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Firefighters in California worked for three hours to free a horse from a 10ft hole in the ground yesterday (Tuesday 20 January)
The horse fell into the hole near Arroyo Grande in San Luis Obispo County, in the US state of California, at around 10.30am local time.
Firefighters spent three hours rescuing the horse, using a digger to hoist it out.
At 1.36pm San Luis Obispo Country Fire Department confirmed that the horse had been “successfully extricated from the sinkhole”.
When it was recovered from the hole, the horse was treated by a vet. The animal was unhurt by the experience.
Initial reports from the fire department suggested the animal had fallen into a sinkhole — which is caused when the top layer of ground collapses.
However, later reports said the hole appeared to have been man-made, as the horse was found “trapped and entangled” in lumber and plywood.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
The horse was found when concerned neighbours called the fire department.
This is the second horse to be rescued from a hole in a matter of weeks.
Earlier this month (5 January) H&H reported on a 30-year-old horse who had been “swallowed up” by a sinkhole in Florida.
Nate was found stuck in his “retirement pasture” by his owners on the 27 December.
“He was grazing at 1.30pm and by 3.30pm we found him like this,” said his owner Maryann Marsh at the time. “There was not a hole in that pasture before today.”
After attempting to free the horse herself, she then called the fire service for help.
Wildwood Fire Department then took two hours to rescue Nate, pulling him out with ropes.
Sinkholes can be anything from 3ft-2,000ft deep and wide and can appear suddenly or over time due to erosion.
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A graduate of Exeter University, Amy joined our news team from Redpin Publishing in 2008 as news writer. She was promoted to deputy news editor in May 2013 and became news editor in April 2015. She left Horse & Hound in March 2016 to take up an editorial position in Dubai.