A woman named Nicole Graham was riding her 17-year-old horse named Astro along the beach, south of Melbourne, Australia. Nicole was riding along with her daughter and another younger horse.
They had taken their horses on this same trip many times before, but they never expected the panic that would happen on this day. The sand along the beach that they knew so well had become saturated with water.
The sand instantly acted like quicksand — Nicole, her daughter, and their two horses began to get swallowed into the ground.
Nicole was able to help her daughter and the younger, lighter horse escape the dangerous bog but Astro was so heavy, that he was sinking fast. The 17-year-old horse was in a desperate situation.
Nicole and her daughter tried their best to free the horse but each time he would move, he’d sink deeper and deeper into the sand. Nicole was terrified that her beloved horse was going to die. She sent her daughter to run for help.
Nicole sat with her horse near the mud, trying her best to comfort him. It would be 3 hours until help would arrive.
What made the situation even more nerve-wracking was the fact that the tide was rolling in and soon, Astro could drown. They had to work quickly to come up with a plan to free the elderly horse.
A local farmer arrived with a tractor to help with pulling the heavy animal from the thick mud. The people who had arrived to help needed to sedate the horse to prevent him from panicking.
Astro is slowly pulled from the mud and slowly regains consciousness from his sedative; he’s also understandably exhausted.
Finally, after a few tries of trying to stand up after fighting for his life — Astro was able to regain his footing and walk away from the terrifying ordeal. Nicole couldn’t have been more relieved.
“He’s my baby, my pride, and joy,” Nicole says with relief after the harrowing event.
Nicole can’t believe how close she and her family were to a tragedy, but she is glad she was able to be there to comfort Astro while he was stuck in the mud. He helped calm her down, and she did the same for him.
The incredible rescue is an emotional video to watch, but it’s the happy ending that melts our hearts.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
