CARPINTERIA  (AP) — Maybe he should be named Bob.

An Arabian horse named William got spooked during a California beachside photo shoot Tuesday and swam a mile out to sea before rescuers got to him and helped him back to shore.

Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Capt. Jay Irwin said that the horse's white head looked like a seagull bobbing in the water.

Owner Mindy Peters says the 6-year-old Arabian, whose official name is Heir of Temptation, was part of a photo clinic on the beach when it was spooked by waves and ran off.

Rescue swimmers assisted by the Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol and state parks employees found the horse a mile offshore as darkness fell.