Horse impaled itself on a fence after being ‘spooked by fireworks’

A horse became so frightened by rockets going off that it skewered itself with a fence post trying to escape, the RSPCA believe.

The six-year-old horse, called Harry, was stuck on the fence all night until someone realised what had happened.

It tooks hours for his owner and a vet to free him with the help of two RSPCA officers on Saturday.

Fireworks had been set off nearby in Holywell, north Wales, and it is believed this is what spooked the animal.

Lily Roberts, the owner of the stables where Harry was kept, said she had ‘never seen anything like’ it after finding Harry.

She said: ‘He had crushed the hedge and we had to cut the hedge around him. It was just horrible.

‘I was walking around on the phone and when I stopped talking Harry would lift his head to see if I was still there and neighed.

‘I didn’t want to phone his owner, Laura, as I wanted to get him out the ditch and up first – I didn’t want her to see him like that.’

They had to call in the help of local farmer, Sean Williams, who used his tractor and ropes to bring the horse to safety.

Lily said: ‘After cutting away the remainder of the hedge we then could see the extent of Harry’s injuries but I had never seen anything like it, not even in a horror film.

‘It will probably take him at least two months to recover, and I don’t think he will ever be able to ride again but we will keep him as a petting pony at the yard.’

‘We of course don’t know for definite, but it seems pretty likely that Harry was frightened by nearby fireworks that were set off.’

Harry is only the latest pet to be affected by fireworks this year.

Yesterday, Molly the terrier was revealed to have died from a heart attack believed to be brought on by fireworks.

Another pet, Archie the rabbit, also went into shock from the noise of pyrotechnics and was found dead.

The RSPCA said it received 400 calls about animals affected by fireworks in England and Wales last year, and has launched a campaign, Bang Out Of Order, to campaign on the issue.

Among the measures it wants to see implemented are noise restrictions on publicly available fireworks, and restrictions which see their sale limited to the time around Bonfire Night, New Year’s Eve, Chinese New Year and Diwali.

Ms Anderton added: ‘We really hope Harry recovers – it is just so sad to think how frightened he must have been and then in so much distress while he was impaled.

‘This incident really does show what the effects of fireworks can be and we urge people to be mindful of the animals around them when setting fireworks off.’