Growing up isn’t easy for humans and animals alike. It’s often a process of trial and error. Getting up and falling down. Trying and failing, and trying and succeeding.
Thankfully, there are those who are more experienced to help the young along the way.
A wild stallion named Champ didn’t hesitate to jump in to save a young foal from drowning when it struggled to cross the Salt River in Tonto National Forest in Arizona.
A video of the rescue was caught by Salt River Wild Horses. Champ and his family were grazing along the bank of Salt River when a second group of wild horses came to graze at the opposite bank.
Two happy little colts were playing along the bank as champ, and his family looked on. A few horses wanted to get in on the fun, so they crossed the river.
But the current was strong and pushed one of the horses, a filly, into the middle of the group crossing the river.
That’s when the filly lost her footing.
Her head went underwater, and she started to panic. She began to struggle to regain her footing.
That’s when Champ attempted to step in and help. He grabbed her by the side of her neck but couldn’t get a good grip to steady her.
She started to get swept downstream. But Champ wasn’t about to let that happen. He broke off from the group to try and save her. He gently grabbed her by the back of the neck again and nudged her along.
Champ held onto the filly until she was able to get back to the shore.
He made sure not to let go until she was completely safe.
The poor little filly was still scared and shaken up and walked straight over to her mother.
Now that the filly was safe and with her family, it was Champ’s turn to get to the other side of the river.
Once he crossed over, he was able to reconnect with his stallion friends.
After greeting his friends, he went to stay with his family. And as if this were a Disney movie, three little birds came and landed on Champ and his mare.
Maybe it was a congratulations for a job well done?
“Some people think horses don’t have a soul. But the soul of a horse is much bigger than man knows. It’s incredible. And wild horses are even more special,” writes Salt River Wild Horses in their video.
The RSPCA says that since horses typically live in herds, they can become panicked if separated from other horses.
Since living in a herd offers them a better chance of survival from predators, horses will often look after each other.
“Horses take it in turns to watch over each other while they sleep. One horse usually stays standing when the others are asleep on the ground. This horse is more alert than the others (even if dozing) while the others sleep more deeply. This is a good example of how herds operate,” the RSPCA states.
So, that’s probably why Champ didn’t hesitate to save that little girl.