After The Rain

The beauty of the rain, is what it brings forth.

After a week of mucking and sliding, it became dry enough to venture out on trail under our sunny San Diego skies. Bright shoots of grass welcomed my friend Mika and me and our horses as we gaited along, and added a blissful distraction as we clipped-clopped along the bridle path. I broke the rules and let Fashion graze, likening the experience to being turned loose to sample a display of fresh chocolates, namely Godiva. Also, after sloshing around in a muddy stall, it was the least I could do to comfort my sweet mare. She paid me back with a bright green kiss at the end of our ride. Gee...thanks.

Earlier in the week, her stitches came out cleanly, thanks to the dexterity and steady hand of Erica, the riding partner who was with me when we took our infamous fall. After the hair grows back it should look as good as new. For now, it looks like she had one brow lift. I will take a pic and insert it into my next blog.

We hope to continue to dry out and are ignoring the warning of a storm again tomorrow. I suppose our drought is officially over. My wish is that all of you who are reading have a fantastic, safe, and healthy end of 2010!

Jayne and Fashion

Why did my horse fall?

Most times when someone falls off of a horse, it is because the horse bucked or bolted and the rider lost his or her balance. Not in my case. After years of trail and trick riding as a kid, then for 14 years of my adult life, I have to say that getting bucked off has never been an issue. Falling with a horse has, however. It started when I was in college, when my mom's buckskin did a nose dive on the side of the road in Rancho Santa Fe, CA. We both got up, shocked and amazed to see the culprit was an unforeseen gopher hole. Luckily, we weren't injured. I learned from that not to let my horse drag its head too low. It makes it easier for them to trip.

Now as to my recent fall and the crazy reason as to why. After getting back to the ranch, my friend Erica and I were checking out the gash that Fashion had inflicted above her eye. Then I checked her hooves for stones or any explanation as to the reason for her fall. As I said, the footing was quite good, and I had my horse's head in place at the time. Erica took a look at her front shoes and, lo and behold, her right shoe (the one she tripped over) extended about 1/3 inch over the wall of her hoof! Her left hoof and shoe met at the front perfectly, but the farrier missed the mark on the other hoof. It would be like wearing one flip flop that hung over your foot too far. I can imagine how much tripping I would do in that case. It made perfect sense that that caused her to fall. After the vet came out and stitched her up, and I got my stomach back together (I hate needles!) my next call was to the farrier, who rushed over to fix the problem. And then I thought... should I be required to pay for the original shoeing? Maybe he should pay my $300 vet bill instead!

Well, the most important thing is that my horse is fine now, and so am I. Stay tuned for updates and how we are going to weather this pre-Christmas rainstorm. Can't wait to muck it out to the barn for more trail riding adventures!

The Fall

I decided to start this blog for those who love horses because we share a special something uncommon in this urban world of ours. I am lucky to own my own, and crazy enough to venture out into the wilderness with her several times a week. We share that time with my best riding friend and one of her two horses, or a handful of great equesetrian women, all over 30 and just as capable as can be on the backs of their steeds.

Before I delve into the details about my particular horse, aka the love of my life, I must explain another motivation behind this blog. It is no secret that riding is a dangerous sport in which even the most experienced can suffer serious injury. There are things we can do to be safe, but then there are those instances when we have no control. This adds to the excitement of riding, in my opinion, but it can also lead to situations that are serious. Thus, my most recent "spill."

I was captivated by the view of the Pacific, as I rode across the top of a magnificient coastal mesa within a San Diego Preserve. My horse was walking along atop the rocky terrain, mostly consisting of iron deposits and shale, when with no warning, my horse goes tumbling down in front, then comes barreling down to the ground with me trapped underneath. Instinctively, I disengaged my stirrups and rolled onto the rocks, in sheer disbeleif and a lot of pain. She struggles to get up, as I realize that she is bleeding profusely from a gash above her right eye socket. The slam caused me to feel dizzy, and my riding partner Erica was a Godsend to keep me steady enough to get back on and ride down the face of the cliff in front of us back to our ranch.

Now, I've done some crazy things on horseback; climbed amazingly steep mountain faces, balanced along creekbeds, ridden hip-deep through muddy rivers, and hand galloped my horse for long distances with no regard, so having an accident of this magnitude at such a mundane pace and easy footing threw me for a loop. It made me feel vulnerable beyond my imagination. I suffered from mild anxiety for a few days until I talked myself back to normal.

Stay tuned to find out why my horse tripped, how badly she was injured, and what I learned from the fall. Oh, and I will fit in tidbits about my wonderful mare, Fashion as I go along.