Horse trapped underground for 36 hours

A horse was trapped three metres underground for nearly 36 hours after falling down a hole.

Quick-thinking

The 14-year-old mare was minutes from being euthanised when it looked like there was no escape from the concrete cell she was trapped in – but a quick-thinking firefighter saved her life.

Sianey was discovered around 1pm Monday 7 July by Dennis Mellor, who owned the field in Linthwaite, West Yorkshirewhere the mare was kept during summer months.

At first he couldn’t work out where the neighing was coming from, but soon discovered she had somehow fallen down a hole, no more than 1m square.

Dennis called Amy Dyson, who owns the Irish Draught X Thoroughbredalong with her mother and grandmother. In the meantime he got a ladder and climbed down to check on Sianey.

Pitch black

Incredibly she seemed unhurt and was standing in a disused underground reservoir.

“I thought it would be really small down there, but it was big enough for Sianey to stand in – although it waspitch black,” Amy told H&C. “The walls were concrete and it had a flat floor – it was like a bit like a stable.”

The West YorkshireFire and Rescue service were soon on the scene and their plan was to haul the mare out of the hole, using a winch around her tummy.

Put her down

“She’s nearly 15.2hh so to drag her back up through the gap just didn’t seem possible,” said Amy. “God knows how she got down there in the first place. She must have fallen tail first with her legs and head stuck in the air.”

They would only be able to rescue her this way, if she was sedated completely. However, the attending vet was unable to administer the drugs in such a confined space, on grounds of safety.

“They made the tough decision to put her down,” said Amy. “We were all in tears. Then one of the fireman said, ‘why can’t we dig her out?’.”

Steps to freedom

The landowner had a JCB and offered to excavate a tunnel down to where the horse was trapped. As night was drawing in, it was decided to start the next morning. Straw was put down for Sianey and she was given hay and left for the night.

The next morning approximately 80 tons of earth was removed, taking around six and a half hours. The technical rescue unit from Cleckheaton then carefully cut through the 60cm reinforced concrete wallto the reservoir, using a hydraulic jack hammer, making a whole large enough for Sianey to fit through.

The mare was finally able to take her first tentative steps to freedom, through the hole and up the ramp dug by Dennis, nearly 36 hours after she was found.

Luckiest horse

“During the whole process we kept stopping and checking the noise wasn’t upsetting her, but she was fine,” said Amy. “I was able to go down with a fireman and give her Polos and we made it very comfortable for her, so she stayed calm during the whole process.

“I don’t know how she didn’t break anything – she must be luckiest horse alive as she had only minor scratches.”

Sianey and her two field mates are now safely back home with the Dysons, where Amy says she is doing “really well” and enjoying a rest. She has been put on a course of antibiotics to prevent any infection and Amy hopes to be riding again in a few weeks.

Amazing job

“We simply can’t express how grateful we are, forthe efforts of all the firemen from both blue and greenwatch atCleckheaton, and to the vets at Donaldsons,” said Amy. “Not only did they do an amazing job to rescue our horse, they went above and beyond in working out the best plan of action and in extreme conditions of heat and dust.

“They also kept us informed throughout the rescue and their humour kept our hopes and spirits up along the way.”