Caught on Video: Horse Rescued After Bolting Into Santa Barbara Channel

The horse ran off and spent hours in the cold water before he was towed back to shore

William the Arabian horse was rescued about one mile out to sea Tuesday after he made a break for the ocean during a beach-side photo shoot.

The horse bolted for the ocean just as the sun was setting over Loon Point. Rescuers boarded small motorboats and an aerial unit was dispatched.

The Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol and other agencies responded to the wayward horse, and its rescue was captured video. After about 30 minutes, the team spotted what looked like just another sea bird -- until they noticed a nose and part of William's face.

"It was a real needle-in-a-haystack kind of find," Ryan Kelly, a Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol Officer, told MSNBC.com. "He looked like every other bird that was just sitting on the water."

A rescue team corralled the horse -- still wearing its saddle -- and brought it alongside their boat. William was towed back to shore after about two hours of thrashing and grunting in the water.

William was brought to a veterinarian's trailer, then transported to an equine center.

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