14 horses saved from stable fire

14 horses have been rescued after a fire broke out at a stable block in Cranleigh, Surrey last Saturday.

Firefighters were called to the blaze at Painshill Farm Stables — home to 30 Horse Riding Surrey horses — at 1am on 26 April.

The horses were in “close proximity” to a barn that burnt down, and were led out to the safety of a field and sand school. Horse Riding Surrey manager Alex Marsh, said that the horses were “shaken” by their ordeal but unharmed. The business continued with all booked rides over the weekend.

“We were lucky enough to service all our rides that day with horses which were not impacted by the fire,” said Alex.

Horses head out for exercise as planned the morning after the fire

Several vehicles — including a 17-tonne HGV and a 7.5-tonne horsebox — parked near the stable block were destroyed, as well as a barn containing tack, rugs and equipment, a toilet and washing machines.

“The damage runs into 10s of thousands of pounds,” said Alex, who now needs to raise funds to repair and replace equipment. “Only the lorries were insured.”

The cause of the fire is thought to have been an electrical fault in a caravan.

Visit www.horseridingsurrey.co.uk

Martha Terry

H&H features editor

Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.