Two horses rescued from mud bog

Search-and-rescue personnel rescued two horses trapped in a mud bog on Saturday.

Sisters horsewoman Bonnie Malone reported she'd been riding with two horses in the Windigo Horse Trail area off F.S. Road 1514 when both horses got stuck in a mud bog up to their chest.

Malone is an experienced rider and familiar with the area, but was caught in an area were high levels of snowmelt had saturated the ground with water and created the mud bog.

"The bog went on in all directions, " Malone told The Nugget. "There was nowhere you could go to get out of it."

With no cell-phone coverage in the area, Malone had to leave her two horses while she went for help.

The Deschutes County Sheriff Search and Rescue (SAR) were activated to assist in the rescue of Malone's horses. Additionally, a veterinarian from Bend Equine Clinic was called to the scene in support of the rescue.

A team of nine SAR volunteers from the horse team, mountain rescue team and the incident management team, along with assistance from Sisters fire department and U.S. Forest Service personnel were able to safely extract both horses from the mud bog. Neither horse sustained any major injuries.

Malone posted on the incident on Facebook: "Stay off the downhill ride on the Windigo Trail from the gravel pit on 1514. It's deceiving and treacherous. Many hours of terror, but also so much more than impressed by the ability of Deschutes Co. Search and Rescue, Dr. Shannon Findley, DVM, many deputies and 2 Sisters firefighters along with 2 riders who figured out what to do and saved my horses. I feel I owe them my own life."