Blog Hop: A Close Call

At one point or another most of us have all had some close calls with our horses - those times when you wonder how the heck you managed to scrape by with no serious damage.  What is one close call that you have lived to tell the tale about?

I have had waaaay too many close calls with Ypke. I would have to say my most grand one happened last August.  It was a rather ironic incident actually! I wanted to send a video to Ypke's previous owner showing how well she was going, so I had my sister come out to record us. The ride went *perfectly* and there were some great clips taken.  However, the following incident made me not send the footage.

After we were done recording, my mom and I rode our horses around the larger arena just merrily putzing around.  Her horse startled at something which caused Ypke to go completely ape. She bolted 15ft or so off to the side, began leaping/wheeling about, and did a bronc buck circle... I got LAUNCHED.  According to my mom I really got some serious air before doing a front flip and landing right on my head.  Ypke also kicked out at me (before cantering quickly off to a patch of weeds) when I hit the ground, so if I had sat up I would have gotten nailed right smack in the head.

Ypke eating a patch of weeds while I (no, that is not an artist laying there) am just...

I got the wind knocked out of me and was incredibly dizzy after that whole fiasco, so I got hauled off to the ER just in case there was something wrong.  The diagnosis was one heck of a disgustingly skinned elbow, a sprained neck, a lot of soreness, and a minor concussion. I was in a lot of pain for a couple of days, but it could have been way worse... especially if I hadn't been wearing a helmet!
On the bright side, I did get a brand new Charles Owen as a gift to replace the Troxel. I suppose one good thing came out of that mess. :)