Retired racehorse rescued from ditch

18-year-old Rodney had been stuck on his back in the ditch, alongside his field off La Rue du Sud, near the Prison, for around an hour and a half after falling in.

Firefighters from White Watch responded to the call for help in one fire engine and their new rescue truck. When they arrived Rodney was laying on his back in the ditch unable to get himself back on his feet.

Rodney’s owner, Loraine Rolland, was at the scene comforting Rodney throughout his ordeal.

Fire crews managed to secure a strop under Rodney in the hope that it could be used to help pull him to his feet. They also tried to dig an area of soil around him to flatten out the area and help reduce the angle of the bank for him to stand.

Rodney did a bit of thrashing around during the rescue which resulted in him getting his leg stuck in a branch, so firefighters had to cut the branch to release his leg.

A vet from New Era was called to attend to help give advice and deliver any treatment necessary.

The firefighters were able to manoeuvre the strops into a position to help Rodney get to his feet and one final effort by Rodney, after words of encouragement and some pulling on the strops, saw him finally manage to get to his feet and out of the ditch.

A spokesperson for Jersey Fire and Rescue said ‘Rodney seems fine apart from an initially sore leg and the crews and owners were delighted to see Rodney back on his feet in his field’.

Station Commander Marc Le Cornu said: ‘These types of rescues are always challenging and really make us think outside the box on how best to achieve a successful rescue.

‘Initially Rodney was in a very awkward position, but after a bit of movement, some digging by our firefighters and a final pull on the strops, it was fantastic to see Rodney get back onto his feet.’

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