Two lifeboat crews had to coax a horse back to dry land after it bolted into the water off Hayling Island, Hampshire, last week (3 July).
It is thought that the horse was spooked by a dog causing the rider to fall off. The horse then bolted into the Langstone Harbour channel.
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
Two lifeboat crews, who had watched the incident develop, were tasked with trying to return the horse back to the safety of the beach.
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
“We had to do a bit of shepherding,” said Aaron Gent from RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) Portsmouth lifeboat station
‘”We were trying to persuade the horse swimming out further was a bad idea.”
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
The horse was eventually herded back but then galloped across the shore, where one of the lifeboats had to prevent it from heading towards nearby families.
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
The horse was finally caught 10 minutes later by a member of public near the Ferry Boat Inn car park and returned to his owner.
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Sophia Heath joined Horse & Hound in July 2013 having previously worked for the Daily Telegraph's Olympics website, CNN International and Omnisport. A Durham graduate with a Masters in journalism from City University, Sophia has evented, showjumped and hunted. Sophia left Horse & Hound in early 2015 to join an international boating website.
