UPDATE: Rescue efforts praised after horse and rider pulled from muddy sinkhole
TEMECULA — A horse is “doing great” today after firefighters, an animal sanctuary, and other volunteers, worked together to rescue the mare after it spent several hours stuck and buried up to her belly in a marshy, mud-filled sinkhole in Temecula, Saturday, Feb. 16. Despite spending hours stuck in the sinkhole, thanks to her rescuers care and efforts, the horse only suffered minor injuries, Cal Fire later reported on their Instagram page.
This weekend’s incident and hours-long rescue, which involved a spunky horse named Foxy, was spearheaded by Temecula’s Sale Ranch Animal Sanctuary. SRAS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose founders, Jen and Dave Sale, witnessed the horse and rider fall into the sinkhole and were the first ones on scene.
Foxy’s owner, Terin Harris, has since expressed her gratitude “to everyone who reached out to help us.” Terin reportedly never left her horse’s side and spent hours laying in the thick, wet mud comforting Foxy during the lengthy rescue, which happened in a ditch off of De Portola Road just south of the Glen Oaks Community.
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Cal Fire/Riverside County firefighters and other rescue personnel were first alerted to Foxy’s crisis shortly after 1:30 p.m., after the Sales saw the horse and its rider fall into a deep sinkhole. The hole was apparently caused by last week’s heavier than usual rainfall.
After this weekend’s rescue SRAS Founder Jen Sale told RCNS she and her husband Dave were the first to spot trouble when they saw the horse and rider fall into the sinkhole off the side of the road. Without a moment’s hesitation, the couple immediately stopped to offer help, Jen explained.
After assessing Foxy’s situation, Jen and others who responded to the scene to help quickly realized how precarious the mare’s situation was and contacted Cal Fire for help.
“The suction was so strong that it was preventing us from pulling her out,” Jen explained. “Everyone was digging as fast as they could, but the mud was like quicksand.”
“It was freezing and wet, yet this mare remained calm, exhausted from trying to pull herself out,” Jen continued. “Foxy’s mama was laying with her offering comfort the whole time, and eventually had to be pulled out too, that’s how deep and soft the wet earth was below them.”
According to Jen, as the minutes slowly ticked by into hours while Cal Fire personnel, Jen and Dave, and others, worked in knee-deep in mud with shovels and bare hands to rescue the mare, others who saw the ongoing rescue efforts were quick to offer help and supplies, “without hesitation.”
According to Jen, one passerby left rescuers a bale of straw while a woman brought an entire “truck-full” of supplies intended for her own horses. She donated several bags of bedding pellets to lay on top of the thick mud as a ground cover, as rescuers tried to get “some kind of solid ground to work on.”
Jen told RCNS that others brought shovels, a horse blanket to help keep Foxy warm, and other much-needed and appreciated supplies. A local veterinarian, Dr. Moss, also came out to the scene to render medical care if needed.
Rescuers eventually managed to free the soaking wet and cold horse nearly three hours later.
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“We are so very grateful” to those who saw Foxy “suffering and helpless” and stopped to help, Terin later said. “You got muddy and wet and cold, but you all demonstrated the triumph of the human spirit.”
“This was not about a horse,” Terin explained. “This was about people, lots of them whose faces and names I’ll never be able to remember, but who are indelibly etched into my heart.”
Jen echoed Terin’s sentiments, telling RCNS, “In a world full of ugly I’m grateful for the beautiful reminder that kindness still exists and that people still come together to help those in crisis.”
“The best part of this story is that Foxy and her mama are now home safe and sound, and are both doing great,” Jen continued. “All because a community came together.”
To learn more about Sale Ranch Animal Sanctuary or how you can help or get involved, visit them online or on Facebook. They can also be reached at (949) 235-8895.
Click any image to open full-size gallery.
Sale Ranch Animal Sanctuary photos
SEE OTHER RECENT HORSE RESCUES:
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Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.
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