The chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) has stated in the Journal of Psychopharmacology that taking ecstasy is no more dangerous than horse riding.

Professor Nutt said that horse riding accounts for over 100 deaths per year whereas ecstasy is associated with 30 deaths per year. His point is to raise the question of why society tolerates some types of potential harmful behavior but not others.

Nutt states:

“Drug harm can be equal to harms in other parts of life. There is not much difference between horse-riding and ecstasy.”

It is likely that next week the ACMD will recommend that ecstasy is downgraded from a class A to a class B drug though ministers are opposed to this.

A Walking horse had to be rescued from a frozen pond in Kentucky after it fell through the ice. It took 40 firefighters an hour and a half in sub zero temperatures to rescue ‘Pencil’ from the four foot deep water.

The Northern Kentucky Horse Network which consists of local horse owners also assisted at the scene.

Pencils owner, Doug Oldiges believes that the horse had gone into the pond to look for water as the heater on his trough had stopped working.

After he was rescued Pencil was kept in the sun and friends of the owner dried him off and covered him in blankets to keep him warm.

A vet is keeping an eye on him to make sure he has no lasting effects from his adventure.

The Times of India has reported that a factory located in Chatai Mohala has allegedly been mixing horse manure with coriander so they can sell it as a spice.

Police in Rajasthan have raided several food manufacturers premises and found the adulterated coriander along with other fake spices.

Crop waste, chemicals and hazardous colouring agents are some of the other substances discovered in seized products.

In another raid in Mali Mohalla of Narsimhapura of Shubham Masal Udyog police seized 150 bags of fake spices. Several bags of horse dung were also found.

It is thought that some of the spices may have been exported for use in other countries.

A horse which was one of three that had escaped from a farm near Bolden, South Tyneside gave movie goers a shock when it burst into the lobby of a local cinema complex.

An eyewitness said that the horse had been wandering around outside the cinema but a little girl blew a raspberry at the horse which frightened it and it ran inside as the automatic doors opened.

The horse was captured quickly and no one was hurt though it caused some surprise amongst cinema customers.

The drama was caught on CCTV and was uploaded to You Tube but has since been removed.

A spokesman said

“ It’s certainly the first time I have heard of this happening and I have worked in cinemas for six years”

An eight year old pony was rescued from a well in a three hour operation today.

The pony called ‘Steffi’ had gone missing from its field last Saturday and was eventually found by a dog walker.

The 10 foot hole which was located in the pony’s own field was partially covered by plants. It’s thought that heavy rains had uncovered the entrance.

Staff at the stable yard had spent all day Saturday, Sunday and Monday looking for Steffi and had no idea that she was still in the same field as she was nowhere to be seen.

The pony was sedated by a vet then lifted out by firemen using a harness. Steffi appears to have escaped serious injury but is a little stiff due to being stuck down the well for so long.