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Horse Trapped In Mud, Recovering After Amazing Rescue

THORNBURY Twp., Pa. (CBS) -- Crews were able to remove a horse trapped in mud in Chester County on Wednesday afternoon.

Chopper 3 was over the the scene on Thornbury Road. The owner of the farm tells Eyewitness News the horse was walking in water and got stuck in mud. She said the horse began to panic and ended up even more stuck.

The horse was sedated so crews could work to free it.

The 1,700 pound Clydesdale, named Cyrus, was hoisted to safety. The delicate rescue, done by hand and then with a giant crane, took hours.

The 18-year-old horse glided gently in the air, over to a field with vets waiting. A crowd of a few dozen people watched silently.

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The story began at Thornbury Farm early in the morning. It was time for breakfast.

"I was pretty shocked," said Kristen Riley, a neighbor. "I've never seen anything like this."

Cyrus is fairly new here. He was auctioned off just eight weeks ago. Workers discovered him in a mud pond. The theory about how he ended up there?

"He was probably chased by one of the other big horses and scared and ran into the mud," said Penny Parker, the barn manager.

And so, the arduous task began; a painstaking dig to free Cyrus, to keep him from sinking any further. Penny Parker was with the rescuers, broadcasting the ordeal live on Facebook.

"He is a big heavy horse," said Dr. Jill Acland. "He was in the mud. It cooled down his limbs. It caused some pressure on his body that can be very hard for him to stand up."

Cyrus was sedated, and kept calm as the many hands helped to free him. The owner of the farm summed it up  like sometimes things just happen and horses wander off and become trapped in mud.

"It was a shock because it's something that hasn't happened before," said Randal Spackman, the owner of the farm. "Anything like a child, or a kid, the horses will get into all sorts of different things. You don't always know what's going to happen sometimes.

Parker tells CBS 3 Cyrus is now doing well. Crews were able to help him stand. He will be taken to a veterinary hospital for further evaluation. Cyrus will eventually be united with his new owners in Virginia.

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