Horse stuck in the mud: Macclesfield CFA help at Beechworth rescue

When no one could rescue a 600kg horse stuck in the mud for six hours in the middle of the Victorian bush, a group of Yarra Ranges firefighters jumped at the task — driving hundreds of kilometres to help with the mammoth rescue. SEE PHOTOS

Macclesfield CFA brigade help rescue a horse in Beechworth.

Yarra Valley firefighters travelled more than four hours to Beechworth to help rescue a 600kg horse stuck in a bog.

It took about a dozen emergency service volunteers from the Yarra Valley, Beechworth CFA and SES to pull Beetle from the muddy mess, hauling the horse out of the pit and carrying him up a steep embankment.

Macclesfield CFA captain Sharon Merrit said the horse spent six hours stuck in the mud after it was frightened by a kangaroo on a trail ride and jumped down an embankment about 3pm on Monday, January 27.

A lot of people power was needed to pull Beetle up the embankment.

Ms Merrit said Beechworth Fire Brigade and SES unit called on the Macclesfield CFA crew, who are one of only two volunteer brigades in Victoria with the skill and equipment to rescue horses and large animals.

Six volunteers drove almost four hours, followed by a 500m hike through thick bushland to reach Beetle.

A vet sedated the horse and he was placed onto the stretcher and pulled by hand out of the bog and up the steep slope.

The horse stuck in the mud.

Beetle was back to his happy self after a dozen volunteers rescued him from a bog in Beechworth.

Ms Merrit said it was a huge effort requiring lots of people power.

“It wasn’t easy, but we got him out,” she said.

Ms Merrit said the rescue team did not use machinery to rescue Beetle because lifting him manually meant they had a better understanding of how he was coping.

The worn out Macclesfield firefighters didn’t return home until 3am.

The good news is Beetle is happy and well.

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“It was a long day,” Ms Merrit said.

“But it’s great when it’s a good outcome.”

She said Macclesfield CFA was quite used to rescuing animals, having been called out to help horses, cattle and an alpaca about 13 times in the past year.