This year, the state of California was once again wracked by wildfires that forced thousands to flee their homes.

On the morning of Oct 30, 2019, the Simi Valley went alight in what was named the “Easy Fire.”

The Easy Fire began on October 30, 2019 near a Southern California Edison transmission line which was still active despite widespread power shutoffs. High winds in the area allowed the fire to spread quickly from its ignition point on Easy Street (hence the name).

By the time it was extinguished on November 2, the fire had charred 1,806 acres.

Many animals were caught up in the fire, including those on a horse ranch in the area.

In a moment caught on video, one of those horses bravely returned to save another young horse on the farm.

Prieta is the hero horse people can’t stop talking about. Amidst the chaos of the escape, something was drawing her back to the ranch. It happened to be a young 2-month-old foal named Onyx that Prieta didn’t see among the rescuees.

A horse trainer named Cynthia Shea explained the horse’s instincts to Inside Edition, saying:

“It’s just a natural instinct for a mother to want to go back for their child. Animals have the same instincts that we do. We want to take care of our own, we want to take care of our group. It touches your heart.”

The little foal was actually Prieta’s “grandchild.” Mona Lisa, Prieta’s daughter and Onyx’s mother, had already managed to get to safety.

In a video taken at the scene, rescuers corralled the horses and got them ready to load onto a trailer and Prieta can be seen galloping towards the highway and away from the fire. But upon noticing Onyx was missing, the black beauty began charging back towards the ranch. There, she found the pony as well as other horses that didn’t escape as quickly.

Once she encountered them on the path, she rounded them up, seemingly motioning with her head towards safety.

Most commenters on the video were in awe of the horse’s actions:

“Mares will do anything to save their offspring, even if it means ignoring their extremely strong urge to run away. Truly amazing!” said one.

And while there have been many clickbaity titles for this story implying that the horse ran into a flaming stable to save Onyx, plenty of horse-lovers have pointed out that this was a brave act nonetheless – and also one expected of a female horse.

In the past, researchers have speculated that “..long-lasting bonds between female horses are commonplace and in this sense horse societies have been described as matriarchal.”

By the time Inside Edition caught up with the heroic black horse, the family was all safe and sound back in their pens, enjoying a nice, sunny day.

But not all of the horses were so lucky that day. One horse, a 28-year-old Mayer, needed to be euthanized on the scene after breaking her two front legs running away from the fire.

Be sure to scroll down below to watch the amazing scene unfold and the horses relaxing after their lucky escape.

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Source: Inside Edition, Inside Edition via YouTube, CBS Los Angeles