Crews rescue horse that was stuck along the Salt River

Fire crews worked together to rescue a horse Tuesday, after the horse and its rider got stuck near the Salt River Tuesday morning. FOX 10's Ty Brennan reports.

PHOENIX - Fire crews worked together to rescue a horse Tuesday, after the horse and its rider got stuck near the Salt River Tuesday morning.

Officials say the horse got stuck near Bush Highway and Sutton Road, which is north of the Apache Junction area. Teams with Mesa Fire, Maricopa County Sheriff's office, and Rural Metro Fire Department responded to the call, where a woman who was riding her horse got stuck. The woman was able to make it to shore, but the horse was stuck in in the water in submerged weeds.

"The horse was actually probably 18 to 24 inches deep in the soot, plus wrapped up in all the reeds, struggling to try and get out," said Capt. Matt Kobylinski with Mesa Fire.

At one point, rescue teams said the horse was fully submerged, with just its neck above water.

"We were actually floating, so the buoyancy of the life jacket was keeping us at water level, which was difficult because we had the tendency to push away from the horse, or as we were pulling the reeds, it was pulling us into the horse, so it was difficult trying to find our footing," said Capt. Kobylinski.

It is not known exactly what happened that led the horse into the precarious situation, but a group of kayakers were in the right place to help.

"I heard a lady calling from the side of the river, asking if we had a telephone so she could call 911," said Mark McCloskey.

It took the rescue teams about 20 minutes to clear all the reeds and lead the horse to safety.

"In this situation, we ended up using some knives and scissors to cut the reeds free," said Mark McCloskey.