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 servicewas 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.
The horse was "pretty worn out" after the experience but Mr Leek said it bounced back well after some sedatives. "We gave it a little bit of a push up and it was all right after a bit."
