Police officers are trained to save lives and help victims - and in the case of one quick-thinking Whanganui police officer that includes those with four legs.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Rachel Willemsen was in her office working through some files last Wednesday when she got an unlikely call for help - there was a badly injured horse on the roadside in urgent need of medical attention.
Ms Willemsen said a friend had been following a vehicle towing a horse float along State Highway 3 into the city when she saw the horse inside become panicked and turn itself around in the float, straddling the centre partition, ripping open veins and causing life-threatening injuries.
With no time to waste she called Ms Willemsen, who with two colleagues sprang into action.
"I raced up the road to help, and sent a couple of the guys to help with traffic control. Luckily other motorists had managed to stop the driver. As I arrived at the front door of the float, I could see blood everywhere. The horse, a seven-year-old gelding called Hunter, was in a terrible state, and blood was pumping out freely.
