Horse ride goes awry

Photo: CTV

A weekend horse ride went off course when one of the animals got stuck in a deep ditch.

Carol Champion and a friend were riding in rural Abbotsford when the friend’s horse spooked.

“We were paused here on the road on our trail ride, and the horse spooked at something and just backed up into the ditch,” Champion told CTV. “There’s just no shoulder here. It was kind of slow-motion train wreck.”

The animal quickly got stuck up to its waist in mud and was unable to get free.

Dozens of emergency personnel showed up to help, and firefighters eventually pulled the horse from the ditch with a firehose and tractor from a nearby farm.

“It’s always a little tricky with animals because you want to make sure not to hurt them or to make anything worse,” said Abbotsford assistant fire chief Ron Hull.

“The crews were careful to work with the owners of the horses and get them out safe.” 

The animal was covered in mud, but apparently uninjured. It began walking normally as soon as it was pulled to solid ground.

– with files from CTV Vancouver