(Vicki Kaighin via SWNS)

By Jack Fifield

A pony that slipped and fell before landing upside down in a ditch had to be sedated and rescued with a telehandler.

Photos show Blackberry the pony, aged 12, being lifted out of a ditch by firefighters on a farm in Baldrine, Isle of Man, on Tuesday, Sept. 9.

The entrapped equine had to be sedated by a local vet, while firefighters borrowed a large telehandler from a local farmer – a cross between a crane and a forklift – to lift the animal out of the ditch.

Showjumping coach Michelle Hargreaves, 67, said it was the first time any incident had happened on her land, where she owns 25 horses, including Blackberry.

Michelle said: “I’ve been involved with horses all my life, and my mother before that.

“The land has been grazed for the last 75

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