In an Instant.....

This past weekend, My Husband and I attended a wedding in Montreal.  It was a lovely affair, with about 250 people in attendance.  We were booked into a chic hotel about 5 minutes away from the event.  There was a cocktail party prior to the 6:00 p.m. ceremony and a dinner/dance after.  Very civilized!  :-)  The food was fabulous, our table companions were fun and the band was awesome.  It was great.

I bruise fairly easily.  On top of that, I have a high pain threshold.  Not a good combo, actually, because when I knock myself about I REALLY knock myself which results in big bruises and lumps.  Sigh.  So, after a couple of bad bruises on my forearm and the top of my hand (WTH??) a couple of weeks ago, I decided to be careful when I was around the barn and out on the trails.  I didn't want to look like I had just gone 9 rounds when I was at the wedding.   :-) 

The day before the wedding, DH's Mom and I decided to take advantage of the 21C temperatures and bathe our horses for what would probably be the last time before Spring. The wash station is located outside in the "yard" that separates the house and the two barns.  She bathed her horse first, while I kept her company and then she helped me bathe Gem.  

Squeaky clean!!

While Gem was in the cross-ties being soaped up, a horse trailer was backed up right behind him and parked.  Then the father of one of the boarders drove his truck through the yard.  Gem didn't bat an eye as these vehicles came within a few feet of his butt.  Good boy.  A few of the younger riders were sitting around a phone squealing while watching something.  Two other horses were lined up, waiting their turn to be bathed.  The yard was a busy place!   After his bath, I walked Gem across the yard next to the house and let him graze in the sun, just to dry him off a bit before he went back to his stall.  He was a horse on a mission to eat every blade of green grass, head down facing the house.  I, on the other hand, was standing next to his head facing the opposite way with the sun on my back, relaxed enough that my eyes were glazed over.  :-)

The next thing I knew I was flat out on the ground with people gathering around asking if I was OK!  To be honest, I was dazed and a little unfocused.  As I struggled to sit up, my immediate concern was Gem but I realized that he was now standing next to me on the other side. My second thought was how many friggin bruises I was going to have!  Darn!!   After a minute, DH's Mom and someone else helped me stand.  I did a quick check.  My jaw was sore, I had a cut from a tooth on the inside of my right cheek, my cheekbone and brow bone hurt, I had the beginning of a bump on the middle of my forehead, my neck had a kink and my sciatica was coming into play.  WTH??!!!  Was I unknowingly in the path of a truck or trailer and got hit?? 

DH's Mom saw what happened as she was walking towards me to chat.  The father of the boarder unloaded a lawn mower from his truck and decided to start it up to see if it still worked....right next to Gem's head.  1300 lbs. of horse spooked and jumped to the side, hitting me jaw to jaw and knocking me down.  What idiot starts a machine next to a grazing horse???  Apparently, this arrogant bastage does.  He didn't even apologize.

People volunteered to drive me home, but by this time I was a bit embarrassed and really sore and just wanted to get the heck out of there.  I drove myself home and after taking Advil, I stretched out on the couch with an ice pack for my face and a heat pack for my back.  I was not missing this wedding!!!  :-)   I had some time to think about the incident and I sort of laughed to myself about being so careful to avoid bruises and then to have this happen.   

Then anger set in.  How could a man who is around the barn all the time think that starting a lawn mower next to a horse is OK??  To let go of my anger, I tried to focus on the positives.  Yes, there are positives.....it could have been a whole lot worse: 

• Gem is not a lunatic kind of horse; his spook was just a couple of big side steps and not the snorting-and-running-around-the-yard kind of spook that could have potentially caused injuries to the other horses and people in the yard.

• I was standing sideways beside Gem, shoulder to shoulder; if I had been turned facing his shoulder, his head connecting with my face would have broken my nose, no question. 

• I was standing close enough to Gem that when he swung into me he did not have his full body momentum behind the step, so the hit wasn't as forceful as it could have been.

• Gem did not trample or kick me.

• Other than the bump and bruise on my forehead, I didn't have a visible mark on me.  :-)

I have been in worse pain from falls off of Gem while riding.  But this incident shook me because it happened while I was on the ground.  Other than getting stepped on or shoved or even bitten, I hadn't really considered being injured by a horse while on the ground.  When you are around horses, things can change in an instant and you must be prepared to react or be proactive in avoiding dangerous situations.  True, you can't predict idiocy.  And, the reality of it was I couldn't see this guy unload the mower or him starting it because Gem's body blocked my view.  But, perhaps if I hadn't been so relaxed that I was "glazed' over, if I had been more in tune with what was going on around me, I would have heard him and investigated??


The drive to Montreal the next day was a bit of a challenge, but Advil helped.   The bruise on my forehead was covered by make up.  The fun (and vodka!) I had at the wedding made me forget about my aches and pains.  My back survived dancing and my 3 inch heels.   :-)   My new outfit made me feel like a million. We enjoyed ourselves immensely.  Sort of hard to believe that just a day earlier I was sitting on my couch with ice and heat worried about a black eye and a bad back!   

