Earlier this month, staff at the Maury County Fire Department in Columbia, Tennessee, rushed out the door when they heard a horse was stuck in a muddy sinkhole nearby.
Arriving at the scene, rescuers immediately realized that getting this horse to safety would be tough.
“We knew this was going to be a long and challenging rescue,” Maury County Office of Emergency Management director Jeff Hardy told The Dodo.
Soon, departments across the county, including the Maury County Office of Emergency Management, the Maury County Highway Department and Williamson County Fire/Rescue, were dispatching rescuers and equipment to the scene. Rescuers used plywood to shore up the area around the horse, allowing them to dig around the animal by hand. For the next five and a half hours, rescuers kept digging, refusing to give up.
Finally, rescuers had room to strap a harness around the horse’s midsection. Carefully, they pulled the frightened horse to safety.
Onlookers watched in awe as the horse began to realize she was free.
“Everyone was relieved the horse was finally free and doing well,” Hardy said. “It took the horse about an hour to regain strength [and] move on its own again. You could tell the horse was relieved as well.”
The horse soon got a bath and was evaluated for injuries by a veterinarian. Back home, this horse is surely happy to be mobile again.
“The horse is doing well, according [to] the owners,” Hardy said. “She is back to her normal self.”