When Liz Hall saw a photo of three horses waist-deep in floodwaters, covered in heavy rugs and trapped by fencing on Friday, she asked Facebook, "How on Earth is this OK?"
Then she knew she needed to act.
The horses were on a property in Millers Forest in the Hunter Valley region of NSW — an area where Ms Hall used to live.
Four floods have hit the area since 2015, and the recent heavy rains have put many properties under water again.
"I've had a lot of experience sadly in evacuating horses in flood situations," Ms Hall said.
She was heartbroken to see the photo of the horses huddled together in the water.
"Floodwater is incredibly cold. It's freezing. And the amount of germs and infections and pathogens that are in the water are extremely dangerous to horses."
What came next was a 24-hour rescue mission.
"I just got on the phone straight away and started messaging people, put up a post and just really went from there," Ms Hall said.
She posted on Facebook asking for volunteers who could swim through the cold, dirty water and lead the horses out to waiting horse trailers.
She immediately received a massive response from friends and old neighbours.
"It absolutely went insane," she said.
Ms Hall moved out of Millers Forest around one year ago, but is very familiar with the topography of the area, meaning she was in the perfect position to coordinate the rescue, while her friends acted on the ground.
'Distraught owners in a chaotic mess'
When locals arrived on Friday night to find the horses, they realised there were far more than three. But it was too dark and the water too deep to ascertain how many.
Ms Hall posted on Facebook, "The temperature of the water coupled with the sheer volume and speed of the flood water is making rescue impossible at this point...
"Raymond Terrace Road is filled with distraught owners in a chaotic mess."
She told NewsRadio she "felt sick".
"Being dark and having horses who don't know these particular humans approaching them, [the horses] were scared, they were frightened."
She said many people involved with the rescue undertook huge risks.
"Considering a lot of the farming fencing out there was barbed wire, there was a huge risk for shredded legs and injury to humans."
'There were a lot of tears'
At 8am on Saturday morning, in the daylight, at least seven boats, both emergency and civilian-owned, entered the property and 25 horses were rescued.
Ms Hall came to help, and when she saw the large group of people leading the horses towards higher ground, she was taken aback.
"The moment that they rounded the corner and we saw all of the hi-vis gear, and all of the people just powering through the water — because the flood water was still running…
"I was just absolutely frozen to the spot to be honest. Our hearts were pumping, there were a lot of tears.
"It was absolutely not the outcome that we thought was going to happen the night before."
Another three miniature ponies were on the property, but they were too small to swim.
After another cold night in the water, emergency services finally found a way to get them out.
The ponies were sedated. One was picked up by an excavator, and the other two were put onto a very high "flat bed truck" and driven out.
'It was amazing'
The horses were later taken to the vet since they could get sick from infections, injuries and the freezing water.
Ms Hall's friends have set up a GoFundMe page for the vet expenses, while Morpeth Veterinary Hospital has offered supplies to owners struggling to look after the horses financially.
"Once you have a sick horse, it becomes expensive."
Ms Hall thanked staff at the emergency service for their support and assistance during the rescue.
"During the rescue, you could see the teamwork and the respect they had for each other. It just worked perfectly. It was amazing."