Enjoy the rest of the week, everyone, and be safe!   Remember....there are idiots out there!!!  :-)

Awesomeness

It was my birthday this weekend.   I started my birthday month (yes, month!) celebrations on Friday evening.  A girlfriend hosted a dinner party in honour of my birthday.  I have been celebrating and laughing with this core group of friends for over 25 years.  How awesome is that?   Saturday My Husband and I went for a lovely sushi dinner with another couple.  I actually introduced them to each other over 20 years ago and My Husband and I stood for them at their wedding.  Cool, eh?   There will be lots of vodka sodas over the next couple of weeks.  I am up to the challenge.  :-)   

Sunday there was a Fun Day at the barn.  Boarders and lesson people competed for little prizes in Command, Poles, Barrels, Key Hold and Apple Bobbing.  It was awesome seeing all ages competing.  I think the oldest competitor was 65ish and the youngest 11.  The sun was shining, temps were around 17C with a sight breeze.  Perfect.

Gem and I did not compete.  A number of people tried to cajole us into competing, but I held firm and declined.  Today was the day; I had other plans for Gem and I.  :-)  I did not want to share my plans with anyone, in case I jinxed them.  There was a lot of excitement in the barn as everyone got tacked up.  I could tell that Gem was a little pumped by the activity.  And when everyone was finally out in the front paddock warming up, he was anxious to join them.  Not so fast, handsome. 

I walked him to the arena, past the spectators and the riders warming up.  After his initial look at everything, he turned his attention back to me.  We were alone in the arena.  We warmed up and eventually worked our way up to a lope.  Yes, lope.  By myself.  In the arena.  He did try to give me the business initially, but he eventually agreed that loping was a good thing.  :-)  My butt was in the saddle - a good sign.  It was awesome!

After we loped a couple of circles each way, I noticed that the warm up period was over in the paddock.  I decided to take advantage of this.  I dismounted and walked Gem right through the paddock to the trail obstacle course on the other side.  All the competitors were there, standing around waiting for the competition to begin.  We walked through the crowd to the mounting block.  He stood perfectly still as competitors walked around and behind him; I mounted him without issue.  Good boy!

Gem giving the stink eye to the loose horse.

We milled our way through the crowd (maybe 20+ riders??) and did some of the trail obstacles, loosening up and getting used to all of the noise and horses.  He was friggin amazing.  Nothing bothered him and he did not resist at all.   He was attentive and I felt really connected to him.  Some of the horses from the herd heard the excitement and came to join the party, walking in amongst the competitors. There was the odd squeal, and one horse did sort of give Gem the business as we stood there, but both he and I dealt with it.  

 We stood at the fence and watched most of the barrel competition.  Lots of cheering, clapping, yelling and whistling.  Gem stood majestically, facing the spectators on the other side of the paddock, patiently waiting.  OK, it was time.  I took a deep breath, turned him around and started walking him away from the crowd of competitors.  We walked along the perimeter of the front field; our first time walking on our own, in a field.  No riding buddies, no instructor.  Deep breaths.  I admit that I did talk to him as we walked in the sun; in fact, I might have been a bit of a Chatty Cathy.  :-)  He politely listened, he ears twitching back and forth.  When we got to the bank of bushes at the end of the field, we crossed the bottom of the field and walked back up to the paddock from the other side.  His head was low, one ear front one ear back, head occasionally turned slightly to look at me.  It was awesome.

So for the rest of the afternoon, we alternated standing and cheer on the riders (he stood perfectly still each time), going through some obstacles (he is getting really good at backing up through the "Z" layout!) or I would walk him around the field solo.  My confidence continued to increase and at one point I actually did a slow jog down one side of the field and back!!  :-)  I even walked him through a small pathway to the Loping Field, thinking that I might even try jogging him around the field on my own.  I know!  Crazy, eh!!.  Unfortunately, there were a number of herd horses grazing there and I didn't feel THAT confident about riding around them.   That day will come.  :-)

As our ride came to an end (time to set up the potluck!), I realized that he and I had been outside for over 3 hours!  I took him over to the apple tree next to the paddock.  The last few weeks, our routine has been that before we head to the barn, I stand up in the saddle and pick some apples for him (all of the apples on the lower branches have been eaten by the other horses).  I can no longer reach apples this way, so now I walk him right into the tree, stand up, grab a branch and start shaking it.  Apples fall and he chows down, slobbering his version of apple sauce all over the place.  :-) 

As I untacked my handsome boy, I didn't want our time to end.  It was such a perfect afternoon.  I think he felt it, too.  He actually let me give him a lingering hug.  :-)   As I was driving home and reflecting on the day's events, I came to the conclusion that this was probably one of the best times Gem and I had had together.  Sure, there have been great lesson experiences and trail rides, but this particular afternoon was just him and I.  No one else.  We did everything on our own.  And it was OK!   You know, I knew it would be.  I had started forming my plan to ride the front field by myself on Saturday afternoon and did not deviate from the plan, even when I had people trying to shame me into competing.  :-)   I visualized it over and over again and I believe my determination helped my confidence when the time came.  My goal of riding the trails solo is within reach!  Awesome!!

And, just to put the cherry on top of a terrific weekend, I donated the outstanding amount still needed for the purchase price of a 20-year old draft cross that was to be shipped today from a feed lot to slaughter.  She's a very well-trained, lively girl and I am delighted that she will be given a second chance.  It's difficult when there are so many that need to be saved, but in this case there was a foster ready to take her if the kill buyer's fee could be paid.  She is now safe and in foster care until she can be permanently placed.  How awesome is that?!  

Have a good week, everyone!