Anyone who has ever been near an ocean would attest that it can be unexpected. One thing you should never underestimate is the tide; it can be rather deadly if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The tide can suddenly swallow people and animals in a matter of seconds, and in certain cases, it can cause a slow and horrific death. The eighteen-year-old horse Astro came very, very near to this.
Near Geelong, Australia, which is south of Melbourne, on the beach, Nicole Graham, the owner of Astro, was riding her daughter’s horse. But after some time, the ground beneath the horses turned into a muddy death trap, and they ended up on soft sand.
Nicole and Astro were more and more entangled in the muck, while her child and her horse managed to escape. Astro was soon entirely buried in clay and in risk of asphyxia. Nicole and Astro engaged in a three-hour battle for their lives.
The longer Astro remained in the ground, the worse his situation got. Throughout this time, Nicole had to keep her 1,000-pound (450-kg) horse calm in order to keep him from becoming more entangled in the mud. After three hours, Astro was almost suffocating and might have died from hunger and tiredness. In addition, the high tide was drawing near.
Fortunately, Nicole’s daughter was able to locate safety and dial for assistance. A rescue team and a veterinarian eventually arrived at the scene. To prevent Astro from being frightened, the veterinarian injected him with a tranquilizer. Throughout the ordeal, Nicole stayed by Astro’s side and consoled him with talk. Even when a helicopter was called, it was unable to save Astro because he was stuck in the mud so badly that it was not possible to wrap a rope around him and pull him to safety.
Nicole began to worry as the flood got closer and the rescue crew struggled to get Astro free. The crew tried to free the horse, but the ground had become too soft and had turned into quicksand.
They made a last-ditch effort to free the horse with a rope attached to his automobile when a farmer arrived on his tractor.
A miracle occurred at that very time when Nicole, the rescuers, and the farmer managed to free Astro from the muck.
