Firefighters worked for several hours to rescue a horse stranded in Dalbeattie Burn.
Dime, a 14-year-old quarter horse, was eventually coaxed from the water and brought to safety on Monday night, to the delight of the owner Kirstin Miller, a vet, who lives in Castle Douglas.
It is thought it had jumped into the burn from the field it shared with three others sometime during the day, before swimming downstream and under a bridge which carries the Dalbeattie bypass.
But it wasn’t discovered to be missing until Kirstin went to feed her animals at night.
They have been kept in the same field for years but somehow Dime jumped into the burn where there are pools up to 10 feet deep.
Kirstin found the horse stranded in the middle of the watercourse and contacted the emergency services for help.
Firefighters from Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie along with specialist units from Dumfries and Newton Stewart managed to get the horse up the steep banking and walked it to safety.
They were up to chest deep in the water at some stages as they struggled to get a halter on the frightened horse.
Eventually Kirstin went in and with help of the firefighters managed to coax the horse up the steep banking.
“He’s been in the field for years and we’ve never had any trouble before. I’m just delighted to get her back.”
