A horse that was sinking into a bog was rescued in the nick of time by firefighters today (Tues).
Eleven firefighters from Cleckheaton’s technical rescue unit raced to a boggy area behind Britain Cottage on Red Lane, Meltham, at 10.15am.
It took more than three and a quarter hours of painstaking work before she could be reunited with her overjoyed owner.
Watch Commander Colin Brown said: “This horse Tess and another horse had escaped from a field into an adjacent boggy area. The other horse got caught on some barbed wire and needed some stitches from a vet who was called to the scene who also sedated Tess.
“It was a delicate task. These animals have a ‘flight or fight’ mechanism where they will have a go and then leave it for a while before trying again.
“We put a strap on her and a local farmer brought his tractor along which was a great help. She took a bit of pulling even so and some bystanders pitched in too.
“In these situations sometimes you don’t know where the lines are around her and she was a big horse, 700-800kg, so we approached the rescue very carefully indeed.
“In the end we restrapped it and using a ‘side-skid’ brought her out. It’s a very good outcome and the owner couldn’t speak highly enough of our efforts.”
