#154 - The Great, the OK and the Down Right Painful!

The Great:
This morning when I went out to catch Teddy to take him to the eventing clinic he was lying down in his paddock. I walked over to him and he let me lie down right beside him! I haven't been so happy about something in ages. It's the ultimate sign of trust as horses are flighty prey animals and to be lying down is when they are at their most vulnerable.  For Teddy to allow me to not only approach him but lay down beside him and be totally at ease demonstrates to me that he has complete trust in me that I wont harm him and that he wants to share his time and space with me. It was bloody fantastic!

The OK:
At the clinic he was great unloading and the calmest I've seen him among other horses. There were three other horses in the arena today and we all worked well together.  Teddy was still a bit too fast for the others but it was manageable. I felt I was maintaining my rhythm well and during the flat work his head tossing had eased during the trotting. Then when I was asking him to canter on a regular basis he started to stress out and really toss his head. It was at the end of the session so I was getting tired trying to work with him and keep my balance. Although, overall the session was a good one, I ended it feeling fairly frustrated. 

The Down Right Painful:
After the session I took Teddy back to the float to get his gear off so he could rest for the hour long break. I have now discovered I was about to learn one of the most fundamental but important lessons of my horsey life.

I tied Teddy to the outside of the float with his lead rope onto a double strand of hay twine and undid the throat strap of the bridle, all as I would normally do. Next I took the halter and put the head strap around his poll and fastened it. I was about to take the bridle off when I thought I was a bit too close to the float so instead of moving Teddy out of the way or walking around him to get to his other side I foolishly decided to step over the lead rope. This was a VERY VERY bad idea and one of the things you are taught not to do when you first start riding horses. As I was about to do it a voice inside me said not to but I ignored it! I put my foot over the lead rope and just as I was straddling it Teddy started to back up. I tried to stop him by grabbing hold of the lead rope quickly with one hand but this just spooked Teddy and he reared up! The lead rope was between my legs and he reared that high that he took me completely off the ground to about the height of the float wheel.

In a perfect world the hay twine the lead rope was tied to is supposed to break but it didn't. Teddy reared again and the lead rope lifted me off the ground again. The pain was so intense it was like being hit in the nose and my eyes started watering and all I could think of was what a fool-hearted idiot I was and how was I going to stop this? Teddy reared again and this time the pain and shock made me scream out. The hay twine still didn't break but the halter did! I fell to the side as Teddy got himself loose and I landed on my feet sideways, straight into the side of the float.

Teddy had managed to rip through a few millimetres of tightly webbed nylon strapping and four metal eye-hole ringlets on the halter to get himself free. In the process he also stepped on the reins and snapped the bridle. The pressure on his poll must have been terrible.

A number of people came running while I was hunched over with my groin singing in pain. If the rope had been an inch to the left I would have been torn in two! Thankfully it wasn't. I was trying to catch Teddy but was still hunched over and he just stood at the side of the float looking on like a sad pony. Kim and a number of other people help put the halter back on Teddy (there was still one ringlet left to use) and took off his saddle etc.

When those trying to help were asking me if I was ok I was in so much pain from my groin that I could hardly speak. Then when that pain started to ease I discovered my knee was starting to swell up and ache. As was my hip and elbow. I decided it wouldn't be wise to straddle a horse and get back in the saddle so I called it quits for the day. After watching another person have a lesson and collecting myself,  I headed off home. In the car my knee was bothering me more than anything and my old elbow injury started to get sore again. I guess I must have hit it on the float as well.  In the picture below you can see that there should be a kneecap there, but its so swollen you cant see it anymore. Also I am badly bruised in other places that I'm not photographing.

This accident was purely my fault. Not my horse, not the equipment, not anyone else there. It was TOTALLY MY FAULT! I knew I shouldn't step over the lead rope, that it was too close and that I should just go around. My mind even reminded me just as I was about to do it but I still ignored it. This could have been a lot worse and I'm grateful that it's not. It could have been a lot worse for Teddy too but he seems to be fine. If any horse people read this learn from my mistakes! Seriously! I'm having trouble sitting right now so it's just stupid not to take this and note the following lessons:

• ALWAYS use one strand of hay twine and don't loop it as it WONT BREAK!
• NEVER walk across a lead rope, even if it looks safe!
• WALK AROUND your horse and don't be impatient or lazy!
• LISTEN to your gut instincts, they aren't wrong!
• Do what your TEACHER TELLS YOU! They have good reasons for saying not to do certain things and can save you a lot of pain. They are at the place they are because they didn't do stupid things that could prevent them from ever getting in the saddle again.

So I will relax for the next few days as I know there is still a whole heap of bruising yet to surface, and on Wednesday I will be back at the eventing clinic.

... or maybe I should consider learning how to use a horse drawn wagon...