Horse lost in Colorado back home safe in Oklahoma

A horse from Oklahoma spent the winter lost in the Colorado Mountains - but survived, thanks to some caring locals - who answered the prayers of a man from Okfuskee County. <br><br>News on Six reporter

Tuesday, March 26th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A horse from Oklahoma spent the winter lost in the Colorado Mountains - but survived, thanks to some caring locals - who answered the prayers of a man from Okfuskee County.

News on Six reporter Emory Bryan says Jerry Page gets a little tearful when he talks about his horse named Pumpkin. "I asked the lord to take care of her and he did, he sure did." In November - Jerry and Pumpkin went hunting in Colorado, but on a cold night - she wandered off. "We looked all day for her, couldn't find her, we followed her tracks in the snow where she was dragging a lead rope we followed her for miles." But a storm was blowing in and Jerry had to go back to work.

Pumpkin was missing three months when a snowmobile rider spotted her in a ravine, trapped by snow. It was a month before the weather improved enough to attempt a rescue.

â€œNow you talk about nice people, there's some nice people up there in Colorado.â€ Eight people on snowmobiles drove 15 miles to reach her. They took hay and water - and energy boosters to restore her strength. They met up with people on horseback to walk her out - in the mountains where horses are belly deep in snow. The rescue took most of last Saturday. "She has to be a tough horse to survive that."

The rescue team walked Pumpkin off the mountain, where Jerry was waiting to drive her back to Oklahoma. Altitude sickness had kept him at the bottom of the mountain. Back at home - he's amazed she survived the Colorado winter, most of it with a saddle still on her back. "She had a saddle on from November 13 to February 11th or February 12. You can still see the imprint of the saddle on her.â€

Pumpkin was thin and her hair was matted, but she's OK - thanks to some folks who wouldn't give up on getting her out.