A mare has been rescued after becoming stuck up to her neck in a swamp in North Wales.
The cob named Farrah had escaped from her field on Friday (5 February) in Amlwch, Isle of Anglesey, and found herself trapped in a deep bog, completely submerged in the mud apart from her head.
Her owners called the RSPCA and a team from the charity came to her aid.
“This poor horse was well and truly stuck,” said RSPCA inspector Mark Roberts. “It was so deep I don’t think her hooves even reached the bottom.
“The area around the horse was a thick mat of moss, reeds and roots as well as mud so we had to force our arms as far as we could to get two straps around her body. This was the hardest and most time consuming part of the rescue.”
A vet from Bodrwnsiwn Veterinary Practice on Anglesey arranged for a local contractor to attend with a front loader which the team connected to the straps underneath the horse.
They then placed a sheet over some moss and dragged the mare out and onto the platform. The horse had to be towed between 20 and 30 metres before she was back on to solid ground.
“The vet checked Farrah and miraculously her core temperature was normal as she had been wearing two rugs which probably saved her life and stopped hypothermia from setting in,” added Mark.
“The horse was on her feet in ten minutes after getting unstrapped. She was dried off, given pain relief and stabled overnight.”
An RSPCA spokesman added that Farrah was “doing well” following the rescue.
