Leap of Faith

Leap of Faith

Kevin on Starry, Shari on Bella and me on Cole were out on a trail ride the other day--and we were having a great time.  It was one of those cold but sunny days.  All the horses were feeling pretty good--as they do on a chilly spring day.  Bella spooked a few times, but that is normal.  Starry and Bella adore each other and they love going out on rides together.  

On the way home, Kevin took a little side path that parallels the bridle trail.  Shari and I stayed on the bridle trail.  She was in the lead, then Kevin and I was last in line.  We were simply walking.

Starry suddenly reached down to grab something to eat.  I didn't see Kevin pull his head up or Starry step sideways, but I did see Kevin's leg hit a sapling.  The little tree started swinging back and forth. The best we can figure out is the tree caught Kevin's leg and pulled him off the saddle.

I watched in horror as Kevin slowly slipped to the ground.  It would have been an easy landing--but he never landed.  His foot got twisted and he was hanging from the saddle upside down.  At first, it didn't even register in my mind what happened--it didn't even seem real.  I expected him to keep falling, but he didn't--he just hung there.  I hopped off Cole, and we headed that way.  That is when I saw the small ditch we would have to cross to get there and knew it was not going to be an easy thing to reach Kevin.

At that moment, I realized that the best thing to do was put my faith in Cole.  I told him to stand and ran over to Kevin who was about 10 feet away.  When I got there, I glanced back to see Cole standing parked out like a proper Morgan just watching us.  He wasn't even trying to eat the nearby bush.

I turned back to Kevin and untwisted his foot and let him fall down to the ground.  I immediately ran back to Cole, clicked him, gave him a handful of carrots and told him how wonderful he was.

I looked towards Kevin, and that is when I saw Starry wandering over to Bella--without Kevin.  In the fall, Kevin dropped the reins.  I asked Cole to stand again and went over to catch Starry.  By then, Kevin was on his feet, and I brought Starry back to him--then ran back to Cole to give him another handful of carrots. I told him he was my hero--and I meant it.

Truly, all three horses were terrific.  They all stood when we needed them.  Though Cole was my hero for what he did--it was really Starry who was the most fantastic.  Once Kevin slipped off, Starry stood like a statue.  Bella was also wonderful.  She is a horse that spooks and logs and pieces of bark on the ground--yet with all the commotion, she also stood quietly.  All three horses contributed to averting a potential disaster.

I have spent a lot of time teaching Cole to stand without being held.  Many times, I have cleaned all 4 feet while he is standing out in the driveway after the ride so I can just put him in his stall, untack him and be done.  Lately, I have had him parking out while I open and close doors.  He was really responding to his training.  Still, allowing him to stand in the middle of the park did take a leap of faith on my part--and I am so glad it all worked out.  Kevin was unharmed, and we were all smiling on the way home.