Not new news, I know! But they gave me good reason today.
I have been pretty low emotionally ever since Hunter's birth. Maybe some of you have noticed, I don't know. There really are a lot of reasons, and it is a bit complicated. A lot of it is hormones (Yay! Womanhood!). A lot of it is house-related stress (Yay! Two house payments!). A lot of it is feeling like Billy is never home (Yay! Alone-ness!). A lot of it is not getting to ride (Yay! Inactivity!). A little bit of it is past demons coming back to haunt (Yay! Stupid boys!). Long made short, I've been on this stupid emotional roller-coaster for seven months. Billy says he can always tell when I haven't spent time with the horses, because I get very angry. Anyway....
I was sent to ride the horses today, and to clean Moe's nasty legs. While I don't have much to say about Moe's legs (except EWWW!), I do have a lot to say about my sweet Trinity. She was just so good, I was very happy with her. She's not been ridden in over a month, and she was even more well-behaved than I could've hoped for. Most people won't just hop on a horse that hasn't been ridden in that long (especially one so young) because usually it's a recipe for at the very least an exciting ride. They'll usually lunge a horse (put it on a line and make it circle around at a trot or canter in order to work out kinks and get the horse settled down) first. Most who know me and pay attention to my riding know that I very rarely will lunge a horse. I just get on and hope for the best.
I trotted Trinity around a couple of times, and she was great even with the potential distractions (people driving and walking down the road on the other side of the scary trees, the neighbor's horse-hating dog chained up in the yard). I cantered her around a couple of times, and she was as relaxed and together as I could've expected. We then went for a ride around the new houses, and she was pretty good--even let Mitchell (on his bike) and Marissa come up behind her to say hi. She is a joy to ride.
All in all, it was a very good pick-me-up, except for the parts of me jiggling that weren't supposed to be. I would expect my riding muscles to be jiggling (my legs, my arms, my back), but my spare tire??? What's up with that? I am sure hoping the move and my return to hormonal normalcy will help with all of that. I think I'm so stressed that anything I eat is just staying with me. Otherwise, I'm going to have to invest in some new riding gear. It's pretty distracting.
....and then there were 5.
11 years ago
2 comments:
I am afraid of horses. I know, I know, that is so lame. They are just too big for me to feel in control of the situation.
It also stems from an accident that I witnessed on my cousins farm once. He was riding his horse around the field when he approached my brother and I and asked us if we wanted to ride. I was all of ten and already knew that we were considered "city" boys to all of my fathers family. I was sure that this was a great opportunity to make fools of us so I declined. After a few comments about how safe it was and what a chicken I was, he decided to take off in a sprint to show us how "fun" it could be.
Unfortunately for him, there was a patch of soft ground just ahead of him and the horses front hooves sunk down just enough to make the horse stop suddenly. My cousin flew up onto the horses neck but managed to stay on, most unfortunately.
Saddles have this nifty little feature on the front of them called a pommel. I am sure that you know the way they are shaped. Sort of like a very soft hook that you can hold onto.
When the horse came to a stop, my cousin went over the pommel and was sitting just in front of the saddle.
Uh, oh.
The horse reared up to free its front hooves from the mud, thus throwing my cousin off of its back, backwards over the pommel.
I am not sure if it is customary for horse riding men to wear jock straps. I don't believe my cousin was wearing one. I don't believe it would have helped.
The horse turned on him and attempted to stomp him several times before galloping away onto firmer ground.
The stomping was not the problem, the pommel had removed one of the family jewels if you follow me.
Much blood was lost and one child was mentally scarred from ever riding horses.
I am glad to hear that you are enjoying your horses. I am sure that it was my cousins fault and that the horse was only reacting to his over zealousness. But none the less, I will walk, thank you very much.
Okay, now... I don't mean to laugh, but your description was pretty funny. But that had to hurt. I can't even imagine! YIKES.
I would try to persuade you to try riding in a safer environment, but, after witnessing that, I can't blame you if you never get on a horse!!!
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