Horse rescued from muddy streambed in Pasadena

PASADENA -- Officials rescued an exhausted elderly horse that became stuck in a streambed Sunday.
The incident was reported shortly after 4 p.m. in a stream just south of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena Fire Department spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said.
The 28-year-old horse, named "Chief," was being walked without a rider by a mother and her 9-year-old daughter who were riding different horses, she said.
The animal became stuck in the mud of a stream bed, Derderian said, and a search and rescue team was called in to help.
"It was up to its belly it mud," she said.
Rescuers slid the horse onto a large board to free it from the mud, Derderian said said, but it was too exhausted and weak to stand.
Officials kept the horse lying on its side for about an hour as they waited for a veterinarian to arrive.
The veterinarian examined the animal and gave it an injection, Derderian said. To its owner's delight, the horse was able to stand and go on its way.

PHOTOS courtesy of the Pasadena Fire Department