VETERINARY practices, horse ambulances and horsewatch groups from across Worcestershire have signed up to a new emergency services protocol that will help police and fire services aid seriously injured horses.

The British Horse Society has launched the initiative in the wake of the rising number of accidents across the country involving horses, which left many of them dying long and painful deaths.

The manual – which has been sent to all police and fire authorities and the Highways Agency – sets out a national standard with procedural guidelines for emergency services across the United Kingdom. The aim of the new code is to minimise delays in injured animals receiving veterinary care, to maximise the chances of a positive outcome for the animal and to ensure the safety of those involved.

Worcester vet David Denny is among those who have signed up to the scheme and he explained: “I think this is a good thing. Rescuing horses, in fact any large animal, requires specialist knowledge of the animal concerned. It is vital people with that knowledge are on the scene. Acting out of ignorance, although with the best motives, can sometimes make a situation worse.

“There is also the thorny problem of who pays. If the owner is on the scene and the horse is fully insured that might not be a problem, but if they’re not it it could be a different matter.”

To that end, an emergency services protocol fund has also been established to guarantee there is no delay in injured horses getting the urgent care they need when their owners can’t be traced.

The fund will also pay for rescue training and specialist lifting and rescue equipment for the emergency services.

The protocol sets out commonsense requirements for people attending injured horses, including knowledge of an animal’s flight zones – its personal space – the general behaviour pattern of horses, horse handling and restraint techniques.

It also lists means of sedation, basic rescue techniques and equipment that should be carried by the emergency services. These include rope halters, lunge lines, blindfolds and strop hobbles, rescue harnesses and even a shepherd’s crook or walking stick used as an extension of the arm when a panicked animal may be kicking.

The manual, to be handed out, describes the procedure for rescuing and releasing horses from vehicles and water, how to release a horse trapped in cattle grids, in vehicles and stable fires.

If a horse is reported to be injured an equine veterinary surgeon from the British Equine Veterinary association emergency services register must be summoned. They will stabilise an injured animal with immediate first aid or, if necessary, humanely destroy a severely injured animal.

A spokesman for the BHS said that horses can be very dangerous when panicked or stressed.

“Horses have a strong herd instinct and an unpredictable flight or fright reaction to unpleasant situations,” he said.

“The most placid horse can be very dangerous regardless of size or normal temperament. A horse or any individual can be unpredictable and potentially dangerous, not only to themselves but also to those endeavouring to rescue them.”

● Among the list of veterinary practices signed up to the scheme are Charnock Shepherd from Kidderminster, DJB Denny from Worcester, MacArthur Barstow and Gibbs from Droitwich and Teme Veterinary Practice from Tenbury Wells. Horse transport is provided by the horse ambulance service operated by PJ and KR Smith- Maxwell of Himbleton, near Droitwich.