Caught up.

When I was little, my mum used to tell me made up stories about two children called Peter and Betty who went to help the farmer, Mr Jones, with his sheep. In the winter there were tales of rescuing sheep stuck in the snow, and in spring of helping with lambing and bottle feeding the cade lambs. Once, Mr Jones had bad flu, and Peter and Betty had to feed the ewes and Jip the sheep dog.

Peter and Betty are now grown up, but they haven't forgotten all they learnt about sheep.
However mum never told this story of a sheep getting stuck in brambles.

When Betty was out for a walk one November morning, she came across a ewe completely entangled in a bramble patch. The ewe had obviously been there quite some time, because the ground had been scraped by her feet, where she had been struggling to free herself.
Her face was rubbed raw on one side, from her exertions and she was held fast, twisted half onto her back, exhausted.

When sheep get stuck on their backs, their bladder fills and the weight of the urine prevents them righting themselves. They can soon die, so it is essential to turn them over. Betty knew this and rushed to help the trapped ewe. (But not before she took a quick blip shot!!)

She was so weak that she didn't protest, and Betty set about pulling the long brambles from her fleece, ignoring the pain of her hands being torn by the sharp thorns. Eventually the ewe was freed and Betty pushed her over into an upright position. The ewe struggled to get up, but her back legs could not support her, and she lay dazed and in shock.

Betty got out her mobile phone and called Mr Jones, the farmer, who said he would be over shortly to collect her in his pick-up truck at take her back to the barn, to warm her up and give her a drink and some food.

Whether she will make it or not, I don't know, she was in a terrible state, covered in her own droppings and still in shock. Sheep have a horrible habit of just giving up and dying.

Fingers crossed.