Well, it finally happened...
I fell off Calvin. I knew the inevitable was bound to happen and well, it did.
To get a few things out of the way first: we're both okay and no serious injuries to report. Normally I wouldn't make a post about falling off since I've fallen off more times than I can count, but since this was my first fall off Calvin I felt that I should commemorate it.
The day started rather nonchalantly. I got Calvin out of his pasture and noticed he looked very tired. I brushed him up and he stood there more calmly than usual. I thought since he was so tired, I'd do a bareback trail ride with him instead of arena work (red flag #1). We head out on the trail with Heidi in tow. The weather started to change about halfway through and the wind picked up (red flag #2). I noticed he was getting amped up and staring at more "scary" things (red flag #3). We got to a brushy area and he stopped in his tracks and snorted (red flag #4). I knew he thought something was terrifying so I prepared myself for him to take off. I asked him to walk forward and he startled and spun 180°. I got off balance and tried to pull him the opposite direction but he was running sideways. The horse at 2:37 in this video shows a good spin, while we weren't jumping it's the same duck/spin move. My bareback pad doesn't have hardly any grip, I use it primarily for cushion, so it quickly got to the point of no return so I braced for impact. I held onto the reins for too long which caused me to land on my hip/ side and I realized that if I kept holding onto the reins Id end up under him. I made a conscious decision to let go of the reins and he took off running for about 100 feet.
I fell off about 5 minutes after this picture was taken. I think Calvin is just choosing where to dump me at this point.
It was by no means a bad landing and I was able to get up and catch him. But not before he stepped on the reins and snapped them :( At that point I was just happy he didn't run all the way home. So what do we do when we fall off the horse? We get back on. I had to endure another 20 minutes of him spooking at things he's not normally afraid of. Luckily I kept him busy (no more ms. nice girl!) and kept moving his feet sideways back and forth so he was forced to focus on me instead of the ghosts (i.e. plastic bags).
Oh the irony...
Could this fall have been prevented? Probably not. My bareback pad has 0 grip so I slid to the side quickly. If I had a saddle I might have been in better condition, but who knows, falls happen! Calvin wasn't being malicious, he was just a baby horse. So what was in the brush that made him so scared? A duck flapping its wings on the water. Sigh.
Lessons learned: 1. Use a saddle on a trail ride while he still has baby brain. 2. Use my trail bridle that was cheap and the reins don't break 3. Never overestimate your horse's maturity
The worst part about falling off a horse? How sore you are the next couple of days...ow! I've been limping around because I guess Calvin clipped my heel when taking off. Also I'm bruised something fierce on my landing side. It could be much worse and I'm glad this wasn't an ER visit horse fall!
How can I stay mad at this face?
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