Mary Valley horse Bear rescued from massive hole left by floods

Dramatic footage captures the moment a loved horse is rescued from a massive hole which opened up in the flooding aftermath near Gympie. WARNING: Images may distress.

A freak accident near flood ravaged Imbil brought out the hero in a local businessman on Friday, when he calmed, lifted, pushed and rescued a horse from a 2m flood washout.

Four-year-old gelding Bear has been with his owner Taliah Pretty for about a year, but Taliah watched Bear grow up and the two are as close as horse and human can be. Bear is agisted on an Imbil property owned by Taliah’s friend Em Waller, not far from where Taliah and her young family live.

Last Friday, Taliah and Em were bathing their horses at the property and Bear was fitted with a brand new hooded rug.

After Taliah went home, Bear and one of Em’s horses were playing over the fence when Bear’s hooded rug got a good tug, and the hood was pulled across his face, blinding him.

Bear’s miracle rescue

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Confused and agitated Bear started turning around in circles, his back legs falling into the 2m deep hole.

Em immediately called Taliah and then Charlie Robey, who owns the Mary Valley Traders with his wife Jo. Charlie already had a reputation as the bloke who would always help people, after he herded two families’ cattle to safety during the recent catastrophic floods.

Seconds later, Charlie turned up with one of his workers, Saxon Digman.

“Charlie got down in the hole with Bear and gave him a pat and tried to calm him,” Taliah said. The pair had brought straps to try to pull Bear out.

When Taliah Pretty's beloved horse Bear fell into a massive hole by a tree uprooted in the region's recent flood event, she thought he would die. But thanks to the efforts of some modest local heroes, Bear made it out alive.

Then, while Saxon covered Bear’s eyes, Charlie used a chainsaw to clear the overgrown hole to give the horse more room to move and a better chance of getting out.

While Taliah pulled on the halter and lead, Charlie was down in the hole with Bear, pushing and trying to lift him.

After about an hour Bear was able to scramble out with nothing more than a few scratches and bruises. He was a bit “wobbly” but a calming word from Charlie and he was soon eating grass and calling out to his friend across the fence.

Charlie Robey - a local hero.

“No amount of words will ever describe how thankful I am, not only for the fact that bear come away from this with only a few small cuts and a bit sore but for the fact that Em made one call and within minutes Charlie and Saxon where here,” Taliah posted to Facebook that night.

“I can’t thank Charlie enough for everything he done today, I’ve always heard about how wonderful he is with helping his community but to see it today. He is definitely a true bloody hero.

“Doing everything he could to make Bear more comfortable and clearing stuff to make it easier for him to get out. Honestly, this man deserves a hero award for all the amazing things he does. Thank you so much.”

When Taliah Pretty's beloved horse Bear fell into a massive hole by a tree uprooted in the region's recent flood event, she thought he would die. But thanks to the efforts of some modest local heroes, Bear made it out alive.