The community on Skye came to the rescue of a much-loved horse who got stuck in a septic tank.
Owner Nikki Veen, who lives in Lower Milovaig near Glendale, received an urgent call on Sunday afternoon saying her horse, O’Malley, was stuck in a hole.
Ms Veen, who has lived on the island for two years, knew instantly that her horse was in need of help.
“I could tell from my neighbour’s voice that something was very wrong,” she said. “He said ‘O’Malley is down, I think he’s gone down a hole and can’t get out’.
“So, myself and another neighbour rushed up to him and sure enough he had got his right hind leg stuck all the way down a septic tank.”
O’Malley, an Irish Cob, was trapped right up to his stifle or knee, with part of his thigh, buttocks and tail also wedged in the hole.
Ms Veen believes he was stuck for around four hours.
A community effort
The 51-year-old praised the local community for coming to “superstar” O’Malley’s aid.
“Everybody just mucked in,” she said. “Somebody called the fire service for heavy lifting gear, someone else called the vet and I grabbed straps and anything else we might need.
“Miraculously, Colin the digger driver turned up. I am getting some work done and he’d come to service the digger beforehand.
“Then the volunteers from Dunvegan Fire Station arrived and we all worked together. Scott, the fire officer in charge, led the way and I explained horse anatomy.
“We managed to get more straps underneath him and I kept him calm while the big machinery got close to him.”
Still standing
O’Malley has been a big part of Ms Veen’s life for the past 23 years, helping her recover from serious injuries and acting as her “secret weapon” during teaching and equine therapy down in Colchester.
She said they know each other inside and out.
“I had to remain calm,” she continued. “I thought he would be a dead horse, even if we got him out. I thought he’d have a broken leg and these things never end well with horses.
“Unbelievably, the leg came out clean. And not only that, he put weight on it immediately. I just walked him a few steps away from the septic tank because I was convinced he would go down. But he was still standing.”
O’Malley was checked over by the vet and is now as “bright as a button” recovering with daily medication.
A miracle rescue
A number of people from the area played a vital role in rescuing O’Malley which Ms Veen described as a “miracle”.
This included the selfless work of the firefighters from Dunvegan, who are currently recruiting more volunteers.
“I’m so grateful to everybody that he is still here and alive and still tackling me in the morning for carrots,” she added.
“It’s a wonderful community we live in, I want to say thank you to everyone. So many people stopped and I want them to know I’m very, very grateful.
“This 35-year-old horse being lifted out of a septic tank and surviving is a miracle – there was a miracle in Milovaig on Sunday.”
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