Horse rescued from icy bog [PICTURES]
A horse has been rescued from an icy bog by firefighters.
The mare was found in the freezing water in a ditch on a farm in Slough in Berkshire last Thursday (22 January).
Jeremy James, animal rescue specialist from Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue, told H&H the mare had slipped down a steep bank during the night and was stuck.
Her front legs were draped over the bank, while her hind legs were trapped in the mud below.
Firefighters used ropes, hoists and pulleys to free the trapped mare.
“The whole rescue happened really quickly,” added Mr James. “From starting to pull her out, to her being safe on the bank was only about 15minutes.
“We didn’t sedate her as we wanted her to be able to use her strength to help pull herself out of the bog. We put straps around her and hoisted her out manually.
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“The ditch was about six to seven feet deep and was too steep for her to get out herself. We checked around the area and there was a stump under her ribcage that was wrapped with barbed wire and was restricted her. We cut that away and removed it before pulling her out.”
The owner was also at the scene, and the firecrews encouraged him to talk to the horse.
“The mare responded well to his voice. Fortunately she was fine after the incident,” he added.
Mr James told H&H the large animal rescue team has been very busy recently — with three call outs in the past 10 days.
“In another case a Shire horse was trapped in a barbed wire fence,” he said.
“She was 19hh and couldn’t get up, dealing with horses that size can cause problems. It’s important that the safety of everyone around is considered — we have a team that have background with livestock and horses and are fully trained to deal with animal rescue. Luckily she was fine as well.”
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A graduate of Exeter University, Amy joined our news team from Redpin Publishing in 2008 as news writer. She was promoted to deputy news editor in May 2013 and became news editor in April 2015. She left Horse & Hound in March 2016 to take up an editorial position in Dubai.