Horse rescued from river in Midlands

The ISPCA was alerted by a member of the public about a horse stuck in a river in County Offaly recently. Upon arrival at the scene, ISPCA Inspector Jimmy McCormack discovered the horse submerged in the river, with its head just barely over the water. It was thought the horse had been in the river for approximately 24 hours, clearly exhausted from unsuccessful attempts to make his way out.

Inspector McCormack was concerned that the horse could be suffering from hypothermia having been in the water for some time and could go into shock and potentially drown in the river. So time was of the essence.

An urgent call for help was made and local animal welfare volunteers arrived to assist, with a tractor and some muscle. Together, the team were able to extricate the horse from its perilous situation.

Shortly after, the owner of the horse was located and arrived at the scene along with a local vet to assess the horse to ensure he was fit for travel. A follow-up visit was made the following morning to check-in on the horse after such a dramatic rescue. Thankfully this was a great outcome and good to see him well on his way to making a full recovery, tucked into his cozy rug, in a nice warm stable.

The ISPCA would like to thank the numerous volunteers and MLHR who raised the alarm and arrived to assist, without their help, this may not have been such a good outcome for this horse.