steve spowart helped the horses ' owner , sonia sharrock , to lead the animals to safety near dungog , a small town in the nsw hunter valley region .
mr spowart , in a black wetsuit , paddled out on his surfboard to where the horses were stranded , past trees , bushes and fences submerged in the floodwater .
the brown horse reared up after becoming caught in barbed wire , splashing and throwing the man back into the storm water .