Horse pulled from Santa Ana River in Eastvale

EASTVALE, Calif. - Crews in Riverside County spent hours Sunday rescuing a horse that had gotten stuck in the Santa Ana River the night before. Another horse that escaped at the same time wasn't found for several days.

The horses first got away around 6 p.m. Saturday, according to officials. The two riders were trying to cross the river, but because of recent storms, the water was stronger than normal. This spooked one of the horses, and both horses bucked their riders.

According to Cal Fire, firefighters were called out to the 2700 block of Shadow Canyon Circle in Eastvale just before 2 p.m. Saturday.

SkyFOX arrived at the scene just before 4:30 p.m. Sunday, as crews from Cal Fire, the Riverside County and city fire departments, the Riverside County Sheriff's Office and the Norco Animal Rescue Team attended to one of the horses. The horse was seen in the mud lying down and, at times, sitting up, or even flailing on its back.

Rescuers called a veterinarian and a rescue helicopter out to the scene. The horse required sedation before it could be airlifted out. SkyFOX captured images of the horse on the ground, with a hood over its head, as crews attempted to airlift the animal. 

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The horse was lifted off the riverbank and brought to a nearby fire station around 6:45 p.m. According to officials, the horse is suffering from a mild case of hypothermia but is back in its stable.

On Tuesday, the caretaker of both horses confirmed to FOX 11 that the second horse had been found and returned home, and was expected to be okay.

Both of the riders involved were also okay.