Mountain bikers, first responders and staff of the New Hampshire SPCA helped free a horse mired in mud at Bear Brook State Park over the weekend.
Three riders and their horses were passing through a section of the park in Deerfield on Sunday when, one by one, they fell off a boardwalk and into a muddy, swampy area. Two of the horses were removed from the area easily, with one having sustained an injury, before leaving with their owners, according to Michelle Murch, director of the NHSPCA’s animal protection division.
It was harder to free the third, a 24-year-old standardbred.
“They helped him maneuver out of deep mud. Everyone said he was standing up to his neck in mud,” said Murch, who arrived just after the third horse had been extricated, a task accomplished by Good Samaritan mountain bikers passing through on a trail. “It appeared they had something under his belly, and they were able to assist him.”
Even after cyclists loosened the mud, the horse still needed to return to dry, safe ground.
The Pittsfield, Allenstown and Candia fire departments had reported to the area, as well as park rangers and a Deerfield-based veterinarian, according to Murch. The fire departments created a step back up to the boardwalk, and, with some sedation to minimize the horse’s anxiety, they helped him rise.
Soon, the horse found its strength, began nibbling on shrubs and trees, and, with first responders lining the boardwalk back up to the road, he walked about a mile towards the trailer in which he was carried home.
“The owner, she was amazing by all accounts; she was doing everything she could to keep his head above water. She was soaking wet when we got there,” Murch said. “To get him to go back and walk out on his own was our hope.”
Just two weeks ago, Murch said the NHSPCA partnered with the Massachusetts SPCA to train first responders to rescue large animals. The training originated from the call volume last winter and the realization that many local police and fire departments are underprepared to help an animal that has fallen on ice.
“For fire departments and forest responders, those are the people the public call when there’s an emergency, no matter what emergency,” said Murch, who is a retired police officer. “The more tools you have in your toolbox, the better off you are. Even if you only help an animal up one time, your safety, the owner’s safety and the animal’s safety are paramount. Things can go pretty wrong pretty quickly.”
Murch recommended that horse owners or bystanders who see a horse in danger first call a trusted large animal veterinarian, then the authorities.
