Stranded horse in rural Idaho rescued with helicopter

MCCALL, Idaho – One of two horses found stranded in rural central Idaho was rescued with the help of a group of volunteers and a helicopter.

Volunteers with Idaho Horse Rescue on Tuesday flew in to a remote Valley County mountain to rescue the horse, KTVB-TV reported Wednesday.

“We never would have gotten the horse out of there,” said Robert Bruno, President of Idaho Horse Rescue. “Without those guys, that horse would be dead in a few days I suppose.”

Volunteers were able to drop to the ground from the helicopter, tranquilize the horse and place it in a sling. The helicopter then carried the horse off the mountain. Bruno said the rescue was an exciting adventure.

“You get pretty excited and nervous at the same time,” Bruno said. “You get your adrenaline going, and everyone gets all excited and choked up and so forth.”

Idaho Horse Rescue is now taking care of the horse, which is expected to fully recover. The horse had been stranded for weeks.

“He’s is poor condition, he definitely wouldn’t have lasted another week or even a few days.” Bruno said. “We pulled a rabbit out of our hats on this one. It was a miracle.”

The other horse stranded on the mountain has not been spotted for several days.

“We don’t know much,” Bruno said. “They stuck together for a long time for a year and we suspect it’s dead, because they wouldn’t separate for some unknown reason. They would stick together.”

The two horses were found together several weeks ago in a remote area that was only reachable by snowmobile on the ground. Volunteers took hay and water to the horses while a rescue was organized.