Pulling a horse from a muddy hole required all the manpower firefighters could rustle up yesterday.
The Omokoroa and Tauranga fire brigades were called to rescue a horse on a small farm on Youngson Rd in Whakamarama at 12.18 pm.
Omokoroa volunteer fire fighter John Leek said the fire service
was called after a vet's efforts to free the animal had failed.
"It fell in a soak hole just a muddy bog. They had a vet there and they just couldn't deal with it themselves," he said. "We just threw some strops around it and got about 10 firemen pulling on ropes and hoses and a few other people there as well."
Mr Leek said the horse had become stuck at the bottom of a steep gully and could only be reached by foot.