On October 15th, Castle Rock Real Estate Agent, Kari Edge discovered her 11 year old daughter’s horse, Houdini, had disappeared from the Davies Ranch. Aspen, Houdini’s owner, has had him since she was four and considered him to a “babysitter” of sorts so it was devastating to hear that he had gone missing. Houdini, living up to his name, pushed the gate open, went out and disappeared somewhere in the Crystal Valley area.
From what they can piece together, it is believed that “Hou”, as the family calls him, was trying to cross over the lowest point of barbed wire fence to join the rest of his herd and ended up getting stuck. The next four days were a test of Houdini’s will to live. What resulted was an incredible story of faith and determination as the community came together to help find the missing horse.
Not sure if he was missing or stolen, Kari turned the community for help. “We had 12 people show up on horseback, ten people in cars and half of a dozen people on foot with flyers putting them up wherever they could,” Kari said.
It was on that Saturday morning when Kari’s friends, John and Lisa Anderson, went into Multicopter Warehouse asking if they would get involved in the search. Multicopter owners, Kerry Garrison and Josh Gilson, immediately jumped on board and had their infrared drone in the air that day.
Saturday came and went, but still, no Houdini sightings. Having had false heat readings from the previous day, Kerry and Josh decided to start as early as possible the next morning looking for Houdini.
Within 20 minutes of flying, the heat-sensing technology detected a source of heat in a patch of bushes. Houdini had been found. He was entangled and had stuck there for days. Severely dehydrated and cut up from the fence, Houdini was taken back to the stable where he received medical assistance. While still on the road to recovery, Houdini seems to be on the path to healing like he should.
Now the Edge family says that Houdini is a tangible testament of what faith and determination looks like. “You don’t train a horse not to be a flight animal. He is no different than an elk or a deer when they panic, they run and they will kill themselves to get out of a situation. Yet, he stood there for four days and three nights,” Kari said sentimentally as she looked at Houdini eating peacefully in his stable.
In his life, Houdini has had many different roles. Ranging from church plays performances, nursing home visits, and cattle herding. Throughout all of them and even through this most recent scare, Houdini’s life can be summed up so far with as purposeful and he isn’t finished yet.
“His path has just been amazing and everyone he’s come into contact with he is just a blessing to. For anyone who thinks they’re alone or don’t have a purpose, Houdini is here for them to come hug because you have a purpose,” Kari described.
Houdini, at 29 years old, disappeared and what was found was not only a horse loved by so many but also a newfound sense of hope and purpose for life.
