Tuesday 24 May 2016

Be Safe

Learn from my stupidity, or at least let it serve as a friendly reminder to always wear your safety gear. We're both fine, but we're pretty lucky, I think.

The other day, Midge and I were having a really nice ride. I had wanted to practice my dressage tests for the upcoming show, so we ran through those a couple of times.We played with a few transitions. She was going super well but then during a walk to canter transition the wheels totally fell off,  as evidenced by the fact that she pretty much immediately lost her balance. I lost mine as well, and fell to the side, but did not let go of the reins, essentially directing her fall right on top of me.

What a lovely feeling to be laying flat on your back watching your horse coming down on top of you! The actual impact wasn't as bad as expected as she kind of fell and rolled up on me, and the sand was soft. She was super careful about getting up, and only lightly caught me with a hind hoof before realizing I wasn't solid ground and standing on two legs so I could get out from under her. Worth her weight in gold, this pony.

Today, I'm still super sore, all the way from my ankles to my collarbone. Getting steamrolled by a 900lb pony will do that I guess. I feel absolutely horrible for my part in the drama, maybe she wouldn't have fallen at all if I had ridden it better? Or maybe I would have ended up going down with the ship...who knows? Maybe I was putting too much pressure on her? Maybe she just made a super bad decision? I have no witnesses so can't really say exactly what happened, it felt like her front end came up and her back end sort of slid under her.

So, let this serve as your friendly reminder to wear your safety gear and have a plan in case of emergency. You can be 'just' doing dressage on a nice day in a flat arena on the quietest horse in the barn and everything can still change in a second. I'm wishing I wore my vest, but super glad I had a helmet on because my head is what got the accidental hoof.









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27 comments

  1. So glad you're okay! That's scary and also reinforces my already strong instinct of safety before fashion when it comes to horses!

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    1. Absolutely! I'd rather be safe and in the saddle than fashionable in the hospital ;)

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  2. oh man, that's horrifying!! so glad you're ok!!! it's crazy when these big horses just... fall down.

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  3. Oh, that's frightening! I'm happy that you are safe.

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  4. Replies
    1. Happened so quickly it was actually more just kinda weird...then scary after the fact!

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  5. Ouch :( Glad it wasnt any worse than that. Hope you have a quick healing xx

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  6. Ahhhh! So glad you and her are ok! So unpredictable.

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  7. Oh boy! It is great that she took care of you getting up, some horses don't. Hope you feel better.

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    1. I'm super grateful she was so careful!

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  8. So glad everyone is ok!! What a scary thing to have happen :( I hope you're feeling better very, very soon.

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  9. Oh my god! I am SO glad you are okay.

    Thank goodness your pony is a saintly creature and made sure to not crumple you! Please take it easy for a few days and allow yourself to rest - and give that amazing pony some treats!

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    1. She's always getting stuffed with treats - she's just so cute I can't resist ;)

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  10. So scary!
    I am so glad to hear you are both ok and wish you a speedy recovery!

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  11. Oh my gosh -- I am SO glad you are both going to be okay. Sending healing vibes your way!!

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  12. That is VERY scary and I am so glad you are OK!!

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    1. Such a weird thing to happen, and thank you :)

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  13. I am so glad you are okay! I hope Midge is feeling all right too. That sounds like a really strange (and probably somewhat surreal) experience.

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    1. We both kind of got up with the same look on our faces - like "did that seriously just happen!??"

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  14. Glad to hear you are okay! Don't be too hard on yourself, it could have been anything. Could be she stepped in a low spot, or the footing was a little slick there, or she could have just tripped over her own feet. I have had that happen a time or two, but thankfully never actually fell.

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  15. I'm glad that you weren't badly hurt!

    (My blog URL has changed to myhorsenextdoor.blogspot.com. To continue reading my posts, please update me in your links!)

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  16. I've had a similar experience. So glad you're ok.

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