Horse Illustrated Magazine

On Wednesday, Dec. 7, a hunter named Timothy Lee was walking in the Freetown-Fall River State Forest in southeast Massachusetts and noticed a horse struggling to gain traction in a swampy area. Unbeknownst to Lee, that horse was Flash, a 19-year-old Morgan mare and the object of an extensive, ongoing search.

On Saturday, Nov. 26, Flash’s owner, Kristin Soares, was taking a trail ride through the forest with two friends. Soares rode another horse while one of her friends rode Flash. Flash spooked, causing her rider to fall. She then trotted off toward home. When Soares and the others arrived, the mare wasn’t there.

For the next ten days, Soares and her husband, Michael, searched along with help from volunteers and animal control workers from nearby towns. A flyer for the horse was posted on NetPosse.com. The search was conducted on foot, on horseback, with dogs and even by airplane, but to no avail.

When Lee encountered Flash in the woods, he was unaware of the missing horse or the search for her, but he noticed that she was still tacked up and assumed a rider had fallen off. He called the police department, but knew they wouldn’t be able to find his remote location in the forest. Although he wasn’t experienced with horses, he carefully approached Flash and led her out of the forest to safety. Lee reported to SouthCoastToday.com that the mare “was pretty calm” throughout the journey.

Flash was given a veterinary examination and was treated with fluids, but she appeared to have suffered only minor injuries, likely caused by the tack she was still wearing.

“We don’t know where she went,” Michael Soares told NetPosse.com. “We searched every inch of this forest and no one saw her for 10 or 11 days. She just popped up! We are so glad she is home!”