Firefighters from the green, red and white watch at Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue attended CWA Cambridge to boost their skills in horse handling and wrangling. The visitors attended on three separate days and most had little knowledge on horses. They first learnt about basic horse behaviour before moving on to some simple handling techniques that are convenient to know if faced with large animals such as horses on call-outs. The group also learnt techniques in putting on a head collar, leading in hand, tying with quick release knots and making an emergency rope halter from the 'personal lines' that they all carry as part of their service uniform. They were also shown how to move a heard and catch up loose horses that have escaped. Nikki Bentley, from the equine team at CWA, said: “Some of the group were a bit fearful of the horses to start with, which shows just how vital this training is to the fire and rescue team. Now, if the watch are faced with horses on a callout, they will have a much better idea of how to get the situation under control whilst keeping the animals as calm as possible.”