How a Community Rescued Mouse the Horse
Mouse the horse pulled off a wilderness survival story that sounds more like a tall tale than real life, according to Cowboy State Daily. He went missing back in July 2025 after slipping loose during a backcountry fishing trip near Moon Lake above Dubois, Wyoming, and when the snow started flying, most folks assumed he’d wander back down. He didn’t. For seven long months, Mouse toughed it out in the Wind River Range—until a group of snowmobilers out enjoying fresh powder stumbled across him in January, very much alive, worn down, and clearly relieved to see humans again. As one rescuer put it, the horse had that “I’ve been through some stuff” look—but he was still standing!
Getting Mouse out, however, was a whole different rodeo. With six to seven feet of snow, zero chance of a horse post-holing miles through the backcountry, and time running out, a crew of cowboys, snowmobilers, and volunteers got creative. The winning plan was to load the exhausted horse into a whitewater raft, hook it to a snowmobile, and tow him out in what might be the most Wyoming rescue ever—a “one-horse open sleigh.” Mouse calmly climbed in, laid down, and let horsepower and teamwork do the rest, riding snowmobiles and a Snow Cat all the way home. Against all odds, he survived the mountains and made it back safe, proving that persistence, good people, and a little outside-the-box thinking can still work miracles.
Stories like Mouse’s hit home here in Montana, where long winters, deep snow, and that rough backcountry terrain are just part of life. Anyone who has spent time in the mountains here knows that when an animal—or a neighbor—needs help, people don’t hesitate to step up, improvise, and make it happen. This rescue mirrors the same type of resilience that Montanans rely on every winter. It is definitely a reminder that out here, survival isn’t just about toughness—it is also about community.
Feature photo credit: Preston Jorgenson
