Rescuers Spend Over an Hour Trying to Save a Wild Mare Trapped in Deep Mud

A wild mare was stuck in a drying mud pit in Arizona, and her young foal was trapped there too. By the time help arrived, the foal had been pulled out, but the mare was still struggling. A rope kept slipping, and every attempt had to be handled carefully. Getting her out would take more than one person and more than one try.

The rescue took place near Heber-Overgaard, Arizona, home to the Heber Wild Horses. A group of photographers had traveled to the area hoping to photograph the wild herds. Before setting out, they contacted Friends of the Heber Wild Horses, an organization familiar with the horses and the places where they could be seen.

Among the locations suggested to the photographers was an area with a dirt water tank. But the tank was drying out, leaving behind a mud hole dangerous enough to trap a horse.

This was not an entirely unknown problem. Friends of the Heber Wild Horses had been watching the area closely. The organization had even offered to haul water there to help prevent hazardous conditions. But that kind of work required permits from the Forest Service.

Then, shortly after noon, a message came in that made the danger immediate.

"Need help. Horse drowning in mud."

Volunteers gathered tow ropes and enlisted a neighbor to help. They headed to the site, where an effort to free the animals was already underway.

A couple with a UTV and tow ropes had joined the photographers. Together, they had managed to get the young foal out of the mud. That was an important first step, but the mare was still trapped.

She was exhausted, and freeing her would not be as simple as pulling on a rope.

Seven people worked on the rescue for more than an hour. From the bank, the foal called out to its mother as the team tried to help the mare move out of the mud.

The rescuers were careful about how they worked. Rather than pulling without stopping, they gave the mare time to rest between attempts. They wanted to avoid injuring her while doing everything they could to get her free.

One volunteer, Andy, took on a particularly difficult part of the job. Again and again, he went into the mud to adjust the tow rope. Sometimes it slipped. At other moments, it needed to be moved into a better position. Each adjustment mattered because the rope was the team's way of helping the mare out.

At first, the rescuers had only one workable place to put it: around the mare's neck. That created another concern. They needed to pull without choking her.

So they tied the rope with a knot designed to prevent that from happening. It was a careful solution to a difficult situation, but the position of the rope was still far from ideal.

The rescuers continued giving the mare opportunities to rest and try to move on her own. Eventually, she began struggling forward, gaining some momentum.

That gave the team a chance to pull gently while she was moving. They worked with her efforts instead of relying on the rope alone.

Then they managed to shift the rope away from her neck and around her haunches. It was a safer position and allowed them to pull more effectively.

After more than an hour of effort, those careful adjustments and the team's cooperation finally paid off. The mare came free of the mud.

She was shaky when she got to her feet, but she was able to stand. Her foal, which had waited on the bank and called for her throughout the rescue, was there to rejoin her.

The two horses then walked off together into the forest.

Afterward, Friends of the Heber Wild Horses thanked everyone involved, expressing appreciation for the communication, cooperation, and determination that had made the rescue possible.

The organization also notified the Forest Service about the dangerous mud pit, hoping to prevent the same situation from happening again.

Andy, Chris, Larry, Cece, Rod, Vivian, and the photographers who raised the alarm were recognized for their part in the effort. What began with a call for help ended with a mare and her foal heading back into the forest together.