Horses trapped by floods moved to safety
A herd of 60 horses in Gloucester, trapped by flood water, were moved to safe ground after concerns were raised over their welfare by a group on the social networking site Twitter.
The group of horse lovers known as Friends of the Causeway Horses visited the site to care for the horses; feeding them hay, keeping them warm and giving them clean drinking water.
Nicky Turner-Sterling, one of the volunteers, said: "We're all animal lovers and didn't want to see them suffer."
The owners managed to move most of the animals to safety. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) was also involved in the rescue; giving advice and helping the owners move the remaining six horses off the site.
Chief inspector with the RSPCA, Lee Hopgood, said: "They moved in three weeks before the floods started.
"I don't think they were particularly well briefed by the people who rented the land to them but I have said to them they should have done the research before moving 60 horses on to this farm."
The RSPCA were on hand to check the horses over. The majority were found to be okay, considering the conditions they had been living in; however, three foals which were stranded were found to be suffering from salmonella and had to be put down.
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
