Boots crunch through the leaves signaling the start of a new work day. Maria is the owner of New Day Ranch, a sanctuary for horses of all kinds. She wakes up every morning at the crack of dawn to care for the dozen or so horses that reside at the Ranch. It's almost winter and he wanted the horses to enjoy the time they had outside before it snowed. Maria opened the stables to let the horses out to pasture accompanied by her two dogs Max and Twilly. He pulled them by the bridle, two at a time, until the six sleeping inside were released into the fenced fields. Max and Twilly ran outside barking as they chased each other through the leaves. Maria walked lazily along the wooden fence until something strange caught her attention. At first he thought an entire section of the fence towards the far end was missing, but he knew that couldn't be the case. Slightly worried, she approached the gap and saw that one of the boards had been overturned. He picked it up, the wood soaking wet. Maria put the table back when she realized there was blood on it; his hands were covered in it. Fear looked around for his horses. In the fields there were two stallions, six mares, a colt and two colts. After doing the count, she realized that one of her mares, a Cleveland Bay named Aida, was missing. He climbed over the fixed fence and ran along the tree line, hoping Aida wouldn't get too far away. Having no luck, he whistled for his dogs to come and the two collies came running. With his dogs he traveled in the woods, Twilly walked further with his paws leaving perfect footprints in the mud. It was easy for them to run in the mud and jump over roots and branches, but for Maria it was a struggle. After several minutes... half the paper... move on. The mare's ears were flat against her head and she roared with aggression and fear as she tried to kick her way out. Chris stroked her neck to try to calm her. Trying again Maria pulled the rope and Chris tried to motivate her to come down. He managed to get both of her hind legs out by seeing a large scratch she had received from jumping the fence. "Come on girl." Chris coached and the mare, with a burst of energy, kicked free. The dogs barked and Maria did her best to lift the two out of the muck. They were both relieved to finally be able to free Aida. Chris gave the mare a carrot and helped Maria remove the mud from her. Maria later threw a blanket over the horse's back and they took her home. The two accompanied her to the stables, cleaned her up and repaired the cut on her leg, the frightened mare was now warm and safe from her horrible ordeal..