Well, I had my first official "almost fall" this week. Very scary. We were riding the usual route and while Missy still had a tender foot, it didn't seem to be bothering her that much--only the few times we were on gravel--and none of the horses like gravel, so it wasn't a huge deal. On the soft grass she was fine. So last week I think she had a sore shoulder due to arthritis. I heard that shoulder do some creaking this week. But they said they treated her with something (bute?) and she was better. So I wasn't expecting problems. She was a little clumiser than normal I though, but I found out later why that was. Apparently, it's a very wet area where they live. We have had no rain or precipitation of any kind here, but an hour North, it's apparently been different? Plus they live in a marshy area. It was muddy and I didn't know. It's wet under the dry, brown grasses--but with the vegetation pretty thick and looking undisturned there is no obvious mud. But the ground was soft that day and I know now THAT'S why Missy seemed like she was tripping a lot--the ground was just soft and unstable. And we were cantering--almost at a gallop and, yes, you guessed it, she slipped--sideways down a little slope. She made this sideways snake movement--at the run--and I lost my stirrup and my seat. I was hanging off one side a bit and she immediately slowed to a walk, but wouldn't stop because I was hanging on the reins and she was twirling a bit b/c of that--and the other horse was WAY ahead and she doesn't like to get left behind. WIth a herculean effort and a wrench to my hip and knee, and a bit of hauling on Missy's mouth--thank god she's forgiving and easy going--I got back in the saddle--heart pounding, hip screaming. I re-grouped and we took it slow for the next 10 minutes. I wanted to make sure Missy was ok--I wasn't sure at the time what had happened (didn't realize how muddy it was until we were back). I thought her leg had buckled or something. She seemed to be ok, we trotted and slowed and she was ok, we did it some more and she was fine and then she wanted to GO, so we did a slow canter and she was fine.
It took a LOT of courage for me to canter again after that. If I had been out alone, I probably wouldn't have had the guts to do it. But when you're with a 14 yo who's fearless and wants to GO as bad as the horses (we were on the way home) the peer pressure pushes you a bit. This is usually a good thing for me. It allowed me to get out of my head and just do it. We cantered and galloped more on the way back and it was fine--although I did only do it in the places I knew were really safe and flat ground that I could see. All was fine. When we got back I cleaned Missy's feet and saw all the wet mud in there and realized what had happened--and why she seemed so clutzy. Will be more aware of the ground situation next time. Sheesh.
When I got in the car that day to go home I was on an adrenaline high from the excitement and coming down off the fear of almost falling and the exhilaration of NOT and of being proud of myself for carrying on and getting past it. I was afraid I would be scared to canter again on this horse--but now I feel ok. Just maybe a little more cautious. LOL
It was a weird day all around that day too. At the start, part of the tack was missing and the daughter didn't know where it was and Mom wasn't home at the time. When we finally got ahold of her on the phone she said we could this other saddle on Missy. Ok, it seemed to fit ok, but I felt like she wasn't as much at ease. This is the saddle of a thinner horse and I think it might have been pinching a bit.
So, the daughter rode a different horse--she wanted to try a horse she hadn't taken out on the road for a few years--a horse she rode on the farm and loved. So we did that. This horse went batpoop crazy when the first truck passed us--about a minute down the road. Then another passed. Then every car was a problem. We only got about 20 yeard from the driveway and it was very dicey for a few minutes getting that horse under control. She was twirling and bucking and kept charging me and Missy--I was trying to get out of the way and get down in the ditch, but the other horse was all over the place and there was no predicting where she would go next. Her rider got her stopped still finally--on the neighbor's lawn (ouch) and we went back the farm--I gave them a WIDE berth, as the horse continued in a straight line toward home, but was bucking the whole time. So then, her Mom had come home, she explained what happened and went to get her other normal horse she rode. Well, that horses's saddle was on Missy--so we had to find a saddle to fit her. It all took forever. LOL I just kep riding in the arena most of the time and practicing turns and posting and legwork. It was all good, but boy, I wish they would keep better track of their tack! Nobody had still found the stirrups and stuff missing from my normal saddle when we left.
