There are many heroes in the world who risk their lives to save the animals they care about. Nicole Graham and her horse almost drowned in mud. This is the story of how they got back to their feet.
Nicole Graham had a lovely afternoon shoreline ride, but it went horribly wrong. She was involved in a fatal coastal accident and had to spend three hours rescuing her horse, which was also captured on video.
The Beloved Horse Was Trapped In The Mud
Nicole was riding along the coast near Geelong, which is south of Melbourne, with her daughter. They didn’t recognize the problem until it was too late to do anything about it.
The beach had been exposed due to the low tide, but the riders were unable to see the ground beneath them because it was not as firm as it appeared.
Every rider must be aware of potential hazards such as holes, ditches, and other obstacles. Nicole and Paris walked this coastal path on a regular basis and saw nothing out of the ordinary.
“Appearances can be deceiving,” as the saying goes, and this is exactly what happened. Nicole noticed right away that the beach they had thought was firm had turned into a puddle of liquified mud.
Astro, an 18-year-old show horse, was caught in this bog. Paris was riding a smaller horse and collided with Nicole.
Attempts at Rescue
Nicole was able to free herself and crawled her way towards Paris. They then dragged Paris’ horse out of the mud on their own. Astro had sunk to his chest in the mud by this point.
Nicole became desperate and tried everything she could to help him free himself. Astro weighed around 1,100 pounds and continued to sink deeper as they struggled, but Nicole refused to give up.
Paris took advantage of the opportunity to seek additional assistance and dashed back to their car.
This was the start of the local horse rescue effort.
As Astro and Nicole were completely trapped, the tide continued to slowly flow in their direction. She kept her wits about her and used all of her energy to keep Astros’ head above water.
As time passed, the situation became more dangerous. The water from the ocean crept closer and closer to them.
Calling The Fire Fighters To The Rescue
Stacey Sullivan, a veterinarian, calmed the horse down by seducing him. The fire department then arrived in force and did everything they could to save Astro. They tried draping a net over him and even putting hoses beneath him, but nothing worked.
Nicole was steadfast in her care and kept her gaze fixed on Astro throughout.
A helicopter was kept on standby, and a local farmer lent his equipment to help save the drowning horse. Nobody knew what would happen as a result of this incident. “It [the mire] was like quicksand,” said Roger Buckle, a fire lieutenant who was among the rescuers.
Astro managed to emerge from the pit, exhausted, with the assistance of Stacey, the entire team of firefighters, the farmers, and Nicole herself. This happened just as the tide was coming in.
Stacey examined the horse and declared him to be uninjured and fully fit. The horse was dehydrated and was allowed to return home.
The dramatic rescue can be seen in this video:
Nicole told reporters following the accident, “I’ve been riding here for 20 years and never had a drama.” I’d never seen any signs and had no idea it was so muddy.”
‘I was relieved when I saw the dust from the rescue trucks. “I was beginning to feel overwhelmed.”
Nicole was instrumental in saving Astro’s life. She remained compassionate and tenacious until everyone was safely returned home.
