UTAH COUNTY, Utah — A Utah County man is reunited with six of his seven horses that went missing from his property in late November.
Bill Boswell said the colts somehow got out of their mostly fenced-in pasture on his property off Tunnel Road just southwest of Elberta, which is rare because they typically like to stay near their mothers at a young age.
“We just couldn’t find them. We were looking all the time,” said Boswell. "If you can’t see or find your animals, you panic a little bit and it just consumed us.
He and other volunteers searched extensively by horse and car to find the colts. Boswell even hired a helicopter pilot and a wildlife specialist to find them.
Boswell said they had nearly given up about a week ago, but Deputy Kyler Gilstrap with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office encouraged the helicopter pilot to give it one more try.
“He encouraged the pilot to fly one more time and the pilot of the search and rescue plane found him the next day,” said Boswell.
Boswell said they were found in the mountains five miles away from where they went missing.
“It was real steep on the backside of a high, high ridge... Down at the bottom there was a lot of snow drift, so they were actually trapped in this specific area. They couldn’t get out,” he said. “So they were living and grazing there on the side of the mountain.”
As a horse trainer and riding instructor, Boswell said he is eager to start working with the colts.
“They’re a special breed and excited about starting them and getting them going. And I thought I’d lost all that. But I was excited to get them back for sure," he said.
Reflecting on the ordeal, he said he is grateful they are home safe.
“I learned to be patient and don’t panic. And I learned to maybe rely on a higher source and rely on that. Have a little faith that they’d show up," he said.
