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We Are Flying Solo

March 24, 2010

In Which Panties May Need To Be Changed

The last post was titled "Ups and Downs," not just because of the mountains because the day had a lot of ups...and a big down!

As we got back to camp, horses and riders both tired and hungry, I tied Solo to the back of lifeshighway's trailer after I untacked him for a few minutes so I could use the bathroom and change.  I returned a few minutes later to untie him.

And as I walked around the back of the trailer I heard a loud noise and saw my horse at the end of his rope, rearing and plunging as the entire 7' rear trailer door flipped end over end through the air.

This horse is going to kill me just by taking decades off my life at a time.

Yes, the metal door was detached from the trailer and flipped in the air to land phwaat on the ground.  What does one do when you see a situation like this?  Which, as we know with horses, may appear to occur in slow motion but actually occurs wham! in the course of about ten seconds.  Pretty much you stare for about a second with eyes like saucers and heart motionless as a cinder in your chest thinking Oh my mother-f@cking-god-of-all-things-unholy and then you go to your horse.

I approached Solo slowly as his adrenaline gradually diminished and I unclipped him, as he trembled with every muscle popped out at once. At which point he stopped shaking, sighed, and dropped his head to graze. Completely (thank you all powers that be) unhurt and holding no grudge against trailers for the unwarranted attack.

All I can figure out is that he somehow managed to pull his rope out and get it hooked under the edge of the door that I mistakenly thought was latched. He then threw up his head, freaked himself out, and lifted the entire door off the hinges with his short, muscly neck in about one second.

I have now aged roughly 7.62 years. The thought of what COULD have happened makes me throw up in my mouth a little. My horse appears to suffer no ill effects whatsoever. I think I even heard him giggle softly as he continued grazing.

13 comments:

  1. SAME THING happened to me last spring. A friend tied my (then) pony to the trailer too loosely and I had gone to get some tack to put in the trailer. Next think I know she had gotten her lead hooked under the Open (who left it open???!!!) trailer door and then she freaked out and sent the door hurling off its hinges. Thank god she didn't get hurt but I got my ass chewed by the lady that owned that farm about letting newbies do things (although i feel it could easily happen to anyone). Sheesh... that wasn't fun. Sorry girl!

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  2. Wow, now I know why they design trailer doors to slide right off those hinges! See, apparently it CAN happen to anyone!

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  3. That's one freak of an accident. I'm so glad Solo was unhurt.

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  4. Wow - that's scary - glad he's OK and you too!

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  5. I should have taken a picture of the door, I was too horrified to at the time though! Lh, you'll just have to rip the door off your trailer again and take a pic for me!

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  6. Holy crap, what are the odds?! So glad that everyone's okay, what an end to the weekend!

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  7. Glad I didn't bet on this one because I was expecting some sort of terrifying wildlife encounter. Ya know, like a grizzly or a puma invading your camp and stealing all of your beer and Twinkies.
    (Hhhmmm, I feel a lecture coming on from Miss Wildlife Biologist about how there are no pumas or grizzlies in NC...I think --??)
    I'm glad you're all safe and injury free (well, excluding the panties, which I'm sure were mortally wounded).

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  8. Ugh, freak accidents while tied...between Rascal encounters and a really bad incident in Colorado where a little girl was caught under 3 horses all tied to a now-dangling post that came undone,(with about 10 more horses now lose) one horse lost an eye and she was nearly trampled to death (in all honesty we still don't know how she wasn't) I am really odd about it. I really don't like to leave horses tied. Glad to hear it ended ok, and I am amazed that Solo will still let you tie him!! (And that incident in Colorado...the idiot ranch hands that caused it just stood there while me and my mom caught the panicking horses and her boyfriend literally ran under the horses to save the little girl. Nice 'cowboys' there huh...)

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  9. Geez, Alana, that is terrible! Solo is actually generally a really good tie-er, he'll nap next to the trailer for hours. I guess suicidal impulses strike at random times...

    Frizz, if someone tried to take my beer, I would totally have wrestled them. We don't have grizzlies, you're right -- but we do have black bear and the occassional cougar escaped from captivity!

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  10. Wow. I think I lost a few years just reading this! My one horse camping experience, Mosco freaked while tied to the trailer, managed to throw such a fit that he fell down & cut open his head. Why do horses do such things?!?! I'm so glad he came out okay from the incident & doesn't bear a grudge against trailers. He seems like such a common sense-y horse.

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  11. It goes to show how much Solo trusts you, though, that he was able to calm down so quickly. As soon as mom said it was okay he went back to grazing.

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  12. Geez Jen, how frightening!

    I hope so Amanda -- I like to think I can offer him some level of emotional security, but he is more than happy to gallop away and leave me on my own when I fall off!

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