A “hapless” pair of escaped cobs have made a full recovery after being rescued from a swimming pool in Dorset earlier this month (11 October).

The coloured horses, named Elvis and Alfie, broke free from their field and fell into the water.

Firefighters were called to the pool in Factory Lane, Duntish, near Sherborne, by the horses’ owner Roison Tallbott.

Fifteen crew members worked to free the horses, who were sedated by vet Peter Sclater of Sclater Equine Horse Vet.

“With the grass being greener on the other side of the fence, the pair of juveniles escaped their field overnight,” he said.

“When Roisin, a new mum with a 10-week-old baby, went to check on them, she found them grazing happily in her garden. With further merriment in mind they rounded the bend in the garden and found themselves faced with the swimming pool.

“Alfie, the larger skewbald chap, somewhat unwisely decided to make his escape via the swimming pool — perhaps the duck weed may have played a part in his decision. He made a large leap and splashed into the pool’s deep end where he paddled furiously to stay afloat.”

Elvis is believed to have fallen into the pool while trying to stay near his fieldmate.

Roisin managed to get head collars on the pair and lead them to the shallow end before they were lifted to safety.

“An animal rescue crew from Poole worked with a retained crew from Sherborne to free the horses using rescue strops and an animal slider board,” said a spokesman from Dorset Fire and Rescue Service.

“After cutting away a significant section of undergrowth and shrubbery to make access, the crews worked with a vet to sedate the horses before safely removing them from the pool.”

The horses were taken back to their field and are recovering well.

Roisin shared her gratitude to the rescuers on the fire services’ Facebook page.

“This still has me in tears, ” she wrote. “Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart. I don’t know what I would’ve done if anything bad had happened to them.”

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A 10-year-old girl was taken to hospital at the weekend (Saturday 6 June) after a group of cyclists spooked her pony.

Grace Burton was riding with her mother and two friends in single file through the village of Teddington, Glos, on Saturday morning when around 20-25 cyclists approached from the other side of the road and spooked the horses.

Gloucestershire police was told three of the horses bolted and one stayed with its rider.

“The cyclists did not slow down and rushed through spooking the horses,” one of the riders told the police.

Grace Burton fell off and an ambulance was called to take her to the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital in nearby Cheltenham.

According to a press report in the Gloucestershire Echo, the young girl suffered a dislocated knee.

Her father, Chris Burton said the cyclists were riding five or six abreast at estimated speeds of up to 20mph.

“It’s an issue in the village. Most cyclists are considerate but there are some who give everyone a bad name. If it had been a car driver that just drove off after an accident, they would breaking the law,” Mr Burton told the Echo.

He said cyclists need to “be more careful and need to know they have a duty of care to people around them.”

After the incident a couple of the cyclists did stop to help look after Grace until her mother was able to return.

Mr Burton was worried the incident would cause his daughter to lose confidence in going out hacking, but she has made a full recovery and was riding again yesterday (Tuesday 9 June) — although stayed on the lead rein.

Mr Burton is meeting the cyclists from the Cheltenham and Country Club tomorrow (Thursday 11 June) to “discuss ways of stopping this happening again”.

“We are aiming to improve safety, not have a battle,” he told H&H.

Sheila Hardy, the British Horse Society’s head of safety said: “All road users have a responsibility to think of each other’s needs. This includes being aware that horses may be on the road and may be startled by large groups or cycles are ridden too close or too fast.”

“Both cyclists and riders share similar risks on the road and the BHS has made great headway with cycling bodies in improving road safety for all parties, including producing a code of conduct for both riders and cyclists. Unfortunately, however, incidents do still happen. We’d encourage anyone who is involved in an incident or near-miss to report it at www.horseaccidents.org.uk.”

Martyn Brunt, routes and networks manager at Sustrans, the cycling campaigning charity said: “There are a number of tips that we would recommend to people on bikes when they are approaching a horse rider, including slowing down, letting them know that they are approaching in plenty of time by shouting ahead and giving plenty of room when passing.

“We would also advise people cycling to give horse riders the right of way on bridleways to ensure everyone can enjoy the countryside safely.”

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A runaway horse has been put down after it fell down a manhole in Downham Market, Norfolk.

Police were called just after 4am yesterday morning (6 November) when a member of the public reported the stuck horse.

It is thought that the horse had escaped from London Road and had been running around the town before it entered the courtyard of an old cinema where its front legs fell into the manhole.

Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service were called and two engines and a specialist urban search and rescue team attended.

A vet was also called to the scene and the horse was sedated.

“The fire service used lifting equipment to free the horse. It was eventually removed from the hole at around 8am,” said a spokesman from Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service.

“However once it was winched out the vet deemed that its injuries were too bad for it to continue a normal life so it was put to sleep,” the spokesman added.

