Fitzcoraldo’s account mentions the classic motif that once the man had crossed ‘the first beck’ and put moving water between himself and the hobs, he was safe. Grinsell notes a version of the story, which was told to Raymond Hayes by a local in 1938. The important point here is that the beck was specifically named as the Gypsey Race. Rather grossly, when the man got there the fairies were just catching up with him, and they cut off the back half of the horse, which hadn’t quite crossed the stream. He escaped clinging to the forequarters, which managed to struggle ashore!
The Gypsey Race is right by Willy Howe, so our hero didn’t have far to go, luckily!