SPLAT!!!

["Celia Krall" <celiak@pcrs.net>]

Well, I may have to reconsider clipping.  That long hair itches when it
gets sweaty.

Was out for a ride Sunday.  Candi was walking along with great energy, nice
as you please.  (you'd have to be a total maniac to try any trotting on
these trails, and I''m only a partial maniac)  It was warm in the sunshine,
but we still have a lot of snow on the ground - with skinny tracks of snow,
which Candi tries to walk on to avoid the mud, which is slicker.  Lots of
mud.

She kept looking back at me - I should have known she was trying to tell me
something!

Out of the blue - no warning, (other than the looks) she drops to her
knees, and tucks her head to the side ready to roll.  Her back end was
coming down.  I dropped my stirrups, but to my great chagrin later on, and
due to the position we were both in I couldn't swing my leg behind me to
jump off.  I was getting out of there.  Swung my leg forward, towards her
head. 

Don't guess I've ever done that before.  She jumped up in a heartbeat, and
bolted.  I was in a pike position almost off the left side, so of course I
was blasted up into the air.  When I came down, she was gone.

Naturally, I landed in an icy mud puddle, flat on my back.  Knocked my wind
out.  She turned around and looked at me, and said "What the HECK are you
doing"?????  I'm pretty sure it just hadn't occured to her what would
happen if she tried to roll when there was a saddle and a rider on her
back.  All she knew was, her back itched.  She's never done that one
before.  Pretty sure she'll never do it again!

Soaking wet, black and blue, dizzy.  Had to walk for a ways - couldn't
quite bring myself to climb back on for a while.  Thank God the wind wasn't
blowing, and the sun was shining, and I was wearing polar fleece, which
after wrung out, dried before I got back to the trailer.

I have the dumbest wrecks!  Wish it was on video.  It would be hilarious to
watch.

Ow.