“It is a very sad case.”

Fire services around Britain are called every week to help to free horses that have become stuck or been involved in road traffic accidents.

However, there is concern that with fire services facing cuts that there will be less resources available for animal rescue.

In July, Jim Green from the specialist animal rescue unit based at Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service called on the public for greater support.

“There are significant cuts being made over the next three to four years,” Mr Green told H&H. “Animal rescue is one of the areas being scrutinised. We will have to be more efficient as we won’t have the resources we’ve had.

In 2012, the British Animal Rescue and Trauma Association was set up to help fire services to receive training.

“We need to keep our profile up and urge people to support the work of the animal rescue services in times of financial trouble,” Mr Green added.

Here are some more H&H news stories about horses that have been rescued from unusual places, with happier endings:

Fire fighters free horse trapped under pipe

A horse was saved after becoming trapped under a large water pipe in a field in Scotland.

Firecrews came to rescue the seven-year-old horse who was wedged under a large pipe in his field in Thornton, Fife.

Firefighters rescue horse trapped in swimming pool

A horse was rescued from a swimming pool by firefighters.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service were called to a farm in Godshill, where the 15hh gelding had wandered on to the plastic covering of a neighbour’s pool and fallen in.

The four-year-old New Forest-cross, “Mischief”, was sedated by a vet to enable the 12 firefighters to carry out the rescue.

Firecrews work for an hour to free horse trapped in box on M6

Firefighters in Cheshire worked for over an hour to free a horse that was trapped in a horsebox on a motorway.

The horse was stuck for more than hour after it was involved in a crash on the M6.

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Police in Wiltshire are appealing for information after a mare was shot in the head in her field.

The 10-year-old survived the shot, but her owners — Tom Hanlon and Mark Hope from High Hope’s Stud — are searching for the culprit.

The broodmare — Lordships Dimension, known as Darcy — was out grazing at High Hope’s Stud near Marlborough last week (Tuesday 7 October) when she was found with a wound beneath her eye.

When she was treated by vets it was found to be a shot wound, caused by a rifle.

“She was checked on at around 2pm,” Mark Hope from the stud told H&H.

“But at around 6pm one of the grooms spotted her and she had blood on her face.

“She had been shot just under the eye. The shot shattered the bone in her nasal cavity, but she was very lucky — had it gone in her eye she would have died.”

He said he was unsure whether the shot was deliberate or an accident.

“Either way we’re very concerned,” he added.

The 10-year-old is by former dressage world champion Dimaggio.

PC Jeff Rice from the Rural Crime Team at Wiltshire Police added: “The bullet actually entered her skull and it was very fortunate that she wasn’t killed.

“At this stage we don’t believe this was a targeted attack but possibly a poaching related incident with the horse having been caught by a stray shot.

“The owners are understandably concerned for the safety of both the animals and staff who work in and around the area and we’d like to hear from anyone who knows anything about the incident.”

Anyone with any information is asked to contact PC Rice on 101 or e-mail ruralcrimeteam@wiltshire.pnn.police.uk.

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A horse that lost its tongue in a field accident has made a full recovery after months of being taught to eat without one.

Dressage rider Jack Beeson-Smith noticed the ex-racehorse kept in his livery yard had blood on its mouth when he brought him in from the field in April.

“I looked into his mouth and it was like an empty cave — I couldn’t believe what I’d seen,” Jack told H&H. “We went straight up to the field and found the tongue, the vets think he had trodden on it.”

The vet was unable to reconnect the tongue but the horse was fed intraveneously for many weeks until he learnt how to eat without one.

“It was touch and go whether he would make it but suddenly he learnt how to eat again and after months of rest he has made a full recovery,” said Mr Beeson-Smith.

The horse was ridden in a bitless bridle and the hope is he will move on to a ported bit, which doesn’t rest on the tongue.

The previous day Jack had been on a trial EquineSkills first aid workshop, and credits the course for his fast-thinking and calm action in the crisis.

“We used the protocol from the course we’d attended just the day before and it really helped us to stay calm and put in a process of managing the situation,” he added.

The pilot workshop hosted by Lewes-based Cliffe Equine is one of a series of EquineSkills training courses run by trained veterinary surgeons and approved by the Association of British Riding Schools.

The courses cost £40, for more information visit www.equineskills.co.uk

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A mare had a lucky escape at the weekend when she was rescued from deep water, where she nearly drowned.

The grey cob was spotted struggling in the water by a passer-by at Alberta Caravan Park, Seasalter, Whitstable on Saturday (20 September).

She was up to her neck in the water and too weak to get herself out up the steep bank.

Officers from Kent Fire and Rescue and the RSPCA waded into the water to put a harness on the horse, before dragging her up the bank to safety.

She was unhurt in the incident.

