“It was a very delicate rescue.”
When RSPCA animal rescue officer Nicola Riley got the call, she paused. A pony. Stuck in a tractor tire. She genuinely couldn’t picture it.
Then she arrived on the scene, saw the large tire lying on its side in a field in Stoke-on-Trent — and it all made sense.
The pony was inside it.
Wedged in and frightened
How he’d gotten himself into that position, no one could say. But the state he was in told its own story — matted, dirty, visibly distressed, and completely wedged against the rubber. With no sign of the pony’s owners nearby, Riley rallied a group of local residents and got to work.
It would turn out to be one of the more unusual rescues of her career.
“It was a very delicate rescue,” Riley said. “The poor pony was completely wedged against the tyre and understandably very scared and uncomfortable.”
One careful step at a time
There was no rushing this. The team worked slowly and methodically, pausing frequently to check on the pony throughout.
“We had to take a staggered approach to free him safely,” Riley explained — easing out his front feet first, then carefully working his shoulder free, before finally releasing his neck and front end.
Step by step, the pony came loose.
Back to the grass where he belonged
He was a little wobbly on his feet as he made his way back to the field — which, given what he’d just been through, was entirely understandable. Riley stayed close for another hour, watching quietly to make sure he was truly alright.
He was. Before long, he was grazing again, wandering the field as if nothing had happened.
“He soon returned to grazing and walking around the field again,” Riley said.
She also made sure to remove the tire — because if he’d gotten in once, there was no reason to think he wouldn’t try again.
“Thankfully, everyone worked really well together, and we managed to get him out without causing any injury,” she said.
It wasn’t quite the day Riley had planned. But then again, the best rescues rarely are.