Day 5 Blog Hop for NaNo

Day 05- Your first fall

From Clover Ledge Farm

I'm gonna break this up into two categories:  My first fall and my first fall off of Gwyn.

My first fall was when I was taking lessons at UConn. We were learning how to canter or do sitting trot or something and I just could NOT figure it out. They pretty much had me drop my reins and hold onto the pommel of the saddle to pull my butt into the seat.

Long story short, it didn't work. I didn't really develop a good seat until much later and many more lessons on Clyde. I did have a spectacular fall at UConn though, that ended with me at the ER and on crutches because I bone bruised my hip. Thankfully that's the worst I've ever had falling off a horse. It's not the worst I've ever had horse related though, that honor goes to Clyde and getting him to cross a bridge and he stepped on top of my foot. Not just the toes, the whole foot. No break but I couldn't walk on it for a while and used crutches until it healed.


Now, the story about the first time I fell off of Gwyn is hilarious.  Gwyn was still basically a baby and being broken and this was in Florida when she still belonged to Cheri. We were riding in an empty lot of land that was for sale and it was all overgrown grass. Like past the draft horse belly high. Gwyn and I were in the lead, just trying to enjoy ourselves when Gwyn tripped. Her feet had gotten tangled in the grass. She went down to her knees and I kind of rolled over her shoulder and gently landed on the ground.

Gwyn didn't know what to do. This was the first time anyone had fallen off her and boy was she concerned. Like checking up on me concerned. She hadn't moved her feet since I'd left the saddle and was sniffing me. I backed her out of the tangle and went in search of some kind of elevation in order to remount. But this is Florida and old orange groves and that was easier said than done.  We walked back out to the dirt road, which was a few inches lower than the grass but it wasn't enough to give me the height advantage I needed to remount.

Cheri ended up getting off to give me a leg up. She hoisted and up and into the saddle... and over the other side I went. Falling off Gwyn for a second time in less than ten minutes.

At this point Gwyn just looked perplexed and impatient. Like, "Come on guys, this isn't a very fun game, get back to riding already"

We ended up using the bed of a pick up truck from Cheri's husband as he drove by and all was well.