Don't Pull the Trigger...

Well.. Yesterday was an interesting day, to say the least. I took my first launch off of Trigger's back, and he is much farther off the ground than he looks... But he's pretty!

Trigger and I were getting ready to go out on a trail ride when another lady at the barn shows up and wants to go along. Well that's fine with us, cuz we've been riding by ourselves a lot lately. So after an attempt to go to Isaqueena, we ended up in some trailer park, where this person demonstrated some rather interesting judgment in riding her horse through backyards and unknown woods.

I wanted to go back to the trails we knew.. so we did. Once we got there, this lady was all about hauling a$$ down the trail. I said "Hold up!" but I guess she didn't hear.. one of my stirrups had somehow gotten messed up and it was longer than the other. I needed to fix it, but I didn't get the chance because she took off at full tilt, and Trigger, being a horse, wanted to follow.

I thought I could hang with it.. Trigger has a nice canter and I figured it wouldn't be a problem. The problem came when she took it faster and faster and Trigger tried to match. Still, we would have been fine if my foot hadn't slipped out of the stirrup . I overcompensated, and when he hit his stride the next time, I went flying!

He really is a good boy, and it wasn't his fault at all. In fact, when he felt my butt leave the saddle, he put on the brakes. Not only did he stop when I fell, he stood there, sniffing at my head, until I got up.

I thought I was dead for the first few minutes.. I always knew Heaven would smell like a horse!! ... until I opened my eyes and saw Trigger's nose directly above me. The lady came tearing back toward me about the time I was picking up my hat and my saddle bags, and suggested that we trade horses. Shyea, RIGHT. I don't THINK SO.

So we rode back to the barn and I gave Trigger a bath and combed his mane and tail and stuff.. Then I went home, showered, and L and I hosted a cookout. But..

By the end of the night I was feeling rough indeed. Sleeping last night was interesting in itself.. and today we are toying with the idea of going to the hospital to check me out. I think I may have shifted or dislocated something. But I'm not dead, so that's good. I need to call TO and tell him he did a better job with my horse than I thought he did!

Later: A report from the hospital?