SPRING VALLEY TOWNSHIP — Rescuers worked for a few hours Aug. 5 to free a horse from a muddy sinkhole.

Dispatchers received the 911 call in the late afternoon after the horse sunk in the mud.

It took about a dozen people using “sheer force” to get the horse out of the mess in the woods off Cornstalk Road in Spring Valley Township, according to Capt. Shawn Prall of the Greene County Sheriff’s Office. First responders from several jurisdictions, civilians, farmers and a veterinarian all pitched in to help.

“You wouldn’t think that a small number of people would have the strength to pull (the horse out),” Prall said. “It was sunk in really deep, up to its chest.”

The group was able to get the horse pulled high enough to allow it to climb the rest of the way under its own power. Prall said the horse was tired, but was reported to be doing well otherwise with no apparent injuries.

http://www.xeniagazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/08/web1_Dj66n1tWwAAB5qX.jpg

Submitted photos First responders and civilians worked for a few hours to free a horse out of a muddy sinkhole in Spring Valley Township.

http://www.xeniagazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/08/web1_Dj66pvMWwAAwZ-c.jpgSubmitted photos First responders and civilians worked for a few hours to free a horse out of a muddy sinkhole in Spring Valley Township.