Volunteers Rescue Trapped Horses for the Holidays

In a heartwarming rescue, volunteers successfully guided a pair of trapped wild horses back to their home near the Verde River, ensuring their safety for the holidays. The horses had been trapped in a Fountain Hills neighborhood due to recently repaired fences, which inadvertently blocked their path.

Some wild, trapped horses found those holiday lyrics held true after rescuers came to their aid Sunday.

The horses had been trapped in a Fountain Hills neighborhood for weeks. Some recently repaired fences in the area have prevented the pair of horses from getting back to their home near the Verde River.

The Salt RiverWild Horse ManagementGroup looked into the pair's plight. Volunteers from the agency gathered Sunday and brought those horses home for the holidays.

Many Fountain Hills residents have been noticing the pair of wild horses in their backyards and neighborhood streets for the past several weeks. The horses were welcomed by some and chased by others and have even caused some disputes between neighbors.

The fencing that has been keeping the horses trapped had, ironically, been repaired with the intent of preventing horses and cows from coming into the neighborhood, but inadvertently trapped the mare, stallion and their foal on the wrong side of the repaired fencing. Tragically, the foal was hit on the road last month and had to be euthanized.

With the cooperation and coordination of the Fort McDowell Reservation, Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) and the Town of Fountain Hills, theWild Horse ManagementGroup (SRWHMG) has formed a plan to bring the mare and stallion pair home to the Verde River on the Fort McDowell reservation.

The group used its volunteer force and horse riders to patiently and slowly guide and walk the horses, first through the fencing that was cut, and then back to the Verde River. The volunteers formed a human half circle barrier behind them. They didn't rope or otherwise rush or force the wild horses.

The horses, who were cut off from their water source, had been kept alive by some kind neighbors who provided water.

The horses became quite habituated to the neighborhood, which experts say is not a good situation for the horses or the neighborhood.

The Salt RiverWild Horse ManagementGroup (SRWHMG) is an Arizona non-profit organization dedicated to protect, monitor and study theSalt River wild horses. The SRWHMG has been spearheading the effort to secure lasting protections for this iconic and beloved wild horse herd in the Tonto National Forest.

Originally posted by CBS 5 Arizona