A mare who became “well and truly trapped” up to her neck in a slurry pit has been rescued by fire crews in a difficult three-hour operation.
On Sunday (31 January) Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service and local farmers were called to help the 26-year-old mare called Angel, who had become stuck in the pit in Kendal, Cumbria.
A spokesman for Kendal Fire Station said crews from Kendal White, Milnthorpe on-call, Kendal on-call and SM Leather were mobilised to the incident at around 9.55am.
“A horse had become trapped in an access pit to a slurry store approximately a metre square,” he said.
“Crews worked tirelessly, along with the farmer to free the horse, using the farmers’ two diggers and tele-handler. The crews quite literally dug the horse out, then using animal rescue kit, lifted the horse to safety.”
The spokesman added that the rescue was a “very difficult job in difficult conditions”.
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“A huge thanks must go to the Milnthorpe crew; their knowledge of animals and the building trade were priceless,” he said.
“Well done to all involved, a real team effort that lasted approximately three hours. The horse was successfully rescued and is now hopefully going to make a full recovery.”
The forced shared images of the rescue on social media in a post that has been shared more than 3,000 times. A spokesman added: “As you can see by the pictures, she was well and truly trapped”.
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Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.
