Ouch

So I tried to get out to the barn at 7:10 to go to the show with Alyssa. The 31 left more than 2 minutes early, while the 72 was roughly 9 minutes late. Bummer. But I stocked up on food and got to Stoneybrook early. Played with the kittens until it warmed up. (They're getting bigger everyday, and momma cat is pretty sick of them.)

I took Colonel out in hand, and lunged him in the outdoor dressage arena. He was quite hyped up. We alternated leading and working going around the field. After a while he really settled down nicely. He led really really well on the way back, hardly a wrong step. I turned him out and he didn't do much. So I put him back.

I got Star out, bareback as usual. She was fine to walk around the arena. She was startled by a car engine starting up, and spooked in the same spot she heard it a couple of times. Pretty routine, especially since she hasn't been out in a week or so. Picking up the trot went very very poorly. She was pretty out of control and I slid off her and banged into the arena rail. Ow.

She ran around nervously for a second or two and then trotted up to me to either gloat or see how I was doing. I couldn't decide. I lunged her until she'd worked up a pretty good sweat. The problem was that I had left the lunge line with Colonel and so I just grabbed half a long rein. Thinking that would be fine. It was pretty short and I worry about lunging a horse for too long on that short a line. So I hopped back on her sweaty little self, and we walked around. She was pretty worked up, so I decided we'd do a little trot and then call it quits.

We did do a little trot, we did subsequently call it quits, so that all went as planned. The part where she bolted and I slipped off the side of her, smacked my hand on a jumping standard, hit my hip in my usual fashion, scratched and cracked (sortof) my helmet, and rolled under a table; that part was less planned.

Cari was giving a lesson and she and her student's mom were very kind. They put Star away, got me an ice pack for my back, and later I got a ride to Providence Milwaukee emergency room. Yay. My nurse there was a retired farrier, so that was cool. The X-rays were negative, and I had a mini neurological exam just because of the damage to my helmet. My back is bruised, my brain is not. As it happened my mom called while I was there, and Jesse answered the phone, promptly reporting to my mother, "Hi, I'm with Gillian in the emergency room, but everything looks fine."

My mom: "What!?!"

She apparently was not as in the loop as we assumed she was. Shockingly, she wasn't too worried about it. Apparently I make a convincing impression of a lucid person. Who knew?

So, that was my day. I can walk, in little baby steps. As soon as I'm feeling up to it Star and I are going to spend some quality time in the western saddle, and if the fits not perfect, I dont care. Its not hurting her badly enough to worry about, and she definitely needs an attitude adjustment. I guess its just like the halter, it worked fine until she realized that she didn't need to do a thing I said. Bummer.