The herd of horses was stranded by rising water in fields next to the River Chelmer, in Chelmsford, Essex.
A team of firefighters and and RSPCA inspector managed to round up five of the horses and move them to safety on Friday 31st January and on Saturday 1st February a specialist water rescue team from the RSPCA returned to save the remaining three.
Inspector Nicky Thorne said the six-strong RSPCA team donned dry suits and waded into the flood water to carefully rounded up the horses using rope lines. They ushered the horses through the thigh-deep water and into a corral where their owner was able to load them into a horse box.
Inspector Thorne said: “The rescue went very smoothly indeed. The team worked very carefully and slowly to move the horses. In one place the horses had to go through a ditch where the water was deeper and they had to swim a few steps but despite being a bit wet they were none the worse for their experience.
“The horses were next to a shopping centre, a pub and a road so we had quite a few people watching.”
