Animals and people alike may be at risk from sinkholes. It is possible for even horses to become immobilized in a sinkhole, which in certain cases can be lethal. But thanks to the quick work of a rescue team that managed to get one horse out, he is safe. According to a statement from the West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (WYFRS), Prince, a 27-year-old horse, was taking a stroll through the field after being released from his stable at Calder Farm Equestrian.
Conversely, a steady hand soon realized that Prince was nowhere to be seen. It was found that the horse had become stuck in a sinkhole. When WYFRS was dispatched to help, they had to move carefully to avoid hurting the horse. Technical rescue officer and station manager Damian Cameron stated, “We do have the possibility of putting slings around them and getting them out. We have seen similar instances where cows became stuck in sink holes in the past.” But we thought that this might put Prince in danger, so we chose to dig him out instead.
To help the horse stay quiet, the veterinarians covered his eyelids, put cotton wool in his ears, and fitted him with a head collar. “We started working on getting Prince out and back to the surface after he was sedated,” Cameron said. A local business called Chappelow Sports Turf provided them an excavator, and they dug out a sloping incline so the horse could go out.
Even though he still needed to climb and his legs were numb by then, Cameron said, “he was able to escape quite quickly—the entire rescue took less than an hour.”
“We were thrilled to be able to reunite Prince with his owner after Prince had examination and, luckily, recovered from his trauma without injury.” According to WYFRS, sinkholes can be produced by rushing water or abandoned mines. For the proprietors and Prince, though, this was a first. We only ride him once a week due to his age; he is quite peaceful and has never caused any trouble in the past. He was stranded in the sinkhole in the middle of a field he goes every day without any issues, which shocked us.
Thankfully, tragedy was avoided because of the quick actions taken by the fire and rescue departments. “The firefighters were simply amazing.” The crew took over because I had no idea what to do; they worked quickly and efficiently and did an amazing job with Prince. I am so grateful to them. Prince is back on the field today after fully recovering.
