Showjumping Horse Rescue: Horse is winched out of a well after getting trapped in metre wide HOLE in U.K
This is the moment a former showjumping horse had to be winched out of a metre-wide well half-full of water, after falling in.
Foxy, a 12-year-old Irish Sport horse had to be pulled to safety in a harness upside down after she became stuck in water inside a well near Hinckley in Leicestershire.
Two fire crews were called to help the horse after she was heard crying for help after falling through a thin covering of wood over the well.
Rescuers found her with just her head and front knees poking out and it was unclear how many hours the animal had been stuck for.
Mark Edwards, from Leicestershire Fire and Rescue's Technical Rescue Team said: 'Rescuing Foxy was out of the ordinary.
'We'd never seen anything like this before.
'It's not a situation that we envisage, so you can't train for it.
'You'd never think a horse could get into that position in the first place.
'When we got there we could only see her head, neck and front knees - everything else was submerged.'
Warwickshire Fire and Rescue's Animal Rescue team were also called and helped secure a around the front of her body so she could be slowly winched out of the well.
As the rescue party weren't sure of the success of the operation, they had to request a police marksman for the worst case scenario.
This was not necessary but in the process of being freed the back of one of Foxy's knees was cut and fractured and dirty water seeped into the wound.
This led to a joint infection, and she required eight weeks of intensive care and treatment at Rossdales Equine Hospital.
This treatment cost £20,000 of vet bills to get her back on her feet.
But the insurance only offered £2,000 towards the fees due to a previous tendon condition so the family had to use owner Amy Badge's savings and sell her father's bike to cover the cost.
Miss Badge only found out about the fate of her pet after her parents telephoned her after she had completed her first year exams at Bath University.
She said: 'I'd just finished my last exam when my dad rung.
'I knew something had been wrong as he had called earlier in the week asking me to call once I'd finished.
'It's unbelievable how far she's come in eight months.
'She's still a bit wary around crowds of people but apart from that she's almost fully recovered.'
Miss Badge has owned the animal for five years and used to compete in county showjumping events with her.
The grey mare suffered a fractured back knee from the rescue but eight months after surgery is now back on her feet.
Miss Badge added: 'It's a bit like a car being written off.
'The insurance company said that due to her tendon problems she was only worth £2000.
'Obviously to us she's invaluable so we've done whatever was necessary to get her healthy again.
'I know I'll never be able to jump her again but seeing her back on her feet was worth it.'
Foxy, a 12-year-old Irish Sport horse had to be pulled to safety in a harness upside down after she became stuck in water inside a well near Hinckley in Leicestershire.
Two fire crews were called to help the horse after she was heard crying for help after falling through a thin covering of wood over the well.
Rescuers found her with just her head and front knees poking out and it was unclear how many hours the animal had been stuck for.
Mark Edwards, from Leicestershire Fire and Rescue's Technical Rescue Team said: 'Rescuing Foxy was out of the ordinary.
'We'd never seen anything like this before.
'It's not a situation that we envisage, so you can't train for it.
'You'd never think a horse could get into that position in the first place.
'When we got there we could only see her head, neck and front knees - everything else was submerged.'
Warwickshire Fire and Rescue's Animal Rescue team were also called and helped secure a around the front of her body so she could be slowly winched out of the well.
As the rescue party weren't sure of the success of the operation, they had to request a police marksman for the worst case scenario.
This was not necessary but in the process of being freed the back of one of Foxy's knees was cut and fractured and dirty water seeped into the wound.
This led to a joint infection, and she required eight weeks of intensive care and treatment at Rossdales Equine Hospital.
This treatment cost £20,000 of vet bills to get her back on her feet.
But the insurance only offered £2,000 towards the fees due to a previous tendon condition so the family had to use owner Amy Badge's savings and sell her father's bike to cover the cost.
Miss Badge only found out about the fate of her pet after her parents telephoned her after she had completed her first year exams at Bath University.
She said: 'I'd just finished my last exam when my dad rung.
'I knew something had been wrong as he had called earlier in the week asking me to call once I'd finished.
'It's unbelievable how far she's come in eight months.
'She's still a bit wary around crowds of people but apart from that she's almost fully recovered.'
Miss Badge has owned the animal for five years and used to compete in county showjumping events with her.
The grey mare suffered a fractured back knee from the rescue but eight months after surgery is now back on her feet.
Miss Badge added: 'It's a bit like a car being written off.
'The insurance company said that due to her tendon problems she was only worth £2000.
'Obviously to us she's invaluable so we've done whatever was necessary to get her healthy again.
'I know I'll never be able to jump her again but seeing her back on her feet was worth it.'
Music : Hitman by Kevin MacLeod
Source : DailyMail , Mirror
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