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You can lead a horse to water … but you'll have to help him out

February 26th, 2019 5:05 PM

By Southern Star Team

Lauren and her brother Micheal with their beloved Paddy who has been getting TLC all week after his brush with death.

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Paddy, the nine-year-old horse who made headlines after he was saved by Kinsale RNLI, has enjoyed a week of petting and pampering. 

PADDY, the nine-year-old horse who made headlines after he was saved by Kinsale RNLI, has enjoyed a week of petting and pampering. 

The much loved family-owned horse was 15 minutes from being completely submerged in the Bandon River after his hoof became trapped in the framework of an oyster bed.

His owner Paul Crowley from Ballinhassig explained how it started out as a regular Sunday afternoon: ‘I was washing Paddy in the river. It was low tide so we had to go a good bit out and it was then he got stuck. When it became clear we couldn’t free him, my 10-year-old daughter Lauren went to the nearby Kinsale Equestrian Centre to raise the alarm. We had no option but to call Kinsale RNLI who arrived in eight or nine minutes.’

At that state Paul had been in the cold water for an hour and it was up to his neck, and hunting horse Paddy, had about 15 minutes before going under. 

‘We didn’t really have time to panic. He handled the ordeal really well and we kept each other cool,’ said Paul. 

The RNLI used cutters to free Paddy’s hoof, and Anna Walsh of the Equestrian Centre guided him to safety. He was taken to the Equestrian Centre to warm up, before he made the short journey home where he promptly tucked into his tea. 

‘He’s had plenty of visitors since, including the RNLI crew who rescued him,’ said Paddy adding that Lauren and son Michael have been spoiling him all week. 

In a separate incident, Kinsale RNLI lifeboat launched following reports that a swimmer had sustained a knee injury after entering the water near cliffs off Sandycove island. 

The crew rescued the casualty and two males, and they were taken back to the station for medical assessment. One was taken by ambulance for further observation. 

Kevin Gould, lifeboat operations manager at Kinsale RNLI lifeboat station, urged the public vto exercise extreme caution on or near the water, particularly at this time of year when the sea is ‘so treacherous.’

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