“I was very relieved there was a happy ending to this one. I think we may have been just in the nick of time,” said RSPCA inspector Caz Doe.

“It didn’t look good when we arrived and to be honest, I didn’t think the horse would make it. She was absolutely exhausted and really struggling — we think she had been in the water for at least a couple of hours.

“When she was finally on dry ground, I was amazed she stood up. I had half expected her to collapse from the cold and shock. I put it down to her being in such good condition — she had fat reserves to give her energy to keep her going when other horses just wouldn’t have made it.

“It was such a good example of great teamwork — a really strong joint effort which saved the life of this animal I have no doubt.”

The mare has since been reunited with her owner.

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Seeing a horse trapped in an overturned lorry, or stuck fast in boggy ground or barbed wire can be a truly terrifying experience. Yet knowing what — and what not — to do in an emergency could be a lifesaver, as Gil Riley MRCVS explains

Horses are not tremendously robust when it comes to physical trauma.

Their skin is quite thin and is easily injured. Their eyes, positioned at the side of the head, are prone to traumatic injury and their limbs, with relatively little tissue protection, can sustain horrific wounds and fractures.

Additionally, horses tend to panic. Hence a horse caught over a partition, or even cast, will struggle — often wildly — to try to extract himself from the predicament.

Further injury is then likely, not just to the horse but to helpers, too, via his flailing limbs and swinging head. Few owners are aware just how dangerous a struggling and distressed horse can be.

Ironically, the more trapped a horse is, the less he’ll feel able to struggle and he may remain surprisingly calm and emerge unscathed.

If you are the first person on the scene, take steps, if you can, to prevent any further injury. Call your vet and impress on the receptionist or answering service that this is an emergency. If the horse is trapped, call the fire and rescue service as well.

If you arrive first, do not rush in and risk causing further injury. Instead, seek assistance. The vet does not want to be distracted by having to arrange an ambulance for an injured person or administering first aid to a human rather than the horse.

Unless there is something obvious and safe you can do to alleviate the stress of the horse, it is best to stand well back and await help.

Those in attendance must stay calm and keep their voices down; noise and shouting will only exacerbate the horse’s distress and increase the likelihood of additional self-injury.

Initial examination

The first step a vet usually takes upon arrival is to heavily sedate the horse so that a detailed examination can take place in relative safety. Sedation also allows the vet to treat any potentially life-threatening injuries.

The aim of the initial examination is to assess if there are any injuries or conditions that warrant immediate destruction of the horse, such as fracture of the spine or the long bones of the limbs.

Bleeding nearly always looks much worse than it actually is, especially if the blood is of the bright red, arterial type. A horse can lose up to almost a third of his circulating blood volume before his system starts to become compromised — a condition called hypovolaemic shock.

A horse has about 80ml of blood per kg of bodyweight — that’s roughly 55 litres for an average-sized, adult horse. He could lose 18 litres before developing any ill-effects or weakness. However, to assist in a speedy recovery, the less blood loss the better.

Signs of excess loss include whole body sweating, colic, a progressively elevated heart rate and pale or white mucous membranes. Where possible, stem or reduce bleeding by applying a pressure pad such as a towel to the haemorrhaging vein or artery.

A common cause of blood loss is a severed digital artery around the pastern, when the horse traps a limb through a partition or door.

A pressure pad in the form of gamgee and a cohesive bandage can be applied to stop the haemorrhage. A tourniquet should be used only in the most exceptional and extreme of circumstances, as it cuts off blood flow to an entire area and can result in extensive tissue death.

Once the immediate health threats are addressed, the challenge moves on to extricating the horse.

If he is caught in a ditch, for example, this may involve administering a heavy sedative or full general anaesthetic by injection and, with the help of the fire and rescue service, pulling or lifting the horse onto adjacent ground using straps and hoists.

Reflex test

The vet can now perform a more thorough examination. For horses still recumbent, the limbs must be fully assessed for injury and the spinal reflexes assessed to establish whether a possibly catastrophic fracture of the spinal column has occurred.

The “panniculus reflex” is a quick and approximate test for assessing damage to the spinal cord. Using a ballpoint pen, the vet will press on the skin at intervals along the side of the body, starting at the shoulder and moving back to the pelvis.

Pressure on the skin sends a nerve message to the region of the spinal cord next to the site.

As a result, a message is sent back down from the cord to the skin muscle where the pressure is applied, causing a twitch or shiver. If there is damage to the spinal cord, as soon as we reach that site the cord is unable to send a message to the muscle.

Severe spinal cord damage would be grounds for immediate euthanasia; it can be hard to be definitive however. Even if there are no life-threatening injuries, there is still the risk that a recumbent horse will hurt himself on recovery. Attempting to rise but falling in the process may result in a limb fracture.

