The dramatic rescue of a horse from a mountain in the United States has been captured on video.
The horse, since named Ryat, was stranded on the Boulder Mountains in Idaho.
He was one of three horses who were stuck.
We got him out!
Posted by Ryan Miller on Tuesday, January 24, 2017
The group was first spotted on 14 January and since then rescuers have been trying to save the horses.
One of the horses, named JD (pictured below), was captured at a lower level the following day (15 January), but the other two horses had moved elsewhere.
Credit: Valley County Sheriffs Office
Rescuers are still searching for the third horse, a grey.
Several attempts had been made to save Ryat from the challenging terrain, but it was not until 24 January that he was rescued.
Following meticulous planning, Ryat was sedated with a dart and a sling was fastened around him.
He was lifted off the mountain and carried to safety by a helicopter.
Ryat is now in the care of welfare group Idaho Horse Rescue and is “doing well”.
Credit: Valley County Sheriffs Office
Robert Bruno, president of the rescue centre, thanked the team that helped rescue Ryat, as well as those that provided him and the other horses with hay and water.
“I want to thank everyone involved in this rescue, from the magnificent locals who did all the real hard jobs, like going to the top of that mountain and slinging the horse, to all our donors and everyone in between,” Mr Bruno wrote on the rescue centre’s Facebook page.
“Without all of you, we could not have made this happen.”
He told H&H he was unsure how the horses came to be loose on the mountain.
“We believe they may have come from a rancher who just let them go,” he said.
JD (pictured below) is also now in the care of Idaho Horse Rescue.
Valley County Sheriff’s Office said the search continues for the final grey horse.
On Thursday (26 January) a helicopter flew over the area where he had last been seen in an attempt to locate him with thermal imaging.
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“At this time they were unsuccessful in locating him,” a spokesman for the force wrote on its Facebook page.
“They may try again and there may be some snowmobile folks that may go up to the area in the next day or so to see if he can be located.
“Our hope is that he has survived, but the reality of his chances of survival at this point are fairly slim, sadly.”
