The pale-faced yearling stood at the water’s edge where the rocks were dry, and watched as her little sister trampled unsuspectingly into the stream. She chuckled when the girl leapt backward onto dry ground, long black legs flailing comically, but when Adelheid snorted water into her own face, her laughter subsided. Her sister was so young and innocent, it made her heart hurt.

She pressed her white snout against the filly’s skinny neck reassuringly. “It’s okay. You just have to be slow and gentle and quiet. Water gets scared easily. Here, tilt your head like this.” Jetta demonstrated by holding her face horizontal above the stream as close as she could get, so that her dark mane trailed in its surface. “And listen.”

In the silence, there was only the sound of the water babbling across the smooth, round rocks. She met her sister’s gaze and held it, waiting for a tell-tale sign in Adelheid’s expression that she had heard the water spirits. It would not surprise her if her sister couldn’t hear them; it had taken her some time before her ears had become attuned to the water’s secret language. But the longer she stood there listening, the more Jetta realized she could not hear anything either. Standing straight, she shook her head and stared forlornly at her reflection. Water dripped from the tips of her mane and created ripples that distorted the image of her face.

“I think they are sleeping today. Oh well. We can still play.” Flashing a bright smile at her sister, Jetta leapt into the stream and sent a great, cascading splash into the air and all over them.

friesian mix; dark bay splash (ref); 1 yr; 16’1 wfg
(YET-uh)