Photo by courtesyPhoto Animal rescue workers help untangle Mouse minutes before he was scheduled to take part in the Inaugural Parade. Mouse suffered only lacerations and is recovering nicely in his stall on the Eastern Shore.
	COMPLETE INAUGURATION COVERAGE — — —

Brooke Vrany, director of programs and emergency services for Days End Farm Horse Rescue near Mount Airy , was on duty Tuesday in Washington with the organization's horse ambulance, ready to handle any emergencies that might befall the 217 horses participating in the parade.

Vrany got a call about 2:30 p.m. that a horse spooked and entangled his back legs in the grill of a truck. She was on the scene in less than five minutes.

"I was parked at E and Ninth streets," she said. "I had to come down the parade route and the whole parade had to move (out of the way) to get the ambulance to the horse."

Secret Service agents and police had been alerted she was coming and they waved her through.

Mouse, a 10-year-old appaloosa gelding, is fine. He is home in his barn on the Eastern Shore. But his parade souvenir is stitches and a bandaged rear leg.

Mouse was supposed to be part of the South Ohio Ladies Aside, a women's sidesaddle riding club chosen to participate in the parade. One of the members is friends with Mouse's owner, who brought the horse to Washington as her parade mount.

Mouse, saddled up and ready to go, spooked when he heard a car door slam and backed into the stationary truck. He kicked back and tangled both legs in the grill, one badly. He fell sideways, legs still caught.

"Things were looking dire for Mouse. I did not think he would survive," said Scotlund Haisley, senior director of emergency services for the Humane Society of the United States, in a press release.

"He saved himself," Vrany said. "He didn't struggle. He knew he was caught."

When Vrany arrived on the scene, she worked with Humane Society volunteers, Haisley and Lt. Col. John Scott of the U.S. Army Veterinary Services. Scott was the veterinarian on call. The group untangled the horse's legs, and Scott anesthetized the leg and applied stitches. Then came the task of getting the horse to stand.

Vrany used thoracic rope strap to wrap around Mouse. "It allows us to maneuver his body without yanking on his legs and head and tail," she said. "It takes the pressure off the horse and utilizes the strength of the horse. When he recovered, his leg was wrapped, and he basically jumped up."

Mouse was led into the horse ambulance with Vrany at the wheel, and Washington mounted police units escorted the ambulance out of the city to the Prince George's County Equestrian Center.

"They knew the way; I just followed," she said.

Vrany praised the cooperation of all the services involved.

"It's so cool that we can respond to an animal emergency with the same efficiency we can respond to a human emergency," Vrany said. "Everything went according to textbook. That's what makes a rescue so successful, is you have the right experience."

Vrany, who is certified in large animal rescue, also took part in the 2005 Inaugural Parade. Vrany has seven years of experience in the emergency rescue of large animals, and in working with sick, injured and downed horses. In a typical year, she is involved in 12 to 15 large animal rescues.