A 27-year-old pony who had disappeared underground in a sinkhole was dug free using an excavator in a “dramatic” rescue mission.
West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (WYFRS) came to the aid of Prince, who was trapped in the hole, in his field in Mirfield on Saturday morning (7 January).
“The 27-year-old horse had been enjoying a Saturday morning in the field at Calder Farm Equestrian when he disappeared from view at around 10.30am,” a spokesman for WYFRS said. “He was discovered below ground level, trapped in a sinkhole, and immediately WYFRS was called.”
The WYFRS technical rescue team worked with a vet to get a headcollar on Prince, cover his eyes and put cotton wool in his ears to try to keep him calm. Prince was sedated as his rescuers used an excavator to “create an escape route”.
Technical rescue officer and station manager Damian Cameron said when they arrived Prince was quite calm. “He had been let out of the stable as usual, into the field, and then the stable hand noticed the horse couldn’t be seen,” he said.
“A sinkhole can be caused by a number of things, from old mines to running water. We’ve had similar incidents in the past where cows have got stuck in sink holes and we do have the option of putting slings around them and lifting them out. However, we felt this could be dangerous for Prince and so we opted to dig him out instead.”
Local business Chappelow Sports Turf offered an excavator for the job, which involved following the gradient of the field to create a route out of the hole.
“Once Prince was had been sedated, we started to work on getting him out and back to the surface,” said Mr Cameron. “By that point his legs were a bit numb and he still had a bit of climbing to do, but he managed to get out fairly quickly – the whole rescue took less than an hour.
“A number of years ago we carried out a rescue in the adjacent woodland when a horse had become stuck in a ditch, so the centre knew that calling the fire service was the best thing to do. Prince was checked and thankfully recovered from his ordeal with no injuries – we were thrilled to be able to reunite Prince with his owner.”
Prince’s owner, Helen Tempest, said the crew worked quickly and calmly under pressure. “Prince was my first pony and he is the most relaxed horse I’ve ever dealt with,” she said.
“Because of his age we just ride him once a week; he is so calm and has never got in trouble before. We couldn’t believe it when he got stuck in the sink hole, it was in the middle of a field he goes into every day and there have never been any problems.
“The fire crews were absolutely amazing. I had no idea what to do and the crew came and took control, worked quickly and efficiently and were so good with Prince. I really can’t thank them enough. Prince has come out of it totally fine and is out on a different field today.”
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