Trauma Pages Cont....

Now for part two of why Melanie is a cautious rider...lol!!! (This is actually the part that Chelsi suggested that I share with you) Oh, and I wanted to say that I appreciate all of your comments about my mom and sister. This is the first time that I have sat down and written about that incident, and it was really helpful for me. In retrospect, I think that what damaged me so bad about that accident, was having to live/deal with the aftermath of it.

Have any of you seen someone who has had 1/2 of their face ripped off, or seen someone who has undergone facial surgery??? Trust me...it is really nasty. The swelling that accompanies trauma to a face is unbelievable, and my mother looked like the Elephant Man for about two weeks. Not only that, but I was a typical "I hate my mother" teenager, and when she almost died....well lets just say it made me feel really guilty. Like it was somehow my fault that she got hurt. So there you have it! I think that I am now cured...lol!!!


(Shadest and Sienna circa 1995)

Now on to part two....This part is really simple. Most of you have read all about Shadest (my childhood horse of 16 years), and about how wonderful he was. And he truly was...don't get me wrong, but he had one tragic flaw, and that was that he had the habit of turning into a complete, full-out, rodeo bronc when you cantered or galloped him. And I am not talking about a little crow hop here and a bigger buck there...he literally would explode like one of those horses on the old Western movies. (I think that most of you have seen those and know what I am talking about) (Shadest and Beki in a Showmanship class)

Now I would like to think that he bucked like that because he was ridden by a bunch of young punks, and so he got away with it, but I remember the first time he did it to me, I jumped off of him when he was done, and literally beat the S%*@# out of him. Once I knew to watch for it, I would ride it out as best I could ,and then beat the snikies out him. I had chiropractors, saddle fitters, massage therapists, and acupuncturists check him out (multiple times), and no one could find any cause for his behavior either. And the bad part was that he was the best horse other than that. He would go anywhere and do anything, but you literally placed your life in grave danger when you cantered or galloped him.


Trainers??? Well they wanted me to "leave" Shadest with them for a month or two, and they promised to get the buck out of him, but being a silly, romantic teenage girl, I wasn't about to let that happen. In retrospect, I should have sent him to someone (with a good reputation), or my parents should have forced me to...I don't know.....

(Me and Shadest circa 1992)

As he got older, and his training kept progressing, I began to ride more and more English style, and had a Dressage instructor suggest that I ride him in a jointed Pelham with either double reins or a connector, so I would at least have some leverage to stop him from bucking. Thankfully it helped out a lot, but he was still dangerous, because you never knew when he was going to explode...it wasn't every time I rode him.

Thankfully I was never hurt on him, but as I got older, my sisters started showing and riding him, and Amber sustained a concussion or two, and a broken arm. By that point, we had had him for so long that selling him wasn't an option, and I began to look around for a trainer to take him to, as I was now a mother and did not want to risk my life anymore. As you all know he ended up colicking and being put down, so I never had the chance to try that last step, but I can tell you that if he were still alive today, I would not let my kidlets ride him any faster than a trot/jog. Even if he had gone to a trainer and they had fixed the problem. Would I still ride him??? Probably, but that is only because I knew how to keep an iron grip on his reins when we cantered.
(Shadest and Jen)

So now you can probably see why I will only ride well-broke and trustworthy horses today. I have been there and done that, and I don't want to do it again...lol!!!
Old Bo Bo has been such a blessing in my life, because I knew him from when Amber had him before, and even though he does occasionally have his out of body experiences (what Arab doesn't??) he doesn't buck or rear or try to kill me...lol!!!


Well I hope that I haven't bored you all to tears, and I do have one more tidbit that I want to share with you (later), and then I will get back to blogging as usual...I promise!