Three mounties assisting in the Cariboo wildfires rescued three horses Monday near Highway 97 and Mountain House Road north of Williams Lake.
Although not required to ride them, the officers were instrumental in rescuing three horses from an evacuated zone, said Cpl. Janelle Shouihet.
Two horses in an enclosure near the checkpoint, being manned by Cst. Jesse Hewitt of the Powell River RCMP, Cst. Mihai Ilioi of the Nanaimo RCMP and Cst. Brind’Amour of the Nelson RCMP, jumped a fence and were running freely on the roadway.
A third, extremely large horse had attempted to scale the fence and become trapped on the wire, Shouihet said, noting it was bleeding and whinnying for assistance, which was further exciting the freed horses.
“The horses were getting very upset, as they had become separated from their herd, and were very difficult to catch and control,” Brind’Amour said. “We managed to calm one horse down with an apple from our lunch.”
The officers, after some time, were able to catch two of the horses prior to rendering assistance to the third, whom they freed by pushing down the fencing allowing it to get out.
After securing all three of the horses, the officers walked the horses approximately one kilometre back to their enclosure, where four other equine friends anxiously awaited.