AMOROUS Angelos the horse had to be rescued by a team of firefighters after he took an unsuccessful leap of faith over a gate in a desperate attempt to reach two mares.

The 13-year-old American Quarter gelding was left wedged on top of the now-dented metal gate at The Paddock in New Yatt following the incident on Saturday.

His owner Irina Juskajeva, 32, said it was "so lucky" her pedigree "star" horse was not impaled by the needle going into the gate.

Ms Juskajeva, who has owned Angelos for four years, said it was the lure of the two young mares that caused him to start showing off.

The mother, who originally comes from Russia, said: "The mares are his neighbours, so he jumped to get to them. But the mud stopped him – it's very sticky.

"It was so lucky he didn't jump on the needle or he would have opened his belly and died. And then I would have died as well. He is my baby. Every day I am with him."

Friend Pat Kelly, 64, also looks after her horse Twinkletoes at The Paddock, and visits most days from her home in Witney.

She said she couldn't sing the praises of the firefighters high enough.

Ms Kelly said: "Angelos likes his ladies. So he tried to jump over the gate.

"The firefighters were absolutely amazing. Everything they did was so controlled. They clipped the bars from the bottom up. Angelos had to be sedated though."

Crews were called at about 7pm and two fire engines arrived within 15 minutes.

A vet attended from Lower Slaughter's Bourton Vale Equine Clinic to make sure Angelos remained calm throughout the procedure and then animal rescue specialists from Kidlington worked on cutting the horse free.

Watch manager Gary Crone from Kidlington, one of the animal rescue team, said: "We have attended this type of incident before where a horse has become stuck, straddled over the gate.

"We have practised techniques for releasing a horse from just this type of situation and I'm very glad to say that with all the co-ordinated work between ourselves, the owner and the vet the horse was released quickly and unhurt."

But Ms Kelly said: "It's not an every day occurrence. I've been around horses for 50 years and I've never seen anything like this.

"It was an experience I'll never forget.

"He's walking around the field now, but it could have been such a nasty outcome. He's such a lovely big softy."

Since the accident, Ms Juskajeva, who lives on the site of The Paddock with 13-year-old daughter Anna, has been busy installing higher posts so Angelos will not be tempted to jump again.