Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service personnel rescue horse from ditch in Barnoldswick

Nurse Heather Driver was alerted to the emergency by fellow horse owners whose animals share a field with her 25-year-old Dutch warm blood Hanson, when they noticed he was missing on the morning of September 5th.

Heather explained the drama that was to follow in the coming hours at the field off Calf Hall Lane, Barnoldswick.

“Hanson had gone to a stream for a drink and somehow had toppled over and was laying partly in the water. We share the field with two horse owners and take turns to bring them in to the paddock in the mornings,” Heather said.

“On this particular morning one of the other owners noticed Hanson was missing and rang to alert me. I called the emergency services and it was only 20 minutes that Lancashire Fire and Rescue arrived with blue lights.

“Hanson is 17 hands and weighs more than half a ton so I knew it was going to be a difficult rescue attempt. He had obviously become trapped at some point during the night and so was hypothermic and in quite a bit of shock.

“Thankfully there were two animal rescue specialists with the crew who placed straps around his belly, and we all then helped to pull him out. Our vet, Catherine Corbett from Stanley House Vets, was also on hand to sedate Hanson during the rescue.

“The whole operation took a lot of planning but we finally got him out after around three hours. I just want to thank everyone because it could have turned out a lot worse for Hanson. He was on the edge of death.”

Chestnut Hanson, who in his younger years did a lot of eventing and dressage, has been with Heather for 20 years. He is now making a good recovery in the warmth of a paddock and is being treated with antibiotics for wounds he suffered in his fall.

Heather added: “I haven’t decided whether to ride Hanson again yet. We’re hoping to get him back in the field but fence off the area near the stream. Thankfully, he seems to be recovering well.”