All's well that ends well, and so it is for Cherrios, a pony who tumbled 50 feet deep into a well on May 18 and is cheerfully running around again today with his pasturemates.

"He's a very playful pony, and he probably accidentally got bumped over the edge when playing with the other pony in the field," said a riding instructor and tour guide at the Ferme Equestre de Pomposa, an equestrian tourism center in southern Corsica and home to Cherrios. The pony was discovered missing from his pasture during the morning rounds and later seen at the bottom of the well, which is about 10 feet in diameter, said the instructor, who requested not to be named.

A crane, borrowed from a nearby construction site, was used with a sling system to lift the pony out of the well, reported the Corse-Matin website, which also published photos of the rescue.

Against all odds, the 10-year-old pony suffered no serious injuries, despite falling from a height equivalent to that of a five-story building, according to the emergency veterinarian called to the scene, Aymeric Benard, DVM. "Naturally, I expected to see fractures in his legs, but he was completely sound," Benard said