BREA (CBSLA.com) — A horse had to be rescued Friday after falling 20-feet down an embankment in Chino Hills State Park.

Firefighters were first alerted to the situation in the 17000 block of Carbon Canyon Road around 9:30 a.m.

For several hours, search-and-rescue crews with the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) and other personnel gathered at the scene to formulate a plan to bring the horse to safety.

“As firefighters, we’re always out to help and part of helping is animals, as well. There are a lot of us that are horse owners and dog owners and they’re part of the family,” said Capt. Joe Ment of the OCFA.

Crews initially thought the 1,000-pound horse would need to be hoisted out of the drainage canal via helicopter. But as firefighters got him in position, CBS2’s Michele Gile reports that the agitated horse ducked his way out of the harness.

Gile says a veterinarian was called in to sedate the horse and the decision was made to walk him out.

Dave Beekman, the horse owner, told Gile he was thankful that he and the horse made it out without major injuries.