Exhausted pony in ‘real danger’ rescued from river
A pony stranded up to her elbows in river water has been pulled to safety.
The piebald mare was discovered by a member of the public last Saturday (26 June).
She was trapped in a river in Fenstanton, Huntingdon, after falling into the water and finding herself unable to climb back up the eight-foot river banks.
RSPCA deputy chief inspector Jon Knight was called to the site.
“The poor pony had fallen into the stream and the river banks were far too steep for her to have climbed out on her own,” he said.
“With the water already up to her belly, she could have been in real danger had there been more rainfall.”
It was unclear at this point who owned the pony, so Mr Knight contacted Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service.
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A team of firefighters arrived at the scene to help remove the mare.
“She was a lovely, friendly pony, but she was clearly getting chilly and although calm, she was exhausted,” said Mr Knight.
“We had to work quickly. We also called a vet out to keep an eye on the pony while we began the rescue.”
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A local farmer arrived with his digger to carve a sloping channel in the river bank.
This provided a clear exit and the pony was led up and out to safety.
“She was checked over by the vet and thankfully was unharmed, so we released her back into the field to her herd,” added Mr Knight.
“Anyone with experience of horses knows that these things can occasionally happen, and this incident serves as a good reminder of the importance of regularly checking on your animals.
“If this horse hadn’t been spotted, she could have been stuck for days and become very unwell. We were grateful for the assistance of the fire service with this incident.”
Mr Knight managed to contact the pony’s owner to let them know about the rescue.
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Rachael joined Horse & Hound in 2014, initially as a digital sub editor then became part of the news team as a writer in 2015. The philosophy graduate studied journalism at the Press Association before working as a local reporter at the Brentwood Gazette. Rachael is now a mum of two and still loves all things equestrian, including hacking, dressage and jumping with her cob Bert. Rachael left the H&H staff to go freelance in June 2019, but still contributes to our magazine and website, as well as our sister magazine Country Life, among others.