A woman comforts her horse before it is pulled clear of quicksand - with just minutes to spare before the tide floods in.
Nicole Graham and her daughter Paris, seven, were riding on the beach in Geelong, near Melbourne, when Astro sank to his belly in mud.
Before she could shout a warning, her daughter's horse was also partially swallowed up. She helped to free them but by the time she returned Astro was sinking fast.
"It was terrifying. It was also heartbreaking to see my horse exhausted and struggling. We went straight down and under. There was mud everywhere and every time I moved it sucked me back down. It wouldn't let us go."
For three hours, she clung to him, keeping his head out of the mud. Firemen tried to pull the 18-year-old horse free with hoses before a vet sedated him and pulled him out with a tractor.
She added: 'I've been riding here for 20 years. I didn't realise it was so boggy."
