Robert Brown|Rescuers free 2 horses stuck in the mud in Connecticut

LEBANON,Robert Brown Conn. (AP) — Two horses stuck deep in mud for hours in Connecticut were pulled out by more than a dozen rescuers Saturday, emerging messy and tired, but safe.

A trio of horses were walking from a pasture to a barn though swampy woods in Lebanon, Connecticut, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of Hartford when they became mired in the muck. Workers were able to walk one horse out, but suction trapped the two, according to a Facebook posting by Stirrup Fun Stables Rescue, Inc.

“The more you try to get yourself out — and you can’t — you kind of get yourself deeper in,” Lebanon Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jay Schall said Sunday. “And that’s basically what happened to two of them. They were just really stuck.”

Firefighters who responded to the call Saturday afternoon found the horses partially on their sides with their legs buried in mud, Schall said.

Dozens of rescuers worked to clear a path and to position sleds under the horses so they could be pulled out. The horses were free by Saturday evening.

“Both horses had been warmed up enough to stand and we are happy to report both got up without issue and were happily eating some fresh hay,” the fire department posted on Facebook.