A BID to put a horse who has given hours of pleasure to disabled carriage drivers to sleep, after she became unsafe to drive, have been put on hold since volunteers launched a petition to save the mare’s life.

Perrine has been a carriage horse with the Kennet Valley Driving Group of the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) for over ten years. Fears over her safety were raised when she bolted and ran away while out on a drive with a disabled person.

After volunteer carriage driver Anona Fenwick Payne began the petition, claiming the incident was down to human error and was not the horse’s fault, the RDA have suspended the plan.

The petition has 2,590 signatures, and wellwishers have also found a home for Perrine at an animal sanctuary.

RDA has now confirmed Perrine will not be put to sleep until further consultation takes place with trustees.

Caroline Ward, of RDA, said: “Considering whether to put down any horse, especially one in sound physical condition, is upsetting and highly emotive for everyone concerned.

“Perrine will never be safe for use. This places an enormous moral and legal responsibility on the trustees in deciding whether they can knowingly pass on this risk. The decision to euthanise Perrine was made in a thoughtful, considered manner, having taken advice from a range of experts both connected with and independent from the group.

“However, since coming to this conclusion, it has become clear that the strength of feeling among the trustees and the wider community is such that further consideration is necessary.

“No action will be taken in the immediate term.”

Mrs Fenwick Payne, of Box, has been volunteering with the group as a carriage driver for two years but has known Perrine for six. She said: “I started the petition out of desperation.

“I am begging the trustees to re-think their plans and I would like to see another resolution. Perrine is not the dangerous horse she was made out to be.”

Visit the petition here.