Pony rescued out of ravine 'in good spirits'

Blackberry the pony was rescued from a ravine on Tuesday morning

A pony who was lifted out of a ravine using a telehandler is in "good spirits", its owner has said.

The 12-year-old pony called Blackberry was found lying upside down on Tuesday after falling down a 6.5ft (2m) drop, which had been concealed by gorse.

The Fire and Rescue Service and a vet were called to the farm in Baldrine, when the animal was cut out of gorse, sedated, and lifted out of the ditch using a local farmer's telehandler.

Blackberry's owner, Michelle Hargreaves, said the usually "easygoing" horse was "a bit shaken up but in good spirits".

"She was a bit wobbly when she got off the ground", Ms Hargreave said, but she "remained calm throughout."

Michelle Hargreaves said Blackberry must have been looking for fresh grass

She said she had last checked on the animals on Monday evening, and when she went to move them into a new field on Tuesday morning, that was when she noticed Blackberry was missing and heard a noise coming from the ravine.

"I didn't know if she had broken her neck or back but when Blackberry managed to scramble to her feet at that point I felt a lot of relief," she said.

Ms Hargreaves, who is a pony breeder, said: "We have had that land for 50 years, and that has never happened.

"As it has been a dry summer, there is more gauze and it covered the edge, Blackberry must have gone mooching to try and find more grass and it was a shear drop," she said.

Natascha Stemler, Head of Equine at Milan Veterinary Practice said the fire service had "quite a big ask" to lift a pony in the air, which could be dangerous.

She said she sedated Blackberry for the lift, and the pony was left with no injuries which was "very lucky".