Yesterday was proof that horses are incredibly adept at sensing and reacting to vibes in the air. Emily and I arrived to the farm around 12:30 or so and it was eerily quiet. She mentioned that Sundays are generally low key days there, but there was something a bit unique about that way the farm felt when we got out of the car. We both looked at each other and commented on it. We went inside and a young girl with shorts, half chaps and a helmet came into the tack room and told us that just before we had arrived, a woman who had been riding in the indoor took a nasty fall. Her horse spooked at one end of the arena (I found out later she has been thinking of selling him due to constant spooking) and she landed really hard on her back. She didn't get up right away and emergency services were called. According to the girl, two fire trucks and a few ambulances arrived and quickly assessed that the woman needed to be airlifted out of there. The only field available for a helicopter to land was filled with horses in turnout and there were several horses in private turnouts nearby. Everyone on the property scrambled to get each and every horse inside before they could land the chopper. The girl was still out of breath and covered in sweat when she recanted the story to us so it was hard to believe with how quiet the farm seemed, that only moments before had been utter chaos. Hopefully the woman involved will be ok. She and her horse were scheduled to go to HITS Saugerties in the next week or so.
We got the boys out and Emily checked Jacks leg (he had cut it open a few weeks ago and it's healing nicely). She wrapped him in some polos and put him in a small round pen to stretch his legs and eat some grass. We groomed Charlie for his photo shoot and took him to one end of the barn aisle to set up the shot. After a few minutes of shooting, Emily peeked around the corner to see if Jack was keeping all his feet on the ground...um, not so much. He was rearing and walking around on his back legs, practically climbing out of the round pen. She handed me Charlie and ran off to bring him in. This is a horse you have to draaaaaaag behind you when you're leading him and he acted like a wild eyed colt as she tried to get him into the barn without incident. I yelled down the aisle that he looked ready for the "jog". Something in the air? I'll say.
We finished Charlie's photo shoot and we got him tacked up. I was really excited about riding him again and Emily wanted to see me jump him (I was admittedly really nervous about jumping in front of her). So we headed straight up to the jumping field (it's a big, beautiful field with rolling hills and lots of neat jumps everywhere). I got on and he was antsy to say the least. Emily went off to start setting some jumps and I started warming him up. There was some head shaking (uncharacteristic of him) and he seems a bit more tense than the day before, but I figured he's work out of it. I wasn't about to tolerate silly behavior even if he is only 4! The bugs were REALLY bad and we had forgotten to fly spray him, so Emily ran off to the barn to grab some. She suggested I do some walk-canter-walk transitions to get him light on his forehand, so off we went. I got a beautiful walk-canter from him and I immediately got into a light seat (Emily's saddle is a VERY forward XC saddle that's a bit big for me) and then I sat a little, and then got back into a light seat. I was about to ask for a down transition when...was that a BUCK? Buck...BUCK...holy shit he DOES have a buck...BUCK (I saw his hind quarters out of the corner of my eye)...I'm going to fall off and Emily is now a speck on the horizon almost at the barn...don't lose it now Niamh...I sat deep, looked up, pulled his head up and kicked him forward. Phew! I was curious if Emily saw any of it (she caught either the beginning or the end of it)...and I was proud of myself for not losing it or falling off -- how embarrassing that would have been. We walked around until she got back and I told her what happened. She mentioned that he tried a little buck with her sister-in-law but nothing major, but that she has seen him buck wildly on the longe line. I got off and she hopped on, I just wanted to see if she felt the same tension/agitation that I was getting. His bucks almost suggested a tack issue...but there was no evidence to suggest that...We think it was likely the bugs so we took him back to the outdoor arena away from the long grass. He still seemed quite tense and bratty, and I was slightly relieved that it wasn't something that was just happening for me. She trotted him over some ground poles and he cantered/hopped and nearly offered a buck. Odd. I mentioned that perhaps all the commotion on the farm earlier probably created a bit of an electric atmosphere and she agreed. He was even wild-eyed in the wash stall -- which she said was completely out of character...
Oh horses.
I'm sad he's leaving because I would have loved to ride him a few more times with Emily and Jack (now that he's nearly better). Once Jack's 100% sound and mostly sane she said I can try him too! In the meantime she's going to keep an eye out for any potential projects around the farm. There's an adorable 16h dark bay mare coming off stall rest that would be perfect for me. She's a little OTTB, 3, and just as sweet as can be. Has a walk, trot, canter and has gone over a cross rail or two. I poked my head into her stall to say hello, and she soooooo wanted to go do something. We shut the door and squealed and bounced around her stall! I may take some jumper lessons with a trainer there to get my sea legs back over fences too!
Follow up post to come, complete with photos!
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