Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Double Barrel

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Started out a good day. Hauled Sandy and Lefty down to Curt's, figuring that Lefty had been solid enough that the trip would be good for him. He loaded nicely, bolted a bit when we unloaded, but then stood tied to the rail like a champ while Roz and I worked the HydraBull.

When we were done, I transferred my saddle to Lefty, who'd stood pretty quietly during all the commotion that'd taken place up until then. Heck, Curt had even run the tractor and harrowed the arena, and while Lefty's head was up and he was pretty intense in his staring, he was quiet.

Roz climbed on one of Curt's colts and took a brief ride, while another client showed up on his rather green horse, and through it all Lefty stood and watched intently. I watered the horses in the barn and decided that perhaps it was time to pull the saddle and load up to go home. We'd been there 2.5 hours, and I was mighty pleased with how the colt was doing.

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As I crossed the arena, John spoke to me and I was answering. I had my head turned as I approached Lefty, and reached out to put my hand on the saddle to loosen the cinch.

Which is when all hell broke loose. Lefty had been looking the opposite direction, and I hadn't spoken to him as I approached. He was caught 100% off guard. He did a half rear and shot back. When there was nowhere to go, he lurched forward, landing square on top of my left foot. The pain was intense and immediate. And Lefty didn't stop at that. He swung his head away, and both hind feet shot out so fast that it sent me spinning.

At first, I denied being kicked. I had seen those feet take a second shot at me, but was sure that he'd just banged into me with his haunches the first time. I was sitting in the dirt, clamoring quickly out of the way of the second kick, fearful of those feet coming into contact with my head.

Lefty snorted and swung back to face me, startled and not sure himself what had just happened. John jumped from his horse and rushed to my side. I asked him to get me a glass of water, certain that if I didn't put some liquid into my system immediately that shock would begin to set in.

Curt had been in the barn. When he walked out, he saw me sitting on the ground 15' from Lefty, and John's horse loose just a few feet away. He stood there a moment, trying to assess what he was seeing. I told him John had gone to get me some water, and by this time Curt had crossed the arena as I told him what'd happened. He held out a hand and helped me up. My left foot, the one that'd been stepped on, was throbbing. I was sure I'd broken at least one toe. The knee on my right side seemed to be fine...which is why when John came back and said he was sure Lefty had made contact ("I heard it!"), I said no. I walked to the end of the arena and sat down.

A minute later when I tried to stand up, I had to admit that perhaps contact had been made. Within minutes my knee was doubled in size and I couldn't put weight on it. Great...no weight on the right because of the knee, no weight on the left because of the toe! Great. Great. Great.

Linda put me in the car and hauled me off to the hospital while Curt and John dealt with the horses. A couple hours later, the xrays were done and thankfully the knee was just badly bruised and swollen. The second toe was broken, but good news was that it wasn't the joint and despite the fact that I'll be in pain for a good month (according to the doc), I'll heal.

So really, despite everything that happened, it could have been so much worse! Thanking God I'm okay, and going to be sure I don't let things distract me when approaching a horse, despite how good they may appear to be!

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13 comments:

PaintCrazy said...

Ouch, ouch, ouch. But a super good reminder of why I am fanatical about wearing boots around horses. It could have been so much worse...

I still think that boy is as cute as can be. Hard to be mad at a face like that, isn't it?

Sending fast healing vibes your way...

Paint Girl said...

Oh I am so sorry Tracey!! You have to be in some serious pain. I hope you feel much better real soon!!
I try to be so careful working with horses at work, but sometimes catch myself doing things unsafely. I always keep reminding myself that anything can happen and I need to watch everything I do!

Lea and her Mustangs said...

Owey owey owey owey - hope you are OK. Toes take a long time to heal good. At least you were not barefoot like I was when the lid fell on my foot. I am so sorry. I am coming on Sunday for a week. I will come up and spend one day with you if thats OK.

Linda said...

Glad you're okay!

I guess Beautiful kicked my friend when I was out of town once--not long after we adopted her. She was also caught off guard while she was eating. Apparently, she also did the double kick thing. But what's odd is, she's not a "kicker." The farrier has always said she'd rather lie down than kick someone....if she knows someone's behind her. It was such an odd incident--sounds a lot like this one.

T.L. Merrybard said...

It was a 'whoopsy' moment and we all have them, and mostly we get away with it. Ouch! I hope you heal really quickly. XXX

Shirley said...

This kind of thing is just what I posted about a while ago; to always do things in a safe manner and make it a habit- we tend to take the quiet ones for granted, and that's when we get hurt. I'm sorry this happened, and glad you didn't get hurt too badly. Put some peppermint oil on that toe, and arnica on your bruises!

Crystal said...

Ouch, here quick healing hopes sent your way. Looks can be decieving I guess.

Tracey said...

Shirley, good thought on the peppermint oil!

I'd walked up to Lefty so many times this morning to adjust his lead, etc., that I simply let my guard down. A foolish, painful reminder was given to me, eh?

Lea, give me a shout and let me know what day you'd like to come up. Would absolutely be okay with me if you come spend a day :)

FZA said...

it's always with the 'safe ones' that accidents happen, because we let our guard down a bit.

Glad you're ok. And hopefully that knee will heal quickly. Broken toes are annoying, but nothing puts you out of commission like a bum knee!

Becky said...

Oh, wow. Man. I'm really glad you're okay---- that could have ended up so much differently.

Poor you.

Poor Lefty.

But definitely--- poor you. If I can offer some advice on bad knees (I have Rheumatoid arthritis that flares up from time to time and locks my knees up) try to include some extra stretching time in your day. You'd be amazed how tight the rest of your body can get when you put a knee out of commission. Spend extra time stretching your hamstrings and your hip flexors so you don't lose any range of motion while you're healing.

CTG Ponies said...

Oh man, that totally sucks! Sending healing vibes your way. Sore No More works wonders on people too. Zip stepped on me at the July show and then knocked me into the gravel while still on my foot. Bruised right foot and chewed up left knee. Nothing broken but man those toes hurt. Hang in there!

Anonymous said...

OUCH!!! I've been there, done that - my sympathies.

Shirley said...

Oh, that was scary! It happens so quick! I've never been kicked but Echo broke a bone in my foot last year by spooking in place. He dances and one of his steps was on my foot! I could feel my foot immediately swell but I knew I couldn't take it off till I got home or I'd never get it back on.