A Series of Unfortunate Events

Well, you can't always have success...there are always bound to be bumps in the road and Ronin and I have hit several right in a row.

I was planning on doing two shows in June and two this month as well.  Life has had other plans for us.  Right before the first June show, Ronin got new shoes and got a bad nail in his left front.  He was good the Friday before the show, so on the trailer he went.  Saturday, I pulled him out to work him midday (since we show late) and he was quite lame left front.  We pulled the nail and let him rest for an hour and pulled him out again to see if he was any better...nope.  So packed the foot and home he went.  So the next week, I packed his foot in hopes it was just a bad nail and gave him NSAIDs, but he got progressively worse.

That Friday, he was crippled lame - as in it looked like he had broken something.  He is a wuss when it comes to pain, so we pulled the shoe to alleviate any pressure that the shoe was putting on his foot.  His whole outside bar and toe were sore, so I packed his foot and kept him on some NSAIDs.  The next time I saw him, he was much better.  Still sore on the outside and toe of his hoof.  Since he went from sound the week before to crippled lame, we think it was an abscess.  After another week of packing and NSAIDs, we finally put a shoe back on and he is perfectly sound and happy.

So, now it is three days before the first July show.  Even if he was sound, it wasn't fair to bring him to the show this weekend.  One of the girls at the barn who also does the AA hunters with me is at a wedding, so they said that I could take her horse to the show.  Perfect.  Give Ronin some time to recuperate and I would still get to show.

However, life had other plans for me.  I was hacking a horse at another barn and almost done flatting.  I was cantering across the diagonal and going to do a lead change when the horse tripped and couldn't catch himself.  Down he went, to both knees and all the way to his head.  He almost went completely over, as there was dirt behind his ears, but thankfully, he didn't completely fall.  I 'lawn-darted' into the dirt, falling directly onto the right side of my face, right shoulder, and right leg.  It happened so fast, I have no idea what actually happened, but from my injuries, this is my best guess.  When the horse fell, I immediately got up, saw that the rein was caught around his right front, fixed that, then just stood there dumbfounded.  What had just happened.  Once I had caught my breath, I saw my left hand.  I also seemed to have landed with my left hand in a fist since it looked like I had broken my left hand.  There was a giant bump right behind my index knuckle.  So to say I was a bit terrified was an understatement.

Someone came from the viewing area, who had seen it all happen, and grabbed the horse to let him walk.  I went in to wash my face and the BO called the horse's owner to let him know what happened.  The horse is fine; he was given some NSAIDs to help and checked several times to make sure he was ok.  I however, went to the ER and got to wait 3 hours before I was seen.

Thankfully, one of the adults at my barn drove me there and she is a saint.  She and I are 'horse show moms' to each other at the shows since we show in different divisions and she is always there for anyone at the barn.  We got all signed in and she got me some ice for my hand and head.  My hand looked really bad, but my head also didn't look so good.  After an hour, my eye started to turn colors and it looked like I was going to have a pretty good black eye.

After several hours, we finally were taken to the back so that I could be evaluated.  They x-rayed my hand and did a CT scan of my head.  After another hour of waiting for results, no broken hand and eye socket was fine.  Only a concussion.  So now I am on rest for a few days to treat my bumps and bruises and concussion.  I will be icing often and using quite a bit of Arnica.  Arnica is one of the only homeopathic remedies that I think actually works.  It really helps to heal bruises and thankfully, I have 1 and 1/2 bottles of it (thank you Lauren for putting me on to this...only thing that really helps bruises heal quickly).  See bottom for progression of black eye...if you don't want to see it, don't scroll to the bottom.  As a rider, I'm pretty used to seeing bumps and bruises and don't mind it.  It is sort of a badge of honor among riders and I find it pretty interesting to see how the body tries to heal itself.

So after a pretty horrific fall that could have ended a lot worse, just a concussion (which is nothing to sneeze at!).  I am so happy that I always wear a helmet.  And on that note, happy Helmet Awareness Week!  I will be going Saturday to buy a new helmet since Dover Saddlery up to 20% off helmets!

...and now for the photos.  My friend took photos throughout the process from when the black eye was just starting to form.  I have taken a few photos of it the next day too.  I have an awesome ice pack holder that allows me to velcro it around my head, so it is perfect.  Also, if anyone was wondering if those alcohol ice packs work, they do.  Really nice as it gets cold and almost gel-y, but breaks up nicely and conforms really well, especially to an eye since that is not an easy place to ice.  It is one part rubbing alcohol to three parts water.  Put into a plastic bag and I also double bagged it.  I made a few so that I could rotate them out.

From in the hospital to the next day...