General News
6 October, 2022
Avoca resident thanks Maryborough SES for rescue efforts
A rescue which saw Maryborough SES members out until 2 am helping a trapped horse to its feet have been praised by its owner — a Paralympian who medaled at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics — for the extraordinary effort. The crew was called out by...
A rescue which saw Maryborough SES members out until 2 am helping a trapped horse to its feet have been praised by its owner — a Paralympian who medaled at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics — for the extraordinary effort.
The crew was called out by Flair’s owner, Rosalie Fahey, to her Avoca property at around 11 pm on August 9.
Flair hadn’t come up for dinner with Rosalie’s other horses, and she immediately knew something wasn’t right.
“I usually feed the horses before dark but I’d been on a long phone call. I was getting concerned because I hadn’t seen Flair for quite a while. I finally got off the call, went outside and they all came up — except for Flair,” Rosalie said.
“I started searching across my 16 acres. I’m unwell and on crutches, I’m not even sure how I did it.
“I found Flair in the driveway, she had laid down next to a big ornamental rock dug deep into the ground by the previous property owners. She lay too close to it and it was wedged between her front and hind legs so she couldn’t grip the ground to get up, she was just hitting rock.
“She’s very well and fit, and horses can live into their 30s but she’s 29 now and has some arthritis in her legs.
“I think she’d be lying there for hours which is bad for any horse — her neck and belly were swollen, she was really distressed.”
Rosalie got on the phone to the Maryborough Veterinary Practice and the Maryborough SES branch asking for help to move Flair away from the rock and to her feet, and before long crew members arrived.
“It took hours to get her up, we were there until 2 am,” Rosalie said.
“We’d given up after a few hours. We’d gotten her sitting upright in a dog-like position but she was so tired she couldn’t make it up.
“The SES ended up putting bales of hay covered with horse rugs behind her the next time she tried to get up to support her.
“By then everyone said ‘she’s done, she can’t get up’ but I looked at her, and she looked at me, and I said ‘no, she’s got one more try left in her’.
“I knew even if we waited until morning to winch her up it’d be too late, she wouldn’t be able to stand by herself and she’d have to be put down.
“She finally gave one more push and was able to lean against the hay bales, and she got to her feet. She nearly went down again, her legs were so shakey and she was soaked in sweat. The joy we all felt was amazing.”
Flair and Rosalie are no ordinary horse and owner — Rosalie is a Paralympian who won Bronze competing in para-equestrian dressage at the Sydney 2000 Paralympics, among her many other achievements in the saddle, and Flair has been a vital part of her journey.
Flair herself featured on the front page of the Herald Sun back in 2000, and in a Channel Nine news report — none of which the SES crew knew, and Rosalie said she couldn’t praise them, and the local vet, highly enough for their willingness to help.
“The SES just amazed me. Those members didn’t have to help me — they didn’t know me or my horse, but this team of volunteers got out of bed and came out to help,” she said.
“I did think I was saying goodbye to Flair that night. I’ve had her since she was a baby, she’s very special.
“I can’t thank the SES enough. They even rang me afterwards and asked how Flair was.
“The local vet Dr Awa Luo was also amazing, she got there so quickly and stayed with us the whole time.”
