A nasty freak accident for me and Una Or How I ignored my intituion and got us backhanded by the universe
About a week ago I had a conversation with my Mum about intuition. I told her about a long, long list of times I'd had a very strong sense that I should not ride a horse, ignored that feeling, and regretted it later.
"Eh." I concluded. "I'm not so sure its anything very mysterious. I've been riding for nearly 20 years - it would be more weird if I couldn't pick up on subtle signs there was something wrong" My mum said. "Next time, you should listen to that voice and not get on the horse"
...
I've spent the last 24hrs with the strangest sense I needed to find a reason to cancel my riding lesson today.
I wasted away the day weirdly obsessed with saddles. I was driven to distraction at work by "saddlessaddlessaddlessaddles". It came from nowhere and refused to let up.
I followed up on the bareback pad I have transit - previously I had been unconcerned by its progress through the postage system, but now I suddenly wanted it to arrive immediately. Alas, eta 2 days.
I contacted the brand rep for a unconventional treeless saddle I'd been eyeing up which I thought would work for Una if I took the stirrups off. Could I take a trial saddle - "Yes but not until the weekend". I immediately lost interest.
I considered cancelling my lesson 100 times. I visualized myself suggesting an inhand lesson, a riding simulator lesson, a bareback lesson, an unmounted rider workshop. I rehearsed the words I would say and how I would say them. I didn't say them.
I messaged my instructor - "How do you feel about the weather?". We both agreed the weather was fine.
...
Una came to me in the pasture. I asked her if she was alright. "Give me a sign - any sign - and I'll cancel". Una seemed fine.
I carefully felt all over her back. I even photographed her topline from all angles. Unas back seemed good. I checked Una over physically with a fine toothed comb. Sound and healthy.
I stared at Una and thought about turning up to my lesson bareback. I'd done it before. My mate has done it before. I had a strong picture in my mind of how my legs would look wrapped around her fluffy barrel. It was raining now. I walked to my tack locker.
I gave myself a pep talk about paranoia. A little worm in my brain pointed out I'd never felt paranoid about Una before. I decided I would ask at the next EFP Q&A how to tell the difference between paranoid and intuition. I carried back my saddle to my horse.
My saddle fitter unexpectedly turned up at the yard and as I was lifting the gear onto Unas back. "I think there is something wrong with this saddle." I told her. "Really? What do you mean?" "I dont know! Unas happy to work, her back feels great, no pain signals. It just feels off! There is something wrong. I think bareback is better at the moment." "..." I tightened the girth. "Im going to get on anyway and try figure out what it is!"
...
I warmed up inhand. I nearly took Una out of the arena so many times. Una was starting to pick up on my feelings. "Trail ride?" she pointed her nose off towards the pastures. "Lesson." I reminded her, and got on.
I rode Una to the spookiest part of the arena and dropped the reins on her neck. Una was not in a spooky mood.
I greeted my instructor with "Something is off today". My instructor looked at me. My instructor looked at Una. I looked at my instructor. I looked at Una. One leg cocked, Una gave my instructors raincoat a friendly snuffle while her ears flicked back and forth at our conversation. "Well" my instructor said sensibly. "We will do as much or as little as you like".
I started riding Una proper. Una felt great. All the things we'd been practising are coming together well. A stray thought wandered across my mind - "wouldnt this be even better bareback?"
"We should ride in this corner, for safety" I suggested nonsensically. I started in the corner but as things continued to go well, slowly migrated down the longside of the arena.
I kept feeling a weird tension in my low spine. "Sssshhh." I whispered to my body. Whenever I told it to, my back softened. Whenever my mind returned to my horse, my back tensed up.
...
I won't keep you guys in suspense any longer. About 10 minutes into my ride, I brushed my lower leg against the side of the arena during a sharp turn and got my stirrup caught on the corner of a side gate. Una kept walking, the saddle was yanked around to one side, Una jumped left, the saddle rolled further right, and about a minute later I was on the ground and Una was standing in the corner with the saddle under her belly and the reins between her legs.
Freak accident. No one could have seen it coming (?!?)
No fault to the pony. Lots of comfort and reassurance for Una.
All parties shaken but unharmed.
Surface level lessons I should learn from this: 1. Safety stirrups 2. Safety stirrup leathers 3. Teach Una about things flapping off to either side, about things dragging in the dirt underneath and behind her.
The deeper lesson I should learn from this: Next time, I should listen to that voice and not put the saddle on the horse
...
I crouched down infront of Una after taking off her halter.
"I'm sorry. That was my screwup. I need to do a better job of trusting my intuition."
Una said "Hmmpgh." and ate grass.