NEWS: The word "oxsters" isn't used enough in newspapers

Mark McLaughlin
Edinburgh Evening News
February 11, 2009

IT was the emergency call which turned into a real "mare" of a job for fire crews.

Eight firefighters rushed to the aid of a 1000lb elderly horse who had fallen over while asleep and couldn't get back on his feet.

After the efforts of a farmer and two farm hands failed to budge 36-year-old Tally, the rescue team was called in, but soon found their heavy lifting equipment simply wasn't up to the job.

The innovative firefighters turned to plan B, which involved using a hose, a fork-lift truck and a lot of brute force.

Thankfully, Tally - who is said to be prone to falling over while asleep - appeared none the worse for his ordeal yesterday morning and was soon running around Kirkettle Farm, near Roslin.

Crew manager Mark Hanratty said: "We got a length of hose and placed it underneath the horse's oxters and his hind legs.

"We then tied the hose to a fork-lifttruck and hoisted him up, then held him in place for about ten minutes until he got the feeling back in his legs.

"I used this technique in the past many years ago, when a horse got stuck in the mud, and it's once again proved to be effective."

The rescue operation was supervised by a vet from the Easter Bush Veterinary Centre in Roslin, who prodded Tally's legs with a spike every couple of minutes until he got his feeling back.

However, the vet didn't need a spike to know that Tally was up and ready for breakfast, for as soon as the feeling returned to his legs, he was kicking out like a sprightly prize stallion.

Owner Marion McGowan, 54, a cook from Penicuik, said: "He still thinks he's a three-year-old the way he normally runs round the field. He'll drive you mad.

"He's eating now and he seems to be okay, but I'm still a bit upset about finding him like that. I'm just so glad he's back on his feet. I'd be devastated if anything happened to him. He was the last present my parents ever bought me back in 1977.

"He won a race for me at Penicuik Gala Day back in the 1980s and came third place in a couple of riding shows but he's getting on a bit now.

"Some horses die in the teens or early 20s but I guess Tally just has the luck of the Irish."

The average lifespan for a horse is 25 to 30 years, making Tally, who has been at the stables for 20 years, very old indeed.

Kirkettle farmer Alan Fairlie was alerted to the drama at around 4am by his dogs barking and arrived to see Tally lying on his side still inside his box.

He said: "Horses normally sleep on their hind-quarters but if it rolls on to its side we would say that the horse is 'cast', that it had become stuck, and it's quite an exercise to get it moving again.

"It's quite a dangerous thing if a horse is on its side because the lungs start to fill with fluid, and we had to physically drag Tally out of the box to get him moving again.

"But once the pins-and-needles had gone he was ready to go."