Astro, a 17-year-old show horse, was saved by a desperate woman who held onto him for three hours.
Nicole Graham was determined to keep her horse calm as the dangerously high ocean tide approached. Astro, a 900-pound horse, was caught in the mud while on a afternoon ride in Melbourne, Australia.
Nicole’s daughter Paris had joined her on her ride and her horse had also got stuck. Nicole was able to free Paris’ horse but not the larger horse Astro.
Astro became even more stuck after his attempts to escape. Nicole tried her best to keep him calm until help arrived.
Paris was able call for help, and Astro was put to sleep while a harness was placed on him so that a tractor could pull his out.
Nicole, who has more than 10 horses to her credit, claimed that it took rescuers three hours to get her horse to safety.
“It was terrifying. It was also heartbreaking to see my horse exhausted and struggling,” Nicole said, as per the Daily Mail citing The Geelong Advertiser.
She added: “I’ve been riding here for 20 years and never had a drama. I’ve never seen any signs and didn’t realize it was so boggy.”
Fire lieutenant Roger Buckle, who helped to pull the horse to safety, described the mud as “quicksand.”
Astro was able to recover from his injuries with some muscle soreness and dehydration.
“A lot of horses don’t make it and I think without the owner there the chance of survival would have been a lot lower,” said vet Stacey Sullivan.
