The dramatic rescue of a middle-aged man from drowning in a river by three men and a horse has captivated the hearts of numerous netizens and led to his saviors being honored by officials in Hubei province.

Tuesday started as an ordinary day for Erbay Dosbag and his friend Su Shaogao, who operate an equestrian club in Xiantao, Hubei. They were riding along the banks of the Hanjiang River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, when they heard a splash.

Su saw a person falling into the water. "As I ran over, a young woman was about to jump in, shouting for her dad's rescue," Su said. "After I stopped her, Erbay also heard the cries."

Erbay was saddling his white horse when he decided to act. He mounted the horse without properly fastening the saddle and rode into the river to reach the struggling middle-aged man, who was at risk of being swept away.

"I thought riding a horse would be faster," Erbay said.

After running through the water for about 3 meters, the horse began to swim. About 40 meters later, Erbay reached the man, grabbed his clothes and started to drag him to shore.

At the same time, Liu Hangzhou, a 57-year-old winter swimming amateur and military veteran, swam to assist from behind, helping to push the man toward safety.

"We know how deep, cold and turbulent the river is. It's lucky that we managed to save him," Su said.

Their heroic act won widespread applause on social media. One commenter wrote, "Both the men and the horse are true heroes."

Others compared the scene to a martial arts novel, with one calling Erbay "Xiantao Zhao Zilong" after the legendary Three Kingdoms (220-280) general Zhao Zilong, who was known for his white horse.

Erbay, 39, is from the Ili Kazak autonomous prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and has been taming horses since he was 6. His horse, named White Dragon, is 7 years old.

"White Dragon is smart. If I whip, it knows it should dive into the water. When it saw me grabbing someone, it voluntarily turned around and swam back," Erbay said. "But it has a bad temper. Almost no one except Su and I can ride it."

He acknowledged the risk they faced: "If water entered the horse's lungs, it could have died. But there was no time to consider that."

After reaching shore, Erbay first wiped down White Dragon before changing his own clothes. At 3 am on Wednesday, he checked on the horse and found it restless. A thermometer showed a fever of 40 C, significantly higher than a horse's normal body temperature of around 37 C.

He administered medication, and later that day, staff from the Xiantao animal husbandry bureau provided intravenous fluids. White Dragon is now showing signs of recovery.

On Thursday, local authorities honored Erbay, Su and Liu with the title of "righteous and brave "citizens. Officials also held a special ceremony for White Dragon, adorning its head with a red flower and offering fresh corn and grass in appreciation for its role in the rescue.

chenmeiling@chinadaily.com.cn