Sunday, April 3, 2011

The Horse-Eating Arch of Death

Life with Royal is always interesting.

Yesterday, I went out to the farm, planning to ride but also hoping to get another side conformation picture. I had take the first set by the front field where Royal lives, since I can get some good sunlight there. About 15 feet from the fence line, there was a metal archway that we had walked by (and sometimes through) many times before. But yesterday, Royal's tail got caught on one it and he flipped out. He started bolting with this big white thing chasing him and I was powerless to stop him. Luckily I was on the ground and not riding, but my hand got slammed up against a tree and I got some scrapes on my fingers. Once the arch fell out of his tail, he stopped, but was still shaken up. Both of us were. It was obvious the arch was beyond repair, but neither of us were badly hurt.

I was able to do some riding, but he was still shaken up. It took a while for him to calm down and I figured he was okay.

Today proved me wrong. I went out with the intention of doing some more riding and Royal seemed okay. He met me at the gate and everything seemed okay, but upon grooming him I discovered he didn't want me touching his legs. He wasn't even okay with me just rubbing them. I abandoned the goal of riding and just resolved to help him get over his fear. It took an hour for him to let me touch his legs without stiffening or trying to take them away. I thought that he could be sore, but he wasn't snatching them away like he normally does when he's sore. I figured that it was worth it to deal with it now instead of letting it blow up into a big problem later.

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