On the other hand, prolonged periods of recumbency can result in extensive muscle damage (myopathy). In such cases, a blood test will reveal hugely elevated readings for muscle enzymes. Damaged muscle tissue swells and puts pressure on previously uninvolved adjacent muscle tissue and on the nerves running between the muscles, causing “compartment syndrome”.

There can be many complications including colic, possibly related to stress.

The best approach to emergency first aid is to minimise the risk of accidents. Always be aware of your horse’s surroundings and try to work out how he might be injured before it actually happens.

Make a habit of routinely checking your stable, fields and transport, especially trailer floors, removing or repairing anything that looks dangerous. And think ahead, programming relevant emergency numbers and directions into your phone or sat-nav. Basic preparation could make all the difference.

This article was first published in the 11 September issue of Horse & Hound magazine

Read all of Horse & Hound’s latest veterinary advice

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Guidelines to help the emergency services cope better with equine incidents are being launched at Buckingham Palace today, Tuesday, 15 May.

The “Emergency Services Protocol” is the result an initiative started last year by Horse & Hound and the British Horse Society (news, 5 April) and is being hailed as one of the most important pieces of welfare work in recent years.

The guidelines aim to ensure any horse involved in an accident receives proper care as quickly as possible. They cover everything from how a 999 call should be dealt with to advice on identifying horses and coping with a large animal in an incident.

The BHS has worked on the protocols together with the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA), Chief Fire Officers Association, Association of Chief Police Officers, RSPCA, The Horse Trust and the International League for the Protection of Horses. The protocol will be delivered later this month to the police and fire and rescue services.

An Emergency Services Protocol Fund has also been set up by the BHS and BEVA, to help minimise delays for injured horses receiving veterinary care when their owners cannot be traced. The fund will also pay for rescue training and specialist lifting and rescue equipment for the emergency services.

BEVA President Professor Josh Slater said: “The protocol is a most important equine welfare initiative with which we are proud to be associated. The fund is vital for the successful implementation of the Protocol and we are delighted with the generous and universal support that the fund has received from the horse industry.”

To donate to the fund, contact BEVA (tel: 01638 723555).

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Horses involved in accidents and emergencies will soon get prompt, experienced care thanks to an initiative started by Horse & Hound and the British Horse Society (BHS).

“This is one of the most important pieces of welfare work in years and we are extremely pleased to have been associated with it,” said Professor Josh Slater, president of the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA), which has also been pivotal to the initiative. “There is tremendous goodwill to make it happen.”

In February 2006, H&H highlighted the unnecessary suffering of horses caught in emergency situations, and a worrying variation in the way police and firemen handle 999 calls involving equines.

At the time, BHS chief executive Graham Cory vowed to produce guidelines to help the emergency services deal with such incidents for the welfare of the horse.

Now, those guidelines are near completion, and the BHS and BEVA have set up a fund to pay for emergency treatment.

“The guidelines are with BEVA for a final read, and then they will go to the International League for the Protection of Horses (ILPH) and RSPCA,” Mark Weston, BHS director of access, safety and welfare told H&H. “They will be launched by the Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace in May, then be disseminated through the police and fire and rescue services and distributed to each force.”

The emergency guidelines are the result of a year’s work by the BHS, BEVA, ILPH, the Horse Trust, the RSPCA, Association of Chief Police Officers and the Chief Fire Officers Association.

They range from how a 999 call should be dealt with by the emergency services’ control room to advice on dealing with loose and injured horses, stable fires and horses stuck in cattle grids and water. They cover ways to identify horses and list the basic large animal rescue equipment emergency services should carry.

Every emergency call centre in the UK will be equipped with a list of equine vets who can be called to an accident. This has been provided by BEVA and is backed up by the fund, launched with the BHS, to cover emergency treatment of any horse whose owner cannot immediately be traced.

“It’s giving vets one less thing to think about. You can imagine the scene: 3am on the M25, some horses have escaped on to the road, and been involved in an accident, but no one can find the owners,” said Prof Slater. “We want to make sure the treatment of those horses that are seriously injured will not be compromised by questions over who is likely to pay for their immediate care.”

BEVA has donated £1,000 and will administrate the fund for free, and the BHS has donated £6,000.

“But we welcome donations from the public because this benefits everybody — car drivers, vets, horse owners, the emergency services and, most importantly, the horse,” said BEVA executive secretary Arabella Mitchell. “There’s so much goodwill for this that we hope to raise more money than we need, to go towards training the emergency services.”

• If you would like to donate to the Emergency Services Protocols Veterinary Fund, send a cheque payable to ESPVF, to BEVA, c/o Arabella Mitchell, Mulberry House, 31 Market Street, Fordham, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB7 5LQ.Read this news story in full in Horse & Hound (5 April, ’07)

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