A tense situation for a horse trapped 150 feet down an embankment north of Fort Bragg ended safely Sunday when rescuers were able to cut a trail and lead the horse up the steep terrain.
The horse and rider were uninjured, Cal Fire and Fort Bragg fire officials said.
The horse and rider were out after dark Saturday night when they fell over an embankment near the 10 Mile River Bridge off Highway 1.
The rider was able to climb to the top and reach authorities about midnight.
The horse was about halfway down an embankment 200 to 300 feet high, Fort Bragg Fire Chief Steve Orsi said.
Mendocino County authorities Sunday morning enlisted the help of UC Davis large animal experts to help rescue the horse. No one locally has large-animal rescue capabilities, Mendocino Cal Fire Capt. Daniel Zumkeller said.
The school's Veterinary Emergency Response Team is a group of volunteer faculty, students and staff in the veterinary medicine school who respond in emergencies and for disaster response involving animals.
As the day wore on with the horse on the cliff for more than 12 hours, rescuers tried to determine if they could cut a trail and lead the horse up by foot.
About noon, Zumkeller said, rescuers brought in some chainsaws and cleared a path through the brush on the embankment.
"They cut a trail and walked the horse out," he said.
The name of the rider wasn't available Sunday.
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