YELLOWSTONE COUNTY — On Thursday evening, Billings residents Jessica Garza and Heather Hultgren found a senior horse stuck in the Yellowstone River just south of Mullowney Lane.
Early Friday morning, the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office rescued Cowboy the horse by helicopter, and he was later reunited with his owners.
See the video for this story below:
The two animal lovers agree the horse's survival was a miracle. They say they believe Cowboy was stuck in the Yellowstone River since Tuesday, after likely falling in when taking a drink of water.
"When it's this high, it's dangerous... Down below us is probably about 20 feet," said Garza on Friday.
The two initially reported the horse Thursday night to the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office.
"It was dark, or just getting dark, when this all started. So, just for safety sake, we weren't putting anybody on the river," said Sheriff Mike Linder.
Garza and Hultgren had posted photos of the lost horse on Facebook, and many residents were interested in rescuing the retired gelding.
"There was no way that somebody was getting out there without a boat," said Hultgren.
Cowboy the horse was stuck between two islands on the Yellowstone River. When Garza and Hultgren made the initial report, the horse was standing in a shallow part of the river.
"We called Blue Creek Fire Department. We called Fish and Wildlife. We called the Yellowstone Animal Control. We called the sheriff's department," said Garza.
Watch the raw video of the rescue:
On Friday morning from about 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., the Yellowstone County sheriff's deputies worked to rescue the horse. Linder says the task was easier said than done.
"It would've been difficult at best to try to get that horse off the island, if it's healthy... One of our deputies went and walked out there with a bucket of grain that we brought with us, and they were able to coax the horse back with us onto the island," he said.
Linder thanked Shane Weinreis from the U.S. Water Rescue Dive Team for his help rescuing the horse, as well as Gary Blaine, who flew the helicopter.
"The horse needed to be rescued, and we needed to make the attempt... We were able to use an oral sedative to kind of calm the horse down before we hooked the horse to the helicopter. And, it looked like he enjoyed the ride," said Linder.
Because of Garza and Hultgren, the community, the U.S. Water Rescue Dive Team, and the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office, Cowboy was reunited with his family around 10 a.m. Friday.
"I think everybody on Facebook was praying that he would make it through the night," said Hultgren.
