Firefighters used a winch to rescue a helpless horse which became stuck in a swimming pool.<br /><br />The stricken animal had to be pulled out of the shallow end of the open air pool using a farm telehandler in a two-hour rescue operation.<br /><br />Fire crews were called after the horse plunged into the water after trotting over the fabric pool cover.<br /><br />He had escaped from nearby stables before ending up trapped in the pool in his owner's back garden in Knossington, Leics., last Friday (3/3).<br /><br />Firefighters from Oakham and Southern fire stations rushed to the scene at 7.55am.<br /><br />They found the horse had moved himself to the shallow end of the swimming pool but could not get up the steps.<br /><br />After sedating the horse, a specialist animal rescue team used local farmyard equipment and a harness to winch him to safety.<br /><br />Crews also pumped out the water from the swimming pool for the animal's safety as there were concerns about hypothermia.<br /><br />Matt Basey, a firefighter from Oakham Station, said: "It was our second horse rescue within 48 hours. <br /><br />"We pumped some water out of the pool as we were concerned that the horse could have been getting extremely cold.<br /><br />"Technical rescue assisted with the rescue."<br /><br />Crew manager Martin Hugo joked: "I'm not sure whether I'm just coming across lots of clumsy horses."<br /><br />Specialist vets treated the horse after he was hauled to safety before he was returned to his stables unharmed.
