Horse owners are being warned to fence off potential danger zones on their property after a horse died on Monday.
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue crews from Leek Fire Station attended an incident on Monday, 20 April, to help remove a horse stuck in a bog.
They were called to the scene in Denford in the Staffordshire Moorlands, by an attending vet at 10.15am.
The horse had gone through a barbed wire fence into a boggy area of land and become entangled in the wire. Fire crews said noted that it appeared to have been there for quite some time.
The firecrews reached the horse using a Land Rover. The horse was then put down by the vet before it was removed from the bog by the firecrews.
The firecrews who attended were very touched by the owner’s letter of appreciation and acknowledgement of their sensitive handling of the incident.
“To all the fire crew who attended the call on Monday. Thank you for the respect, dignity and honour shown towards her while she was put to peace”, wrote the owner.
In the past year Staffordshire Fire and Rescue have had six incidents involving horses getting stuck in streams, bogs and ditches.
Fire officer, Garry Goodwin said “Unfortunately, animal rescues such as this are quite common and often are very distressing to owners and rescuers alike.
“We strongly urge horse owners to take whatever preventative measures that they can to fence off boggy areas within fields”.
Lee Hackett from the British Horse Society added: “Horse owners should take time to get to know their fields thoroughly. If there is a genuine bog then there is not much pasture management can do about it and it needs securely fencing off — as securely as boundaries are.”
