An mischievous foal found herself in an unlikely predicament this week — when she got her head stuck in a wheelbarrow.
The six-month-old filly, named Meadow, managed to escape from her field in Keymer, West Sussex, on 1 October, and trap her head in the barrow.
Panicked Meadow made matters worse as she galloped around with the wheelbarrow on her head, striking it against the electric fencing and giving herself shocks.
A neighbour spotted the distressed youngster and contacted the fire service and a local RSPCA officer.
Officers from the technical rescue unit of West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service (WSFRS) arrived at the field just after 8.30am.
The group of rescuers was eventually able to prise the wheelbarrow free from Meadow’s head while they distracted her with pony nuts.
“She immediately went to graze afterwards like nothing had happened,” said Fern Spencer, who looks after the Highland cross at Baldwins Meadows yard.
A physio has since checked Meadow for any injuries, and she has been given the all-clear.
“She’s completely unharmed,” said Fern. “This morning I was poo-picking and she tried to climb in the wheelbarrow – she’s just not bothered.
“She wants to be everywhere she’s not allowed to be. She’s into everything and she always picks things up and launches them across the field. She’ll nick a hat off your head.
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“I can’t look at her without laughing now I know she’s ok.”
A spokesman from WSFRS said the ordeal had been a “steep learning curve” for Meadow.
“When we arrived she was very distressed, but thankfully the firefighters were able to unhook the wheelbarrow from her head,” added RSPCA animal collection officer Julie Parsons.
“Once she was free she calmly walked off and started grazing, oblivious to all the commotion she had caused.”
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