Rescuers had to use a tractor with a front-end lift to rescue two horses from a ditch off the side of a road in southwest Miami-Dade County.

Just before noon, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue's Tactical Rescue Team arrived on the scene. They hooked each animal up to a harness. A nearby resident offered his backhoe to hook up the harness and the horse was smoothly raised out of the narrow, but deep ditch. Covered by weeds, it was deceptive that the ditch was 7 to 8 feet deep in places.

One horse was rescued about noon Friday (8-22) and was taken to a veterinary hospital for observation and re-hydration. According to authorities, the horse is in stable condition.

It wasn't until the end of the first rescue that a second horse was found trapped in the same ditch about 50 feet from the first one. The second horse was safely rescued and it too was taken to a veterinary hospital for observation and treatment.