Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Attacked By a Mattress <G>

ROFL!! I almost fell out of my chair laughing so hard at that one.
----- Original Message -----
From: <RDCARRIE@xxxxxxx>
To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, June 03, 2002 6:35 PM
Subject: [RC] Attacked By a Mattress <G>


> After reading the stories under the "bombproofing" thread, I thought I'd
> share the latest life-threatening (TIC) calamity to befall my horse.  The
> poor guy had an "Arabian Moment" yesterday that probably took 5 years off
his
> life.  He's always been pretty reactionary (let's just say he has a
> well-developed sense of self-preservation - LOL), but I gotta admit, this
> little adventure just about did him in.  <G>
>
> I'd just finished up an hour and a half conditioning ride...I'd planned to
go
> farther, but cut it short due to getting started late and it just being so
> blasted hot (SE Texas, 2:30 pm).  We were walking back along a moderately
> busy two-lane road through the National Forest.  I'd just run into a
fellow
> endurance rider and we'd spent a few minutes visiting, then Chivas and I
> continued on down the road toward the trailer.  We were nearly to our turn
> off, so I crossed the road and was on the side facing on-coming traffic,
> riding about 20-25 feet off the pavement.  Chivas was puttering along,
> ignoring the traffic as always.  I saw a pickup approaching with a
mattress
> and box spring in the back.  It crossed my mind that neither appeared to
be
> tied down very well.  Suddenly, the mattress leaped out of the truck,
landed
> about 40-50 feet ahead of us, and cartwheeled down the shoulder of the
road
> toward us.
>
> As the mattress began its sinister leap, I made a desperate (and
fortunately,
> successful) grab for the breast collar strap and a handful of mane.
Chivas
> sat back on his haunches, whirled to the left, and bolted down the mowed
> roadside with a speed and impulsion generally only seen in Thoroughbreds
> exiting the starting gate at the beginning of the Kentucky Derby.  As he
> accelerated down the roadside, neck outstretched and ears plastered flat
> against his head (and in his mind, the mattress undoubtedly snapping at
his
> hocks <G>), I could only hold on and go with the flow.  I do remember
looking
> over as we passed the pickup (the driver had hit the brakes), and seeing
the
> driver's shocked look.  Whether his shock was at losing his mattress or at
> the sight of a terror-stricken chestnut Arabian tearing down the roadside
> with a rider clinging to his back, I don't know.  I soon felt Chivas'
initial
> panic and impulsion subside, at which time I began reeling him in.
>
> I finally got him stopped and turned around.  I glaced down at my HRM, and
> noticed a HR of 187.  Hmmm...it had been in the low 50s when we were
walking
> up the road.  I may have stumbled upon a new method of interval training.
My
> husband could drive down the road and hurl various articles of furniture
out
> of vehicles at us.  <G>  Took me a while to work Chivas back up the road
to
> where the Great White Mattress lay waiting.  I got him to within about
40-50
> feet of it, but no amount of blowing and snorting on his part would
> deactivate the creature.  So, in the interest of time, I crossed the road
and
> we sidled past it from a safer distance.
>
> As I was attempting to get past the mattress, the pickup driver was
> apologizing profusely for spooking my horse.  He actually seemed more
worried
> about me and my horse than about his brand new mattress, which was now
> somewhat worse for the wear after its adventure.  After I calmed down, I
> realized that had the mattress flown out of the truck a second or two
later,
> it could have hit us.  But as it was, all ended well, and I was left with
a
> vague feeling of disapointment than no one had been standing around with a
> video camera to capture the attack on film.  <G>
>
> Dawn in East Texas (where even the bedding can be dangerous...)
>
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 Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
 Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
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