The beach trip of a mother-daughter pair and their two horses swiftly turned into a nightmare. Nicole Graham was riding 17-year-old Astro with her daughter Paris on a smaller horse when the massive monsters became engulfed in muck. The woman escaped in a desperate attempt to save her daughter and her horse.
Astro was straining to find his way out, and his desperate attempts to free himself only served to sink him farther. So his owner clung to him, attempting to calm him down, until the small daughter, Paris, sought assistance. The child went to their car, where she was able to contact them for assistance. Meanwhile, her mother remained at Astro’s side.
Both the horse and its owner were fatigued by the time a rescue squad arrived. Fortunately, after sedating Astro, they were able to drag him to safety. Graham, who owns ten horses, found the encounter unsettling.
“It was frightening.” The woman told the Geelong Advertiser that seeing her horse labor and wear out was really upsetting. The mud drew me back down every time I moved because it was everywhere. It would not let us leave.
The horse was saved thanks to the efforts of the fire department’s squad, which included a veterinarian and a local farmer. Fortunately, Astro was only dehydrated and not injured.
“It was a race against the flow that we won,” fire lieutenant Roger Buckle said. “It felt like quicksand.”
