A HORSE was pulled to safety by fire crews after he became trapped in a sink hole in his favourite field.
Prince, the 27-year-old horse had been enjoying a morning walk in the field at Calder Farm Equestrian in Mirfield when he disappeared from view.
He was discovered below ground level, trapped in a sink hole, and immediately West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) were called.
The Technical Rescue Team worked with a vet and put a head collar on the horse, covered his eyes and put cotton wool in his ears to help him keep calm.
Prince was then sedated as an excavator from a nearby business was used to create an escape route out of the sink hole.
Damian Cameron, Technical rescue officer and station manager, said when they arrived Prince was quite calm. He said: “He had been let out of the stable as usual, into the field, and then the stable hand noticed the horse couldn’t be seen.
“A sink hole can be caused by a number of things, from old mines to running water. We’ve had similar incidents in the past where cows have got stuck in sink holes and we do have the option of putting slings around them and lifting them out. However, we felt this could be dangerous for Prince and so we opted to dig him out instead.
“Once Prince had been sedated, we started to work on getting him out and back to the surface.
“By that point his legs were a bit numb and he still had a bit of climbing to do, but he managed to get out fairly quickly – the whole rescue took less than an hour.
“Prince was checked and thankfully recovered from his ordeal with no injuries - we were thrilled to be able to reunite Prince with his owner.”
Prince’s owner, Helen Tempest, of Wyke, said: “Prince was my first pony and he is the most relaxed horse I’ve ever dealt with.
“Because of his age we just ride him once a week, he is so calm and has never got in trouble before. We couldn’t believe it when he got stuck in the sink hole, it was in the middle of a field he goes into every day and there have never been any problems.
“The fire crews were absolutely amazing. Prince has come out of it totally fine and is out on a different field today.”
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