I had one of those on Saturday. I was on a lovely ride with friends, Harlan was being EXCELLENT, and then we decided to pick up the pace a little bit.
At Acadia I had the opportunity to take Harlan out one evening with my friend TJ and his spitfire of a mare and gallop around the carriage trails. It was SO MUCH fun, I couldn't wait to repeat the performance.
This time however, my saddle kept slipping so I was having trouble staying balanced. I tried to adjust mid-canter and spooked Harlan, which completely unseated me.
I hit the ground HARD, and apparently skidded. I completely knocked the wind out of myself, which is never a fun experience. I kept pretty calm, knowing that my breath would eventually come back but I made some weird-ass wheezes in the meantime.
Harlan calmed down almost instantaneously once I got back to him. Poor guy, it wasn't his fault at all. The whole saddle was twisted onto his side, so I resaddled him and got back on. He wasn't jacked up like I thought he might be, but I ended up dismounting and walking back because my shoulder wasn't up to holding the reins and my ribs weren't happy being jostled.
The right side of my back is one big road rash and I had a pretty gnarly headache before the ibuprofen kicked in, but I'm moving considerably well today.
I am so grateful for my helmet, may it rest in peace. Saturday's hard landing would have been disastrous if I hadn't been wearing my helmet. Ol' Greenie took the skids and broke in a couple places so my skull didn't have to.
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| There used to be a visor on the front. |
When I first started taking lessons I had to wear a helmet and I didn't mind. But as I got older and teen-ier, I thought I looked like SUCH a dork. Plus Tanner was so reliable and I wasn't really prone to bombing around the fields so I thought I didn't need it (despite falling off Tanner mid-canter when he tripped).
As soon as I could get away with it, I stopped wearing a helmet. Lots of people I rode with didn't wear helmets, and I was on a Steady Eddy...I felt incredibly safe on Tanner and wanted to feel the wind in my hair.
I picked back up wearing a helmet when I brought Tanner up to Maine and started to teach my boyfriend at the time to ride. I made him wear a helmet so I wore one too, and Lupine Farm's riders all wore helmets. Then once I started on my journey to find my second horse I wore a helmet because I couldn't automatically trust each horse.
Now it's become such a habit that it's automatic. That habit won't be broken any time soon especially since I've taken air a few times this year.
So, YAY HELMETS!
In other news:
- I'm still on a high from last weekend's Acadia ride. We rode 22 miles over three days and Harlan was a superstar.
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| My favoritest picture from the trip. |
- Tanner was diagnosed with vitamin E deficiency so he's been on supplements for a few weeks and already looks LOADS better. This was one of the best case scenarios because it has a clear cut solution.
- I had a surprise visit today from my aunt and uncle! Part of the Wisconsin clan, they were in Boston for a wedding and decided to swing north, which was a lovely surprise.
- The dogs and I found a delightful spot on the river about a 5 minute drive from the farm. The pups don't like to swim but they will wade to about belly-deep. At this little canoe/kayak launch the river is knee-deep almost all the way across so the dogs will come in.
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