BOSTON -- Using ropes and pulleys, emergency crews in Vermont were able to free a horse that was stuck in the mud up to its neck on Wednesday.

Carolyn Leighton, of Underhill, Vt., called police on Wednesday asking for help freeing her 20-year-old horse, Starlight, from the mud behind her home.

Leighton told police that she first noticed that the horse was stuck in the mud at about 6:15 a.m. Wednesday. After trying to free Starlight unsuccessfully, she called police.

It took crews about an hour to free the horse.

A veterinarian was going to check the horse's well being Wednesday.