‘Timely reminder’ to check fields as escaped horse gets stuck in freezing canal

A passer-by, firefighters and the what3words app together saved a horse who was stuck in an icy canal having escaped from her field.

A walker found the mare in the freezing Erewash Canal in the dark early hours of last Thursday (21 November) and called 999.

“An adventurous horse had found its way out of its field and into the canal,” a spokesperson for Alfreton fire station said. “A passer-by called 999 and provided a good what3words address for emergency responders. Blue Watch Alfreton, supported by Eastwood on-call fire station, used their enhanced animal rescue skills, to create a barrel-skid with yellow strops.”

The spokesperson said that once the mare was back on dry land, she was taken back to her field and checked by Scarsdale Vets.

“Her temperature soon got back to normal after she was wrapped in blankets and nibbling some hay,” he added. “PLEASE check regularly on your animals during this cold weather and ensure the field/paddock is secure to prevent accidents like these.”

A spokesperson for the #what3words app, in which every three-metre square of the world has a unique three-word code, said trying to guide the rescuers to the remote location in the dark would have been a challenge.

“But the caller shared the horse’s exact what3words address – helping to guide the rescue crews to the scene quickly and efficiently,” she said.

“The app is free to download and works offline, making it ideal for use in areas with an unreliable data connection, such as rural farms, remote woods, parks, and campsites.

“This is a timely reminder to check on animals during these frosty days and to ensure fields and paddocks are secure to avoid similar incidents, and highlights the importance of being able to describe a precise location quickly. We’d hate to think what might have happened without the passer-by’s quick thinking and the what3words app.”

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