The ability to laugh at one's self...... - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

ramonajim · #1 07-28-2011, 04:31 PM

....... is invaluable.

Darling Wife has been taking horseback riding lessons for a few months (a long awaited follow up to the ~ six months of lessons she worked for as a kid by mucking stalls and painting pictures).

I may be biased (just a bit

) but I think she's quite good. Her instructors (she seems to get a new one every second or third week) seem to agree. She's been riding a horse that was literally dumped in the driveway of the farm where she takes lessons (they do rescue). He's been called unride-able, and he certainly hasn't been trained much at all, but Darling Wife gets on with him (Ice) well.

Tuesday she got tossed. Nothing broken, but by this morning she's pretty much feeling like a whiplash victim. Following a long standing tradition we share with a bunch of friends, she documented her escapade in MS Paint:

Accuracy of the relative distances between between flying red head, goon horse, and ground have been confirmed by Chickie (she rides with Darling Wife) and Cowboy Mike (this week's instructor and damn fine guy).

We're keeping tabs on her, comparing her owies to the one time she actually did get whiplash (arsehat in a Expedition forget to stop behind us) and if she's not markedly less owie tomorrow off to the Doc she goes.

BobK · #2 07-29-2011, 07:19 AM

OUCH! Well, as you know, it all depends on the first points of impact. Straight back hitting flat can take a lot. Nicely padded butt can too (my overstuffed rear end could probably handle train impact). Shoulders don't like impact. Head and neck of course don't tolerate much at all. From her drawings, looks like she managed to land fairly well. Does she wear a helmet?
I have found from painful experience that a lot of the head, neck and shoulder pain comes from body doing its best to keep head from hitting anything very hard. All those muscles working to decelerate the head and hold it off the surface it is trying to hit. She's going to be sore for awhile. I'll bet she had/will have some interesting things to say to the horse!
Hope she feels a lot better real soon. Now you get to pay her back for all she has done caring for you

SwampYankee · #3 07-29-2011, 07:31 AM

Yikes, that was close! Glad to hear she's relatively ok!

MS Fowler · #4 07-29-2011, 08:18 AM

I have a 65 year old female friend who is a very competent rider. She gets thrown every couple of years. Cracks ribs/ collar bone etc. One time a snake spooked the horse; another time it was a dog. She keeps riding.
Her neighbors know to call 911 when they see her riderless, saddled horse return to the stable w/o her.

ramonajim · #5 07-29-2011, 09:02 AM

Best can be reconstructed, Darling Wife hit first on her right butt cheek, then right elbow and shoulder. Thinking is that on first impact her helmeted (never rides without one) snapped back in the same motion you get from being rear ended in a car.

She hopped up immediately, retrieved Ice (who'd raced off towards the barn - THEM OTHER HORSES ARE GOING IN FOR FOOOOOODDDDD, DAMMIT!), and worked with Cowboy Mike to put the goon horse through half an hour of "No, this stubborn red head is in charge, we're standing still now. Now we walk - EH! Nope, not a walk, we're gonna circle until you stop and are still. Now we walk lather/rinse/repeat" exercises.

She didn't get sore until Wednesday evening, spent most of yesterday laying down but keeping moving in small, slow, gentle ways. Was better by last night. If she's not dramatically better by Monday (or stays the same today), off to the doc this stubborn silver head is gonna drag her

BobK · #6 07-29-2011, 09:10 AM

Yeah, sounds like whiplash injury. Goon horse stands no chance against redhead.

Dee8go · #7 07-29-2011, 10:10 AM

What in the hell does she want to ride a horse for? Ya'll are not short on cars. Horses are so old school . . .

lutzTD · #8 07-29-2011, 10:23 AM

why not just ride a horse that is not "un-ridable"? just like people, some horses just dont abide free riders, and a horse will have its way no matter how much you think or train it to the contrary. I have a lot of freinds who are riders and one has a horse that flips sideways to the ground whenever it decides it no longer wants to carry him. they have to severely train this horse every so often but its still a ticking time bomb till the next time. I would find much more enjoyment riding a more calm horse, sure they dont run quite so fast but they will get you to the end in one piece with the peace of mind knowing they are not volitile. To me its like driving a car with an electrical short. you will always have in the back of your mind its going to leave you stranded some where, but at least its not going to trample you

MS Fowler · #9 07-29-2011, 10:41 AM

On another thread someone pointed out that you cannot expect rational behavior from irrational people.
Same goes for horse-people.

Please do not show this to the red head!

ramonajim · #10 07-29-2011, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dee8go

What in the hell does she want to ride a horse for? Ya'll are not short on cars. Horses are so old school . . .

Hey now - we thinned the automotive herd! Lady Gretel (the mighty wagon pictured in my siggy pic - guess I ought to update that at some point) went to a new home in Virginia a few weeks back. Darling Wife's silver yada was sold to a dear crazy friend who's reliving his misspent yoot (and far too many dollars) taking it trackin'

Granted, a free 78 300D did find its way to our drive..... still - the net is a 1 car decrease

Guess the current fleet is:

Ma Truck (80-something red Ranger non-functional truck)
Gustav (72 280SE 4.5)
Silver Benz (78 300D)
White Yada (94 Miata - Darling Wife's driver)
Red Yada (93 Miata - my driver)
Elvira (carcass of 97 Miata - my former driver)
Red Sled (Ed's 90 300D - not really ours, but lives in our driveway since Ed lives in our house )

Let's not talk about which direction the size of the furry herd is going

ramonajim · #11 07-29-2011, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lutzTD

why not just ride a horse that is not "un-ridable"? just like people, some horses just dont abide free riders, and a horse will have its way no matter how much you think or train it to the contrary.

Un-ridable was a seriously misapplied moniker for Ice - he was just never trained (well, he was trained; trained that when he misbehaved, he didn't have to work). Darling Wife describes him as a horse sized border collie; damn smart, very willing to learn and very willing to work - and it shows in the changes in his behavior now that he has someone working with him. Like a border collie, when he doesn't have a job, he gets bored and reverts to the bad habits his previous people taught him.

Ice is routinely ridden by little kids in lessons, and the consensus is that he is safe and does great with them.

The folks who run the farm/rescue tracked down the people who dropped Ice in their driveway. Story goes they wanted to become horse people, bought an untrained horse, and failed completely at training him. Between Darling Wife and some of the other folks at the farm, he's learning his role and has become a fine horse.

Red head on a red horse:

Txjake · #12 07-29-2011, 11:17 AM

I think we need more redhead pictures.....

dynalow · #13 07-29-2011, 11:18 AM

I've heard it said that horseback riding is as dangeous as motorcycle riding.
I'll take the chrome pony, thank you. Every time I think of falling off a horse, I think of poor Christopher Reeves.
Jim, I hope your wife recovers quickly & with no lasting discomfort.

Spine and spinal chord injuries are to be avoided at all costs. Ask me how I know.

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dynalow · #14 07-29-2011, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Txjake

I think we need more redhead pictures.....

x2

ramonajim · #15 07-29-2011, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dynalow

Spine and spinal chord injuries are to be avoided at all costs. Ask me how I know.

I feel your pain. Move that scar down to between the shoulder blades, and it would match mine pretty closely. Handful of vertebrae bolted to titanium rods thanks to a bicycle accident (made worse by my bamboo spine).