Voice the pony is now back home safe and sound.
A pony swept away in floodwaters 13 days ago has turned up caked in sand but otherwise healthy.
Voice, a 20-year-old thoroughbred mare, was caught up in one of the three storms that hit the North island two weeks ago.
Another pony it shares a paddock with in Clevedon, Auckland, was also swept downstream but rescued later that evening.
Liz Currie, who cares for the two horses, told Fairfax Voice was spotted walking down the road in Clevedon, metres from where it had been swept away.
"Where she came from, I have no idea, because we've scoured every part of that river over and over again.
"She's obviously been stuck on a bank somewhere because she was a real mess.
"I've given her a bath to try and get some of the mud and that off her, but it's all river sand."
But Currie said other than a few scratches, the pony has no injuries.
"[But] she is quite thin. She's obviously been somewhere with no food," she told Fairfax.
"She's certainly needing a bit of care now."
They were looking for him for 10 minutes – then someone saw something bright in the water.