In LA County, fire and rescue had a ton of work to do to lift out a 1,200-pound horse that fell into a sinkhole near Lake View Terrace.

Lucky by name, lucky by nature, this 20-year-old mare managed to avoid any serious injuries to her legs from the fall when the muddy ground of her pasture parted beneath her hooves.

Heavy equipment was called for by the Los Angeles Fire Department, who enlisted 50 staff members to assist in the rescue operation.

"The name of the game is to not hurt the horse, to keep her calm," LAFD Capt. Erik Scott told ABC 7 Eyewitness News, while the rescue was still underway. "She's been in mild to moderate distress at this time and we want to get her freed and get more definitive care."

At first the team thought a helicopter would be the best method of extraction, but eventually changed course to use the boom of an excavator to attach the heavy strapping which formed a makeshift harness around Lucky's midriff.

A large vacuum was used to clear away the sand from the hole before the excavator lifted her partially out and brought her back legs over the solid ground she needed to gain purchase with her hooves and heave herself out.

20 years is old for a horse, and it's a miracle she wasn't mortally wounded by the fall. It seems whoever named the mare had good reason for picking ‘Lucky.'

WATCH the rescue below from ABC 7… 

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