ESTACADA, Ore. — Sylvia the draft horse was walking on an earthen dam between two ponds on her owner's property near Estacada when the ground gave way, opening up a 15-foot-deep hole. In went Sylvia.

Coached by a veterinarian, Estacada firefighters managed to use a farm tractor to pull the 2,400-pound horse free.

On Wednesday, Sylvia's owner Vicki McDade said her 18-year-old horse had a swollen eye and a few scrapes but is otherwise recovering well.

Sylvia apparently took her Monday night ordeal in stride. McDade had tossed some hay into the hole to distract her horse while veterinarian Kelleyerin Clabaugh administered a sedative and an Estacada Fire District crew wrapped straps around the horse's forelegs and head, then began to pull gently with the tractor.

Says McDade, "When they were pulling her out, she was still trying to eat the hay."