So, yesterday started out really well. I mean, really well. I've been trying this new method with Justin, kind of back-tracking a bit to really get him going the way I'd like him to be going, and we've spent the last week/two weeks just walking, doing some poles and lateral work, and a bit of lunging. Yesterday was the first day I trotted him under saddle since our new approach, and he was fantastic! He's so much straighter, less fussy, more willing, and just overall much
happier to be ridden on the flat. Yay!
Carlos brought Unika over yesterday, too, and while we still have a lot to learn together and our rides are far from perfect, I was very pleased with our ride. She's so different from Justin, but in so many ways she's exactly the same. They seem to have very similar minds and athletic abilities, but of course, Justin is a 14.2 Mustang and Unika is a 16+ Dutch Warmblood with champion ribbons at Level 3 & 4 Jumpers under her belt. She's pretty out of shape, but that's fine by me because it gives me more time to figure her out without fearing for my life. She
loves her long spots, which is something we need to work on together, because there will come a day when she can't get the spot she wants over the fence she's pointed at, but for now, the 2'6" - 3 ft fences don't seem to be causing her problems. I've gotten much better with riding her, especially since my discovery of "the more you pull, the more they pull and the faster they go" kind of thing. Next step is learning when/how to effectively half halt and when it's my time to let go and let her do her job. We'll get there! I have faith, I love this mare. :)
Then had a good ride on Benny. We're trying the same technique as with Justin, only j
ust a bit more elementary school-esque. He's coming along well, of course. Such a sweet, willing pony! I set up trot poles yesterday and put the reins over his head and he just followed me around like a puppy dog. Then he decided he wanted the whip more than I did, so he took it from me and carried it around in his mouth for about 5 minutes. It was so cute!
...Now to the less happy part of the day.
It really was a huge error of judgement on my part, and I knew it the second everything started happening, but there was nothing I could do at that point. I tossed the horses some hay and went to go take Webster's blanket off since it was starting to warm up. I had gotten the leg
straps and surcingles undone, and then out of the corner of my eye, I saw this white blur coming up behind me, and I instantly thought, "Oh, sh*t!" and quickly tried to redo Webster's straps, but it was too late.
Webster took off, blanket flapping in the wind, Benny chasing after him, and Ollie the little Jack Russell trying to herd them both like sheep. I just stood there and tried to coo them to a stop, but every time it would start to be working, the blanket would move or another horse would spook or Ollie would start yapping, and all hope was lost. The field the horses are in is pretty small (I've been trying to move them to a bigger field for months, and had decided just a few days ago to move them altogether to get a bigger field, but I guess that won't be as much of an issue anymore..), so Webster didn't really have anywhere to run to to escape the other
horses. Naturally, he jumped the fence. It really was a pretty impressive jump! With that blanket hanging off he almost looked like Superman. :)
He knocked a board down when he jumped, and it wasn't until about five seconds later that it occurred to me that there is electric fencing around the whole field, so there was no way he could have hit the board without hitting the wire too. That was when I knew I was in for some real problems.
I got his halter and went down to the field he'd jumped into, where he was running around franticly like a maniac. (Understandably!) I watched him for about 10 minutes, trying to calm him down with no avail, so I decided at this point, if he's injured, I should call the vet ASAP. So I watched him for another couple minutes to see if I could see any blood, and low and behold, I
see blood. Lots of blood.
Oh joy.
So I went up to the house and got my phone to call Dr. Gard. Very luckily, she lives right next door and was just getting home anyway so she was able to make it over in no time. Webster finally calmed down and let me catch him, and that was when I finally got a good look at his wound.
It honestly wasn't as bad as I was expecting, but it was still bad. About 6 inches long and pretty deep, it went all the way up into his groin, which posed a bit of a problem for Dr. Gard when it came time to stitch him.
It took over two hours and a lot of local anesthesia, but she was able to stitch him beautifully and without complications. She got about 20 or so stitches in there, so it really was a pretty good sized wound.
Poor Webster has had a rough year! Fingers crossed that this is the end of his string of bad luck... And needless to say, I think this special guy has found a permanent place in the Monocacy family. (FML? juuuuust kidding!)
Webster says, "Man, that was weird!"
