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RE: [RC] Horse Flipped - Mike SherrellSometimes bad
crashes are good psychologically for the horse as long as they don't get hurt.
I've had a couple over the years in which the horse seemed to be more trusting
afterwards than before. It seems to me it could be because the horse has
encountered one of his worst terrors and survived while under your hand, with
its gratitude to you for its survival being the dominant final
emotion.
Mike Sherrell -----Original Message----- Yesterday afternoon I spent much of my ride going up
and down various grades. My horse enjoys doing "hill" work (South Louisiana
isn't exactly mountainous terrain), and he's gotten progressively better at it
with his balance, footing and focus. But we were going up onto a small beach at
the river that runs through the property and his hind legs got caught in a
quicksand patch and he sunk up to his hocks. It happened really fast and I'm not
sure where he lost his grip on the beach but we went over backwards. When I felt
him reach the point where he couldn't move forward, I pushed myself out of the
saddle and off to his left. He twisted himself away and fell off to the right
and more on his side then his back. We fell into water with sand underneath, so
it was a soft cushion and neither of us are hurt, but I can't help but feel
guilty and irresponsible. I asked my horse to do a lot and venture into water
and down grades that he was uncertain of, and he did everything I asked of him.
I feel really horrible. When we got up, we were both rattled slightly, but he
was not uncontrollable and he actually had regained his bearings and stayed
quiet. He really took it like a trooper, and I can't brush past the feeling that
he put his trust in me, and I let something happen. It also bothers me
that I was immediatly more concerned with getting to him and making sure he was
ok, rather then my own health, given I could have been crushed, miscarried,
killed, etc. Argh. I think I'm just hormonal. Was there something else I
could have done to keep him upright? Is there something *I* did wrong? I tried
to lean forward further across his neck but I've never had a horse flip back
before and it happened so fast, everything was just reaction.From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Ibiteraaarr@xxxxxxx Sent: Friday, December 05, 2003 5:16 AM To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] Horse Flipped Guilty feeling mom, Liz
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