Wild horse and baby were drowning in mud in Arizona. See rescuers save the day (2025)

A wild horse and her foal were trapped in a mud pit in Arizona, and the mare was starting to drown — until a group of rescuers literally jumped in to save the day.

Wild horse advocate Betty Nixon received a message from a photographer friend of hers on Saturday, April 26 that said “Need help. Horse drowning in mud,” according to a post she shared on Friends of the Heber Wild Horses’ Facebook page she manages.

She jumped into her truck with her neighbor and some tow ropes, she said. When they arrived, they found a couple with a UTV and their own tow ropes had already rescued the foal and were working on pulling the mare to safety.

“Seven of us worked together for over an hour to get the mare out of the mud while her foal called to her from the bank,” Nixon said. “She was exhausted from struggling, but we worked slowly and patiently with her to get her out without injuring her, allowing her time to rest between efforts.”

Photos show the exhausted mare nearly buried in the mud as rescuers tried to fasten the rope around her. Her foal and the rest of the mare’s herd wait near the edge of the pit.

One rescuer named Andy also repeatedly waded into the mud to help the process along, Nixon said.

“He ended up being a major hero of the day because he went into that mud with no hesitation,” Nixon told KSAZ, adding that the man risked his own safety by wading in next to the frightened mare, as the horse thrashed around trying to free herself.

In a follow up post, Nixon described how the man “waded into the mud time and again to put the tow rope back around the mare each time it slipped off” or whenever the rescuers needed to adjust it.

Photos show the man in the mud pit next to the horse with a tow rope tied around his waist for safety.

“I have to give extra kudos to Andy for his bravery at getting deep in the mud with a thrashing horse,” she said.

After more than an hour, the group had freed the mare from the mud, Nixon said.

“She was able to stand on unsteady legs and climb out of the dirt water tank to rejoin her foal,” she said. “They walked off into the forest together.”

Nixon said she has notified the U.S. Forest Service about the “dangerous mud hole” that used to serve as a natural dirt water tank for wildlife. She would need a permit from the agency to haul water to the location, she said.

“I have been watching the water level in that tank go steadily down,” she said, adding that she had just checked the location the night before to make sure no wild animals were trapped. “We hauled water to that dirt water tank in 2021, keeping it replenished and keeping it from becoming a dangerous mud hole.”

Several people thanked the group for their valiant effort in the comments.

“They surely would have died if nobody had found them,” someone said.

“You all did such a great job and saved the precious baby and mom!!” another person said. “So happy someone found them and you were able to save them!!”

Heber-Overgaard is about a 145-mile drive northeast from Phoenix.