I figured everyone could use a quick break from all the buzz about the election and the scandals. I saw a picture of these poor horses in the newspaper this morning so I had to find out what happened to them. Good news! All but 19 (which had already drowned) have been rescued. Sounds like their owner is in trouble, too.
Relief in Netherlands as horses led from watery trapIn a drama that transfixed the Netherlands, four women on horseback led about 100 horses to safety on Friday from a flood-washed temporary islet where they were stranded for three days.
Nineteen horses had drowned or died of exposure since Tuesday night, when a storm surge pushed sea water into an area outside the dikes of Marrum, northeast of Amsterdam. The horses took refuge on a muddy mound surrounded by water.
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The horses' predicament riveted the country, where television and newspapers carried dramatic photographs and footage of the horses bunched together, their backs to the wind that whipped up small waves around the island.
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The Dutch army tried to rescue the animals Wednesday afternoon, but called off the operation when water levels receded to less than a metre in some places, grounding pontoon boats.
Read more:
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/11/03/horses-dutch.html?ref=rss