Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Unplanned Dismount

About a week and a half ago, Canaan received the first significant skiff of snow for the season. I made the best of it by bundling up for the harsh mountaintop winds and headed out on a 7 mile jaunt with Q and Taiga.

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We had a freaking blast! Q was forward, curious, and eager the entire ride. She is such a joy to work with and I'm really looking forward to more winter rides with her as I leg her up for another go at endurance in the spring.

Unfortunately, the end of the ride wasn't exactly as great as the beginning and middle though! For the first time in years, I parted ways with Miss Q. But it wasn't because she spooked out from under me! Oh, no. Instead I got to experience a horse falling down for the first time in my life while riding.

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We were trotting around a tight turn when Q lost traction and slipped quite gracefully onto her left side. The ground was not yet frozen and thus slick underneath the fresh snowfall. Fortunately, we weren't trotting very fast at all and the soft ground cushioned our fall very well.

Q's falling momentum gave my body just enough push that I didn't end up with a leg underneath her when we went down. In fact, the way everything worked out, I was deposited more gently than I could have imagined on the ground! It was akin to lying down in bed, honestly.

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Uncertain if Q would freak out a bit at the surprise of falling, I made a conscious decision to let go of the reins and scramble away from her. Well, silly Liz. I forgot this mare's tendency to leave my ass if I don't keep ahold of her.

Q gave me a very knowing side-eye once she stood up, and then made her own conscious decision to leave me! She picked up what was first a slow trot that quickly turned into a power trot and later a canter as she realized she was free, free at a last.

I called after her something along the lines of, "Q you whore!" As I trudged and then jogged down the trail, I called to Taiga (who WAS listening to me!) to stay with me and not Q (she did). While I had zero doubts about Q retracing our exact steps and going home, Taiga is easily distracted and probably wouldn't have made it home with Q lol.

I gave Dave a ring to let him know that Q was heading home without me and assured him I was completely fine. I requested that he drive down the hill to get me though because I really didn't care to schlup myself up the mountain!

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Dave picked Taiga and I up, letting me know that Q was on her way up the neighborhood road with two of our friends who saw her gallop by following in their truck to keep an eye on her. Dave and I caught up to her right in the last switchback turn (the steepest). She was walking by this point and looking none-to-pleased with her predicament as she marched up the mountain. I cackled with a bit of glee at this, happy she still had to work her little tush off after leaving me while I, using my big human brain and technology, had garnered myself a gas-powered ride!

I tried to grab ahold of her, but she opted to trot off. So I hopped back into the car and called out the window, "Q, you whore!" Once at the top however, Dave and I were able to pass her so I could hop out and stand in front of her so she'd stop.

I checked her legs over and found nothing beyond a couple mud marks from the wet soil. All the same, I opted to lead her from the ground as we walked the remaining distance to the house so I could be fully certain she was fine after her impromptu solo venture.

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She was completely unabashed about her decision to leave me. Grateful that neither of us was any worse for the wear, I could only laugh at the situation once we reunited and curse her under my breath a bit. Her confidence and attitude is such a joy to witness that I really can't be mad at her.

I've made a mental note to resume my former habit of holding onto her reins if we part ways again in the future. That said, I don't anticipate that I will have to practice it too much. This little mare has gained so much confidence and is such a joy to ride these days. It's crazy to think that it has been so many years since I last had an unplanned dismount from her! Hopefully when we enjoy our next ride together, we can keep upright and return home the same way we left.

22 comments:

  1. Ha, ok, sorry to be laughing, and glad you're ok, but the idea of Q regretting her life choices as she trudged up the final hill, then STILL trotting away cracked me up. Seriously though, glad you're ok and the fall was soft. I know that Major would leave me in a heartbeat. I always hold on to the reins, but beware, this is also how I cracked some bones in my wrist (holding on when a jerk of a pony dumped me, stopped, then took off and I tried to hold on!). Here is to a little less exciting adventures in the future.

