Woman 'loves' new horse rescued from motorway

A yard owner who helped rescue a horse after it was spotted running across two motorways says "everyone has fallen in love with him".

The loose horse was found by Jade Plummer, who works at Blossom Hill Equestrian centre near Gloucester, on the M32 in Bristol at about 20:00 BST on Thursday.

After seeing the horse, she manoeuvred her car to block traffic from potentially hitting the animal.

Ms Plummer said: "We didn't really think at the time. We just did it because we didn't want the horse to get hurt or people to get hurt."

Ms Plummer said the "worst bit" was when the horse reached the M4 slip road, where cars were travelling fast.

"I had to use my car to get him up and down on to the hard shoulder, that was probably the worst part of it," she said.

Avon and Somerset Police arrived and closed the road so the animal could be captured safely, and Ms Plummer agreed to take care of the horse, who she has now called Dash.

It is still unclear where Dash came from or how he managed to reach the M32.

Since taking him in, a vet has said Dash is four years old.

She said: "But if you were to look at him you would think he is 18 months old. He's quite skinny, you can see his hip bones and you can feel all his ribs."

She added Dash is "a lot brighter in himself" but "he's still got a long way to go".

"At the minute, he won't drink water," she said.

"We're having to feed him certain feeds which are quite hydrating to get as much water into him as possible.

"We're having to syringe water into him regularly to keep him as hydrated as possible."

She added: "He will be a permanent addition. Everyone on the yard has fallen in love with him, he's only been there for a couple of days."

Dash is now in need of vet treatment as he as a range of medical needs such as skin tumours, and Ms Plummer has set up a crowdfunder. It has so far raised more than £1,100.

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