A REAL community effort in a Pembrokeshire village helped to rescue a horse stuck in the mud on the weekend.

On Sunday, January 14, a number of residents were concerned as a horse was stuck in the mud in a field at Jack Skones Lane, close to the A4075 Holyland Road, Pembroke.

There were five horses in the field – which is just mud and has very little to no grass – but one of the horses had become stuck in the mud. This was brought to light by resident Sam Thomas who saw the horse, which was deep into the mud whilst some of the other horses wandered around the field.

Ms Thomas’ Facebook post quickly caught the attention of more local residents including Tracey Elliot who attended and Ms Elliot was able to free the horse before the emergency services – including Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service - arrived at the scene. After the horse was freed, she said: “Lots of locals rallied round to try and help, you’re all angels.”

Ms Thomas said that she was concerned that it was only a matter of time before the same – or another – horse would get stuck again as the field has been in ‘this state’ for years. “The whole field is a bog, so it’s only a matter of time before it happens again,” she said.

Since the incident with the horse, the owner – a local resident – has attempted to move the horses but was only able to get one of them. The incident was reported to the RSPCA at the time and a representative from the British Horse Society was in attendance to ensure the horse was ok.

A spokesperson for the RSPCA said: “We are very pleased to hear that this horse was freed. Following calls, we discussed with the fire service if we were needed to help in the rescue and we were advised we were not. We also advised that we could be contacted further if they needed our assistance. 

“We are so grateful to people who report suspected animal suffering to us and we would like to reassure people we will always look into and, if necessary, investigate any complaints made to us about animal welfare.

“Unfortunately we are unable to discuss complaints about specific people and what action may have been taken. We understand how frustrating that is for animal lovers but releasing information could prejudice a future prosecution or could lead to us being fined.”