YOU can lead horses to water and make them drink - but you might not be able to get them out again.

Multiple fire crews were called out after a pair of equines found themselves ‘bemused’ and stranded in the River Rothay at Ambleside.

Fortunately, the pair were rescued and suffered no injuries from their ordeal.

Jamie Coward, Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) station manager, said the horses wandered out of their paddock, possibly for a drink, last Thursday and ended up half-a-mile downriver; adjacent to Under Loughrigg on the outskirts of Ambleside.

“They were in the water a bit sort of bemused because they didn’t really know where they were,” said Mr Coward.

“They wandered downstream and couldn’t get out because of the banks.

“They’d probably just wandered down for a drink and kept walking.”

Three crews - from Kendal, Windermere and Penrith - attended to ensure the rescue was carried out safely.

The Kendal crew went into the water with the horses while the others were stationed up and downriver to warn of approaching debris and erect an inflatable ‘boom’ for firefighters to grab on to if they were swept away.

“The river, even though it wasn’t that deep, still presented difficulties to our crews,” said Mr Coward.

“So we would always recommend people call out the emergency services if animals get into difficulties rather than try to undertake rescues themselves.

“People can get swept away in very low levels - it’s unpredictable.

"We have a wading pole which we push in front of us when we are walking through the water to ensure we get secure footing."

Halters (straps or ropes that are attached around the heads of animals) were used following consultation with the horses’ owner. The animals were then led upriver and back to their paddock.

A spokeswoman for Cumbria Constabulary said: “Officers were called at 3.28pm on July 30 to the report of two horses getting stuck in the River Rothay in Ambleside.

“The fire service attended and swiftly helped the horses out of the river.”

CFRS has been no stranger to animal rescues this year. In April, crews rescued a stag that had become trapped in football netting, also at Ambleside. And last month a cow was successfully extricated from marshland following a four-hour rescue at Meathop Moss, Witherslack.

CFRS station manager Roger Exley posted an image of the horse rescue to Twitter to ‘highlight some of the different work our firefighters across Cumbria are involved in.'