Horses rescued after ‘disappearing’ in quicksand on Welsh beach

Firefighters rescued two ponies after they became trapped in quicksand for over an hour during a seaside walk.

Owner Claire Healy was walking her two horses on Merthyr Mawr beach in Glamorgan, South Wales, when they ‘disappeared suddenly’.

She shared pictures showing her animals with mud up to their necks as she and a friend tried desperately to pull them out.

Ms Healy said she had ‘never been so scared’ and is issuing a warning to other horse riders.

On Facebook she wrote: ‘To all the horsey people on my Facebook, please take note.

‘On Merthyr Mawr today we hit sinking sand and nearly lost our horses, they were stuck there for well over an hour.

‘This was on a bridle path,please be careful.  Big shout out to everyone that helped and to the fire rescue ..never been so scared in all my life’.

Merthyr Mawr is a wide sandy beach with the second highest Dune system in Euorpe.

This makes it a popular destination for dog walkers and horse riders.

Quicksand happens when ordinary sand becomes so saturated with water that the friction between sand particles is reduced.

If you step in quicksand it won’t suck you down immediately but movement causes you to sink deeper into it.

Ms Healy said watching her animals sink further into the sand was like something ‘from a horror movie’.

The horses are now on their road to recovery but Ms Healy said she was feeling ‘sore’ from trying to rescue them herself.

After an hour of trying to rescue her horses herself, firefighters arrived and pulled the horses to safety on Saturday, November 30.