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    1. Laugh away! It's super funny. 🤣 And OUCH! That sounds horrible. I used to hold onto the reins every time Q dumped me and never had an issue. I didn't even think about how one could break bones in the hand/wrist by doing it though! Definitely good to keep in mind.

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  2. Glad it was a soft parting-of-the-ways LOL I can just imagine Q's face too, regretting her life, but seeing you and going "oh shit, keep going!" lolol

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    1. LMAO. You hit the nail on the head! That was 110% her reaction upon seeing me again. 🤣

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  3. glad you are okay and Remus would LEAVE MY ASS IN TIMBUCKTOO if he could. The one time he dumped me at cc schooling i literally held onto the reins as he dragged me about a half a mile backwards (My arm up in the air my ass on the ground go ahead and giggle all you want). My friend Tanya literally almost fell off her own horse laughing as well as probably peed her pants. It was pretty funny. Remus finally was like damn she heavy and stopped. I didnt call him a whore but called him other things hahahahah so i giggled like mad at your story too. Oh Q YOU WHORE..;) Dying laughing again :)

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    1. OMG, REMUS, YOU DOUCHE! But still 🤣🤣🤣 These horses of ours...

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  4. Glad you weren't hurt - what a ho that mare is! I may also have once said some bad words to a mare that I bought when she dumped me in a hay field and took off running... lol

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  5. “Q YOU WHORE!!” omfg I’m dying hahaha (tho obvi I’m glad you’re ok!!)

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  6. I'm glad that all is fine so that I can laugh at her leaving you and her side eye in which she clearly believes it's all your fault and she regrets nothing. When I did my unplanned dismount last week I was cursing as I landed.

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    1. Mares! How dare us ever ask that they do things with/for us?! I'm kinda entertained in the evolution of my cursing at her. This was much milder than it used to be lol!

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  7. Oh Q! I wold have loved to see the look on her face when you so easily caught up with her :)

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    1. It was a very put-out and exasperated side-eye lmao!

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  8. Subi once bucked me off and then went galloping off out of the ring (no fence) and off the farm back to his field/barn... lol. There was a small child taking a lesson or I would have really had some words. Crazy rodeo buck too. I'm pretty sure the parent probably was thinking horses are REALLY DANGEROUS after seeing that. Normally I'd fall off and he'd look at me like, why are you on the ground you idiot?!

    Anyway, sorry this happened, but I needed the laugh today!

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    1. So glad to share the laugh! It was too funny of an incident to not share. =)

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  9. I’ve dismounted a couple of times because of a horse falling underneath of me and it’s not quite as dramatic in the moment of getting bucked off, but man it gives me a lot more PTSD later on when I’m riding in slick footing. I had to laugh at her running off because every single horse before Mary legs has been a runner and it’s a completely foreign concept to me that a horse wouldn’t just leave my ass to walk home if given a chance LOL. The last time I got dumped by Farley I had a death grip on her rope and shouted out her That she could drag my fat ass on the ground for as long as she would like to continue to move forward I wasn’t going to let go. Great blog post

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    1. Ahahaha. Oh, Farley! I'm glad you've got one that won't abandon you now though. That's pretty special.

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  10. Love the image of her schelpping up the hill at a walk all pissed she still had to work to get home while you hopped in the car. Karma man. She can be a bitch

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  11. Hilarious. I clung to my reins when I fell about 6 years ago. I ended up damaging my finger really badly doing that. For a long time, I couldn't bend my finger and it being my middle finger that was kind of a problem. Now it bends, but not fully. Do I still desperately clutch at the reins when i fall to avoid my horse running off? Yep. Did a learn anything? Nope.

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    1. Ahahaha! I feel like hanging on and not losing the horse in a potentially bad environment is important though. Like, if I'd been somewhere else, I know Q would have tried to go home and she would have had to cross some busy roads to do so. I'd have been beside myself worrying. As it was this time, I knew she'd go home and have no issue so it was NBD. I could deal with a boogered finger so long as my horse didn't get roadkilled or kill a person driving in the process. (I figure they'd go through the windshield akin to a moose, and that doesn't fair well for the driver!)

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