sonia sharrock 's stud farm near maitland , in the hunter region of new south wales , was badly flooded .
the water rose rapidly and the horses became tangled in barbed wire when the could n't see the fences .
her brother-in-law steve spowart decided to paddle out on his surfboard to rescue them .
he plunged down into the freezing flood water to cut them free from the barbed wire .
it took six hours in total to bring the horses up to the safety of ms sharrock 's hilltop garden .
maitland was one of the areas hardest hit in the state by what 's being called the storm of the decade .