Bronc Riding

I wasn’t even going to ride, but it was so quiet that i decided why not. We had a successful trail ride the other day and even though spring was in the air and my horse was a touch cranky i though it a good idea to tack up the girl and put a few more miles on her.

What bad horses look like

She was a little Zoomy and very forward but i got her attention and we trotted adding in many circles, she settled in and i decided to canter her. She easily went into the canter but right away started to buck. What the hell! this was new, i felt like i was on a river rafting trip ans she bucked/cantered all the way down the short side of the arena. I had to one rein stop her to get her to stop. I actually said out loud though no one was in the ring to hear me “What they hell is wrong with you that’s not allowed” as if my headstrong pony would listen. I had never felt her buck before, hell i had never seen her buck before.

We walked and i had her move off my leg from side to side, she was listening. I had her trot, in small circles and then bigger circles, she was listening. I Had her stop and wait and then move on, she was listening. At that point a friend came into the ring to ride her big paint quarter horse. as she was mounting i thought id take Jez over a little baby jump on the opposite of the ring. the smallest cross rail you have ever seen and one we’ve hopped over several times before. usually Jez just trots over it and doesn’t muster even the effort for an actual “jump” well she did today.

She jumped it, then broke into a canter and then… bucking. not just one buck but series of actual big rolling bucks, the kind that are designed to get me off. That’s just what happened i was bucked off… into the fence. I hit it hard my head making contact with the wood  just underneath my helmet that had gotten pushed forward during the time i was trying to hang on for 8 seconds, i broke at least one rail on the way down and i landed on my back, i think. My left hand got caught up in the reins. Jez just stood over me as i lay there in the dirt. My friend yelled out asking if was i hurt and i yelled back… Yes, i hit my head.

Another barn friend ran out (an ex trauma nurse) and and based on the fact i was very dizzy, getting nauseous, everything was going white and getting very tunnel like to call 911. The ambulance and fire truck arrived sirens blazing cuz yanno why not make a spectacle of yourself. i was strapped on a backboard and a neck brace was put on and away in a ambulance  was taken. good times. At the hospital a CT scan was done, lower back X-rays, and hand X-rays. My head and neck are fine my lower back isn’t broken but man it hurts like a mofo and my hand will i knew that was broken cuz it was twisted the wrong way. yup i was right, its going to need a pin which think means surgery. I’ll find out more today when i get the orthopedist on the phone and make my surgery appointment.

Temporary splint needs a pin

My barn manger and the farm owner showed up to the hospital which i think was going above and beyond. They are really great people and I am very touched by how caring they are. My amazing better half jumped in a cab and got there much faster then i expected, and kept me calm and cheerful. The staff at the hospital were all very nice and in good moods, plus they gave me a ton of really good drugs including dilaudid which is more commonly known  as hospital heroin. So i was in good spirits though getting out of the hospital was challenging the drugs coupled with my lower back issue made it really hard for me to walk. So i was wheeled out in a chair. Boo!

I slept though most of the night but today my back is in a lot of pain, its hard to get from laying to sitting and then sitting to standing. Walking yeah that’s only the 5 steps to the bathroom and back. Surprisingly my broken finger doesn’t hurt to bad  in my splint and i can two finger type. I hope this pin i need in it won’t be such an ordeal but I’ve never broken a bone before so I’m a little nervous about the whole thing.

I made arrangements in my hospital heroin stupor for my friend who’s been exercising Jez to work with her while I’m down for the count. I think i need to call her and find out what i said for sure cuz its kinda a fog. I’m going to chalk this up to spring fever. My pony needs to understand shes not a wild horse who can just do whatever she wants  when shes in a mood and were going to work on that yanno as soon as I’m cleared to get back in the saddle. I’m crossing my fingers that will be soon. I need to get back on that horse.