Well last week was interesting, to say the least. I do not think that I ever been happier for a Monday. That nasty cold I mentioned in my last post turned out to be an ear infection… Since apparently I am two. I also have poison ivy. For those of you who have never had poison ivy, do not get it! It is a terrible, itchy, painful, blistery rash that does not want to go away! My arm has been on fire. And to top it off, on Thursday Chance bucked me off. Pretty nastily. Ironically, our ride was going really well – he was quieter than he has been lately. All of a sudden though, he woke up and began breathing fire (as we like to call his mood swings). He was way too fast, so I bypassed the jump we were heading to and attempted to circle him so he would settle. He had other ideas. He started bucking, then reared – which got me in front of the saddle – then kept bucking. My fall was in slow motion. First, I was in front of the saddle, and at that moment I knew I was coming off. Then, I was on the side of him. I then literally felt myself disconnect from the saddle and fall to the ground. I remember thinking as I was on his side, “come on can I just hit the ground already!” Normally, falls happen so fast I barely know what happened. I felt this one, and felt myself in the air. When I finally hit the ground, I immediately found my legs and stood up; I did not realize that the fall had knocked the wind out of me, for I gasped for air before looking around to see where my dragon of a horse had run off to. Luckily, I was fine. I really think all the yoga I do has made it instinctual for me to relax my body when I am falling because I was not even all that sore. And let’s face it, falling off of a seventeen hand horse is a long way down!

So far, this week is looking up. My energy has finally returned; I had a good run and yoga practice this morning. The poison ivy seems to be healing (slowly but surely). Hopefully, Chance has gotten his fire breathing out of his system ;). And the weather forecast looks absolutely fabulous! Here is to a great week! Happy Monday everyone!

“Riding is the art of keeping a horse between you and the ground.” – Unknown

(A trainer I had used to say this! I felt it was pretty appropriate for this post!)