The world is full of heroes who over their heads to save the animals they love. This is the story of Nicole Graham and her horse, which had almost drowned in mud.
Nicole Graham had a beautiful afternoon shoreline ride, but it ended disastrously. She encountered a deadly coastal accident and had to rescue her horse for 3 long hours, which was also caught on video.
The Beloved Horse Fell Into The Mud
Nicole was riding with her daughter on the coast adjacent to Geelong, which lies south of Melbourne. They failed to see the trouble in front of them until it was too late to do anything about it.
The low sea tide had left the beach exposed for the riders but they failed to see the ground underneath them, as it was not as firm as it looked.
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Every rider has to look out for holes, ditches, or even hazards. Nicole and Paris frequently traveled this coastal path and saw nothing out of the ordinary.
We have a saying that “appearances can deceiving” which is exactly what happened. Nicole instantly discovered that the beach they thought was firm had actually turned into a pit of liquified mud.
Astro, the 18-year-old show-horse fell into this boggy trap. Paris was on a smaller horse and fell at Nicole’s side.
The Rescue Attempts
Nicole managed to free herself and crawled towards Paris. They then pulled Paris’ horse out of the mud without any assistance. Astro, by this time, had sunk deep to his chest in the mud.
Nicole became desperate and did her best to help him free himself. Astro was around 1,100 pounds and continued to sink even deeper, the more they struggled, but Nicole did not quit.
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Paris took this opportunity to get some additional help and raced back to their car.
This is when the local horse rescue effort began.
The tide kept flowing in their direction slowly as Astro and Nicole were completely trapped. She kept her wits and used all her energy to keep Astros head out of the mire.
This situation grew more dangerous as time went on. The water from the ocean kept creeping towards them gradually.
Calling The Fire Fighters To The Rescue
Stacey Sullivan was a veterinarian and sedated the horse to calm him down. The fire brigade then arrived in large numbers and did their best to rescue Astro. They tried to place a net over the mud and even put hoses beneath him, but nothing seemed to work.
Nicole kept her eyes on Astro throughout everything and was resolute in her care.
A helicopter was kept on standby, while a local farmer was lending his equipment to save this drowning horse. No one was sure about the outcome of this incident. Roger Buckle, who was the fire lieutenant, was amongst the helpers, said: “It [the mire] was like a quicksand.”
With the help of Stacey, the entire team of firefighters, the farmers, and Nicole, herself, Astro managed to come out from the pit, wearily. This was just as the tide was washing in.
Stacey checked in the horse and declared that he was uninjured and completely fit. The horse suffered from dehydration and was cleared to go back home.
Here is a video of the dramatic rescue:
Nicole spoke to the reporters after this accident: “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.”
‘When I saw the dust from the rescue trucks I was so relieved. I was starting to get overwhelmed.”
Astro’s life was saved all thanks to Nicole. She kept being compassionate and gritty and got everyone back home, safe and sound.
