

Ciccarelli and Myers ran to Fred's rescue, but the horse weighs more than 1,000 pounds and his own attempts to stand caused him to sink deeper.

Horses can easily go into shock or shatter their delicate legs in these types of situations, Ciccarelli said. Fred's age and weak back legs already put him at a disadvantage for surviving.

“This was a life-risking situation,” Ciccarelli said.

The women calmed Fred as neighboring farmer Harold Foertsch and his two sons joined the effort to help him free of the mud.

“He knew we were trying to help,” Ciccarelli said.

Realizing that they needed even more muscle, the group alerted the Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company which joined the effort with a fire truck full of men.

“We felt rescued,” Myers said of the men's arrival.

Fred had been wearing a blanket, called a turnout rug. The resecuers tied a wide nylon strap from the firefighter' rescue truck to the blanket to pull Fred from the ditch, which measured roughly 3 feet by 1 feet.

“It was good old-fashioned back strength,” said Paul Harrity, assistant chief at the fire company and also a horse owner.

Sometime after 2 p.m., Fred was moved far enough that the men felt comfortable leaving. But it was still unclear if he was out of danger because he still hadn't stood.

By 2:30 p.m. Fred, once the known boss of the pasture, stood and walked on his own.

Fred spent the next few hours in the indoor arena. There, he enjoyed hay, carrots and the company of his favorite mare, 10-year-old Sunkist, while waiting for a veterinarian to arrive and give him a checkup and a few shots.

“That horse has such will to live,” said Linda Gibala, who boards five of her own horses on the farm. “Most horses stuck in that predicament would not have made it out.”

Myers said the farm, which is owned by Mary Schroeder, is usually peacefully and quiet. So the commotion of the rescue and the arrival of the red fire truck proved quite an attraction to the horses.

“This wasn't a normal day on the farm,” Myers said. “That's for sure.”

Eagle staff writer Tom Victoria contributed to this report.