A video shows the chilling moments before a three-year-old was left 'unresponsive' after being kicked in the head by a horse.
The little girl, named Olivia, was being filmed in a field by her mum Haley Wilkey when a seemingly calm wild horse appeared in view.
But the clip was actually taken just moments before the girl was brutally injured in the head.
The American family were in a Nevada meadow at the time, and Haley can be heard asking her little girl 'what is it?' as the three-year-old pointed to the horse.
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Haley later told Fox 5 Vegas that she stopped recording when her son approached, and she had to slow him down in order to avoid freaking the horse out.
But it seems her attempts were not successful.
In the split seconds she had looked away, the horse had powerfully kicked her three-year-old in the head, leaving her 'unresponsive' on the floor.
Despite not seeing the horse kick her daughter, her older sister had watched the traumatic injury unfold.
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"Instantly I saw her head was opened," Haley recounted. "I thought she had died because she was unresponsive."
A stranger who happened to be passing by became their saviour.
Hayley continued: "He had a first aid kit. He gave me gauze, and helped me put pressure on her head until the bleeding slowed a little.
"If we let up a little bit of pressure, it would just start flowing again."
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They had no service to ring for emergency aid, so the little girl's dad had to drive 45 minutes down a mountain to call for help.
The mum added: "It was like, I think, almost 45 minutes of holding her head shut waiting for the ambulance to come."
When help finally arrived, Olivia was airlifted to Las Vegas hospital, where she underwent an intense three-hour surgery to repair her skull.
She suffered a severe skull fracture and bleeding in her brain, as well as a contusion on her brain and a severe concussion.
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According to a GoFundMe page set up by the Wilkeys, Olivia was released from the hospital and is at home doing well.
Follow-up scans have shown that there are no brain injuries from the attack, and her family have reported she is sitting up and playing like she used to.
They are eternally grateful to the stranger who happened to save their daughters life.
Austin, Olivia's dad, said: "I wish I got his phone number. I actually hugged him. I said thank you so much, you saved my daughter."
Mia Williams