Attempting to walk Sabrina through a construction site.
This is from a note I posted to Equine-L in August of 1999.
No big tragedies, just a bunch of stupid little things.
It's a beautiful day here - about 80 degrees and breezy. Perfect day for a ride.
Our driveway is being redone, so I parked my trailer in a neighbor's yard, and really don't want to bother them to get it out - so I figure I'll ride Sabrina along the little dirt road a couple of blocks from here, just to get out. We'll have to step over one string line (for the driveway project, but otherwise it looks pretty easy to get past the parked Bobcat, pallets of blocks, etc. and get to the street. Ha.
I get Sabrina all groomed and picked and brushed, and let her back out to pee and drink. I go in and shower and get dressed, lock up the house, gather her tack, my cell phone, helmet, insurance card. I get her tacked up, deal with getting past the frantic Eeyore, and finally we're on our way. I'll just lead her to the street, and get on there.
When we got out front (where the driveway mess is) I let her have a long time to look. I showed her a pallet full of blocks (no empty pallets, I'm completely paranoid about those) - kicked it, stood on it - she didn't seem to care about it. Then we went over to the string line we had to step over - about 3" off the ground - just a little yellow string. Never, ever try this. I was trying to get her to see it, 'cause I thought if she knew it was there, she would step over it. So I "plucked" it, like a guitar string. She didn't like that one bit and immediately danced in a circle, backed right through the string, got it caught on her hind foot, and knocked me into a big pile of (thankfully) construction sand. The stake the string was tied to came loose and flew a few feet behind her, which got the string off her foot, but scared her worse, so she stepped on both my feet (I'm still down in the sand), and went right over me and the sand to get away from it. Ouch! Duh. What was I thinking?
So she's standing by the gate to the yard, looking like "What the &#$% just happened?" I didn't want to make a big deal of it (it *was* my own stupid fault, not hers), so I hobbled over to her, talked to her for a minute, checked her for cuts and scrapes, and walked her partway back to the string, then back into the backyard.
I figured, well, my feet are smashed up (the right one especialy - not broken, I don't think), I can't use stirrups, so I'll take off her saddle, and we'll just do a little bareback work in the backyard (like we've done a hundred times before). So I try to walk her up the the 2' retaining wall where I always get on her, and in an extra special effort to be helpful and cooperative, she hopped right up the wall with me, and (you guessed it) stepped on my right foot. Owwww!
I circled her down and got on, and rode around at a walk for about 4 minutes - figured we'd do a little bending and giving stuff, and end on a good note, so I can get some ice on my foot. Just one more time around the lawn... and... we step on a sprinkler. Usually no big deal - like a 2" flat rock. But it got caught under her shoe - she spooked, and the shoe came right off.
Definitely time to call it a day.
We're both fine. I have a call in to the farrier and my foot is only ouchy and a little colorful. Maybe today would be a good day to get a start on my book "Boneheaded Tales from A First-Time Horse Owner". I can't get hurt too bad just using the computer, can I?
Of course, my ice pack has sprung 3 leaks in the corners, and the plastic bag I went to put it in had a big dead spider on it. Bad day all around. I'll be hiding under the bed if anyone needs me.
Glad it was nothing serious, at least,
Linda
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