In case you hadn’t heard, a horse named Mouse, lacking since July 2025, was discovered alive seven months later within the Wind River Mountains — and his rescue is unimaginable.
Mouse the horse, out on the path.
That is a type of tales that just about by no means ends the best way this one did.
In case you hadn’t heard, a horse named Mouse, lacking since July 2025, was discovered alive seven months later within the Wind River Mountains close to Dubois, Wyoming. And because of a gaggle of quick-thinking snowmobilers, cowboys, and volunteers, he made it residence.
For those who’ve spent any time round horses, you already know why this story stopped folks of their tracks. Horses that go lacking whereas out on the path are sometimes discovered injured, trapped, or in no way. Publicity, predators, terrain, and climate normally stack the percentages onerous in opposition to them. Seven months — by way of fall and right into a Wyoming winter — makes survival nearly unthinkable.
And but, Mouse did.
Misplaced in July, Present in January
Mouse went lacking throughout a backcountry packing journey final summer time. Dubois resident Preston Jorgenson was headed towards Moon Lake for a fishing journey when Mouse received unfastened and disappeared into the mountains.
“We put the phrase out, and I believed, for certain, he’d come down when it began snowing,” Jorgenson reported to Cowboy State Each day.
He didn’t.
Regardless of a number of makes an attempt to find him within the months that adopted, Mouse vanished into the vastness of the Wind River Vary. Like so many missing-horse tales, it quietly slid into the class nobody needs to say out loud.
Till Jan. 18.
That’s when Tighe Krutel, a snowmobile mechanic with Union Go Leases, noticed a horse whereas using close to Union Go Highway. Not tracks. Not stays. An precise, standing, dwelling horse.
Krutel dropped a GPS pin instantly. Phrase unfold quick.
“It Was Definitely worth the Effort”
Union Go Leases proprietor Tim Koldenhoven didn’t hesitate.
“As soon as we discovered the horse, we went in there and winged it,” he stated. “We instantly realized this was well worth the effort.”
A small group, together with Krutel, Jorgenson, and native cowboy Buster Campbell, headed again into the mountains simply to put eyes on Mouse and get hay to him. Discovering him once more wasn’t speedy, even with GPS coordinates. Deep snow and rugged terrain made each step an issue to unravel.
“He wasn’t initially on the spot the place the pin had been dropped,” Campbell stated. “So we ran round in there till we discovered and fed him.”
For the subsequent a number of days, volunteers hauled meals and water in whereas attempting to determine the unattainable query: how do you get a horse out of six-to-seven toes of mountain snow?
Main him wasn’t an possibility. Horses don’t post-hole nicely, and Mouse was already exhausted.
“He in all probability had a pair weeks left in him,” Koldenhoven stated. “If we had one other massive snowstorm, I feel it will have been the tip of the horse.”
It was now or by no means.
Horsepower, Manpower, and a Very Uncommon Plan
What adopted was a real coalition rescue effort. Specialised snow machines from Union Go Leases. A snow groomer from Crooked Creek Visitor Ranch. A Snow Cat. And a gaggle of individuals prepared to strive one thing nobody had a handbook for.
The answer? A whitewater raft.
Photograph courtesy of Preston Jorgenson
Sourced by way of Fb and picked up from River Runners in Cody, the raft turned what Koldenhoven jokingly referred to as the “one-horse open sleigh.”
When the second got here, Mouse didn’t battle it.
“He stepped proper into the raft and lay down,” Koldenhoven stated. “He was tremendous drained.”
Secured contained in the raft and towed behind a snow machine, Mouse was fastidiously hauled throughout the snow to the Snow Cat for the ultimate leg of the journey. By 4 p.m. Sunday, he was residence.
“It was a half-assed sport plan that we put collectively on the fly,” Koldenhoven stated. “However every part went nice.”
A Survivor, In Each Sense
Towards each expectation, Mouse is in surprisingly fine condition. Skinny, drained, and in want of restoration time, sure — however alive, alert, and really joyful to be residence.
These concerned credit score a mix of luck, terrain, water entry, and Mouse’s personal instincts.
“You would inform he’d been hanging out in that place for some time,” Koldenhoven stated. “He had a good meals supply, water, and a spot the place he’d been bedding down. That’s how he held on.”
Nonetheless, nobody concerned pretends this consequence is typical.
Most missing-horse tales don’t finish this manner. That actuality is a part of what makes Mouse’s rescue hit so onerous. It’s a reminder of each how susceptible horses are within the wild and the way extraordinary it’s when group, ability, and timing line up good.
“The rescue would have by no means occurred with out the gear,” Campbell stated, “however it additionally by no means would have occurred with out the boots on the bottom who knew what they have been doing.”
Photograph courtesy of Preston Jorgenson
Easy methods to Assist Mouse’s Restoration
Mouse’s journey isn’t over but.
His homeowners have arrange an internet site the place folks can comply with his restoration, study extra about what he’s been by way of, and discover methods to assist his ongoing care as he regains weight, power, and situation after seven months within the mountains.
You possibly can comply with alongside in Mouse’s journey right here. The wesbsite means that you can
Comply with updates on Mouse’s situation and restoration
Study extra concerning the rescue effort
Assist the prices related to veterinary care, feed, and rehabilitation
That is a type of uncommon tales that reminds us why we maintain hoping, even when expertise tells us to not. Mouse is a real survivor. And since a gaggle of individuals refused to put in writing him off, he will get a second chapter.
