I've rescued a sheep and a lambs on separate rides.
The sheep was trapped in a bog on a remote lane near Oban. It looked absolutely knackered and would probably have eventually just given up and died there. It looked too firmly trapped to do much for, but my friend was really upset by seeing it stuck in the quagmire up to its nose. She was all set to ride to every farm in the area until she found a farmer willing to come out and attempt a rescue.
I didn't hold out much hope, but decided to have a go. I managed to get close enough to it to get hold of its horns and pull and I'm talking a 100% effort from a 6'1" 14.5 stone man here. I though I might break its neck or pull its horns off. I almost put my back out doing it but I finally managed to drag it out onto dry land. It was too tired to stand up and I thought it was a goner, but then it spotted some delicious grass nearby and rolled its head to the side and began to eat it! We left it there to recover.
I've twice found lambs trapped between a wire fence and a damaged dry stone wall. Farmers had taken the cheaper option of erecting fences rather then repairing the walls, but that creates traps for small animals.
Each lamb had wandered down the gap between wall and fence and then couldn't figure out how to back up the way it had come came when the gap fizzled out. There wasn't enough room to turn round to see the way out.
Have you ever tried pushing a terrified lamb backwards in a confined space? The little darlings insist on trying to jump over your hands and go forwards! What's more, you tend to find a very agitated mother sheep butting you from behind for messing with her family ...
I don't know who was the most stupid - the lamb for getting trapped, the sheep for trying to stop me rescuing its lamb or me for trying to hold a sensible converstion with the pair of them about what I was trying to do for them!
