Incidentally, if this situation described below is "normal" for most horses, don't tell me and burst my bubble, ok? ;)
SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 2014
The day started out like our typical riding day; we went to
the river, saw the wild horses, said good morning to them, took photos and then
continued our ride.
After about an hour or so, we decided to ride to the
Foxtail area from Coon Bluff. As we crossed
Goldfield, we saw a fence had been put up, and the entrance is now
blocked. We decided to ride around and
resume our trail to Foxtail not knowing, however, there was a long section
of wire fencing laying on the ground, not visible!!!
Of course, Sassy’s right front hoof got caught in this damn
wire. I’m sure it frightened her, but in
addition, I’m sure it was painful causing her to rear and raise her right leg
in an effort to free herself from the damn wire. Consequently, I was going to be making an unplanned, early dismount either by jumping or falling, so I let go of the reins, let my right leg slide
over Sassy’s back and slid down her left side.
Fortunately the ground was a little soft, but the cactus I fell into
wasn’t. The real problem, however, was
that I had momentum from Sassy’s back being in the air, causing me to slide under her!!
Very interesting note, and I know there will be
someone who won’t believe this. That’s
ok, because it happened to me, and I have trouble believing it! I’m grateful my husband SAW this!
One second Sassy was up in the air, with her right leg being
higher than her left one. When I slid
under the front of her, I knew immediately those hooves were going to have to
come down SOON, and I started to roll away.
Sassy SAW me, and what she did is nothing less than AMAZING! She came down on her left leg, leaving her
right leg IN the air, and she did not move a muscle until I was on my feet! ??
Should I repeat all that, or just let you re-read it like I’ve
been re-playing it in my head since Saturday?
As I got on my feet, I picked up the reins so they wouldn’t
tangle her back feet; I quickly got to her face and spoke quietly to her. Meanwhile, folks, her right leg was “hung up”
on that DAMN WIRE, and it was still in the air!
Not as high obviously because her other 3 legs were on the ground; it
was, however, about as high as my waist, and I am 5’2” so you know that was
uncomfortable for that horse.
I hope you’re reading this sitting down, because here’s the
next unbelievable part. I looked Sassy
in the eyes, put my nose on her nose and quietly told her I was going to take
care of her, and asked her to please trust me.
Honest to God, she understood what I said to her, and here’s how I know
that’s true. I kept my right hand on her
face, and I bent over a little bit and with my left hand, I gently started
pulling the wire to the ground. Keep in mind this
meant her foot, which was CAUGHT in this fencing, needed to go to the ground as
well. That’s when I realized this
fencing was still “strung” on both ends because there was absolutely no give to
it. There was NO way that wire was going
to release Sassy’s hoof without the wire being cut.
Now I knew David had his wire cutters in his saddle bag; my Leatherman was in my saddle bag, but I was not about to leave Sassy’s face to get it; she was calm, but I also knew if I didn’t get her hoof free soon, we could be in big trouble!
David had been holding onto Chase and keeping him out of the
way and calm while I was dealing with Sassy.
I then asked him to bring me the wire cutters, which he already had in
his hands. He cut that fencing, and it “flew”
out of Sassy’s hoof. (I will be
uploading photos……)
As soon as her foot was released, she did back up quickly to
get away from it, and I went with her.
Again I spoke softly to her, asked her to “whoa,” which she did
immediately. We stood there for a few
minutes, and then I knelt down to observe her leg. Once again, that mare knew she could trust
me, and she stood perfectly still, easily lifting her hoof for me. Thankfully, there was no serious injury. Nothing short of miraculous the way it turned
out!
I spent about 10 minutes trying to get the cactus needles
out of my clothes and legs, and I was a little sore the next day. I have a few bruises, but those are nothing
compared to what I’m going to do to those who string this fencing wire across
the desert with no regard for humans OR animals! I have pictures of the fencing that I will be
uploading as well.
After removing the needles, and getting situated to ride her
back to the trailer, I looked at Sassy and, yes, the tears welled up in my
eyes. Out of every problem arises
something good they say, right? Well, I
believe I fully realized at that moment how much that mare loves me AND that
she truly trusts me!! She loves me
enough to completely STOP moving so as not to land on me, and my husband
witnessed that. There have been 3 other
times where Sassy has been careful and took care of me that I will write about,
but this one was SO obvious, there was no mistaking that she did NOT want me to
get hurt.
I admit I didn’t know how much she trusted me until this
situation ~ and I am honored! She let me
guide her leg from my waist-height down to the ground with that wire embedded
in her pastern, and then she let me hold it there while David cut the wire
fencing. My fear was that if she pulled
backwards with that wire attached, she was going to rip tendons or worse.
I think it’s pretty instinctual for any horse
to pull away if they get hung up on something; the fact that she calmly let me
guide her speaks volumes (to me anyway) of her trust in me. For that I am so very thankful, and will not
ever take that for granted!
The fact that she was abandoned, etc. and was a rescue was a
challenge in the beginning; there’s no denying that! The fact, though, that she has allowed me to
love her and has let her walls down enough now to love me back and trust me
like she does, amazes me to no end. I am
so incredibly blessed and thankful!
I love you, Sassy!
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