Rain pounded the roof in relentless sheets, turning the paddocks into a patchwork of mud and shallow streams. The Lusitanos shifted uneasily in their stalls, hooves scraping against soaked straw, nostrils flaring at the sharp scent of wet earth.
Maravilha, a dapple-gray mare with wide, wary eyes, had climbed to the highest dry corner of her paddock, muscles taut, tail flicking with tension. Every instinct in her body screamed: *get away*.
Isa moved into the storm without hesitation. Boots sinking into mud, coat soaked through, she called softly in Portuguese, letting the familiar cadence of her voice reach the mare before her shadow did. “Easy… come this way…”
Maravilha snorted, backing against the fence. Lightning illuminated her flaring nostrils and quivering ears. Isa didn’t advance aggressively. She planted herself low and steady, mirroring the mare’s energy, a living anchor in the chaos.
The mare pawed the ground, slipping slightly in the waterlogged soil. Isa extended a hand, palm open, voice calm, heartbeat measured, letting Maravilha see a choice rather than a command.
Slowly, hesitantly, Maravilha stepped down from her perch, hooves sinking into the mud. Isa guided her along a narrow, safer path through the paddock, letting her lead the pace. Step by careful step, the mare began to relax, her breathing evening, muscles loosening.
By the time they reached the barn, rain soaking both of them, Isa’s hand still rested gently on Maravilha’s neck. The mare turned her dark eyes toward Isa, soft and attentive, a spark of recognition passing between them.
Outside, the storm raged, but inside that small circle of trust, the world had quieted.