'Crazy journey' reunites a missing horse with its family
CBC
After a days long search spanning kilometres around the hamlet of Bragg Creek, Alta., a championship endurance horse was reunited with its family.
Flex the horse was found southwest of the town Friday morning, lingering in a clearing near a trail in the Station Flats area.
Owner Rosalynn Peschl said she and her husband, Houston Peschl, felt "tremendous relief" upon seeing Flex standing in a forest clearing.
"By the time I had the halter on him and knew that he was secure, we both just started crying with relief and joy and all of the emotions that have been bubbling under the surface for the last couple of days," she said.
Peschl said her husband headed out for a ride near the West Bragg Creek Day Use Area on Tuesday. While he was saddling Flex, a bee sting spooked the horse, causing him to break his halter and run off.
Flex and Houston have a close bond, Peschl said, explaining how her husband bought the former racehorse 10 years ago.
At the time, Flex was anxious and wary of people, but Peschl said Houston worked to help him become more trusting.
"Houston refers to Flex as his best friend," Peschl said, adding the two are almost inseparable.
Houston eventually turned Flex into a champion endurance horse, and together the pair has competed in competitions across the prairies and the U.S., including winning a Canadian national championship in endurance horse riding.
After Flex went missing, Houston spent hours on his bike over the next few days searching the area for him, Peschl said.
Following the Peschls' calls for information on social media, residents in the area joined the couple, braving hot and smoky conditions throughout the forest to search for Flex.
"Over Wednesday and Thursday, we didn't have any sightings at all," Peschl said. "That was certainly stressful, and a little bit disheartening."
The situation became so desperate, professional tracker Terry Grant joined the search.
Grant is trained in search and rescue, starring in the first six seasons of the Canadian reality television series Mantracker.
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