Title: Wild Horse Rescuers Save Horses from Dangerous Mud Pit in Arizona

Horse rescuers say they have saved several wild horses from a mud pit in Herber-Overgaard, Arizona, over just a few days. The mud pit is a watering hole that has become dangerous and sticky during a period of drought in the state. The U.S. Forest Service tells PEOPLE it does not plan to refill the hole and expects it to become thoroughly dried mud in the days ahead.

Wild horse advocates have rescued several wild horses, including a mother horse and her foal, from the same mud pit in just a few days. Early on April 26, Betty Nixon of Friends of the Heber Wild Horses in Arizona received a concerning message from friends: "Need help. Mare drowning in mud," she recalled in a Facebook post. Nixon grabbed some tow ropes and a helpful neighbor, then hopped in her car and sped to the area, near Sitgreaves National Forest in Herber-Overgaard. When she arrived, her friends and another couple had already managed to haul a young foal out of the mud, though the mother horse remained trapped.

Nixon stated that the mud pit was once a water hole frequented by wild horses in the area, but due to an ongoing drought, the "extremely dangerous" conditions of the now muddy pit continue to worsen. However, the horses are not "livestock covered under permit," the U.S. Forest Service tells PEOPLE. Thus, the U.S. Forest Service is not responsible for rescuing the animals or replenishing the water hole.

"Seven of us worked together for over an hour to get the mare out of the mud while her foal called to her from the bank," Nixon wrote in the post. "She was exhausted from struggling, but we worked slowly and patiently with her to get her out without injuring her, allowing her time to rest between efforts."

The rescue was exhausting and didn’t give the volunteers many options. According to Nixon’s post, it was difficult to get a rope through the mud and under the horse, let alone secure it around the mare’s body. The group had no choice but to wrap the rope around her neck and carefully pull the horse out without choking her.

Nixon said the mare certainly did her part. The mom horse "struggled on her own to get up," so the group pulled her out together to give her momentum. The rescuer added that the whole effort took over an hour. Shortly afterward, the mare could stand "on unsteady legs," allowing her and her foal to return to the forest together.

"I can’t begin to tell you how impressed I was with how well everyone worked together as a team. It truly was a cooperative effort to pull off an amazing rescue," Nixon wrote.

The U.S. Forest Service tells PEOPLE that the mud pit is "a very adverse situation for all animals living in the drought-stricken landscape." The droughts have decreased the number of areas that have both food and water, the USFS added, exhibiting the "natural strain" on the landscape to continue supporting its animal population. Yet, regarding the mud pit itself, the USFS predicts that the "continued drought will likely dry out the mud within a few days, reducing the immediate threat of horses getting stuck."

Since the incident on April 26, Nixon witnessed two more horses get stuck in the mud, both requiring her assistance to escape the mud pit.