Three-hour race against the tide to rescue 78-stone horse up to its neck in mud like quicksand
EXHAUSTED and mudsplattered, Nicole Graham spent three terrifying hours rescuing her horse in a battle against the tide after he became trapped in mud. The courageous young mother held on to Astro’s neck, keeping his head high as the 18-year-old show horse faced the prospect of drowning when the water began to rise around them.
With minutes to spare before it reached him, rescuers managed to drag 78-stone Astro from the mud, which was ‘like a quicksand’.
Australian Miss Graham has told how she and daughter Paris, seven, had been riding along the coast near Geelong, south of Melbourne.
Suddenly, Astro sank, and before Miss Graham could warn Paris, her daughter’s smaller horse, Emily, also partially sank in the mire. After dragging herself through the mud, she helped Paris and Emily to firmer ground.
But Astro was stuck fast and her efforts to pull him free only caused Miss Graham to sink deeper.
As Paris ran to raise the alarm, her mother refused to leave the beloved pet’s side. She clung on to his neck, terrified he would not be freed before the tide came in.
‘ It was terrifying,’ said Miss Graham, who owns more than ten horses and runs an equine dentistry business.
‘It was also heartbreaking to see my horse exhausted and struggling.’ She added: ‘We went straight down and under. There was mud everywhere and every time I moved it sucked me back down. It wouldn’t let us go.
‘When I saw the dust from the rescue trucks, I was so relieved. I was starting to get overwhelmed.’
Fire crews worked with a farmer and veterinary team to save Astro. Fire lieutenant Roger Buckle described the mud as ‘like a quicksand’. Vet Stacey Sullivan, who sedated Astro during the rescue, said the horse was dehydrated but had coped well.
‘Without the owner there the chance of survival would have been a lot lower,’ she said.