wanted: critique of event/ monday morning quarterbacking

[Tara Wheeler <harpy@io.com>]

This last weekend I finally managed to get my husband to go riding with me.
No big deal, right?  I put him on our bomb-proof beginner's  mare, and I
took my 'needs work' trail horse.  We went out on our back 20 and then
crossed over to our neighbors' 100 acre pasture.

Everything was going swimmingly.  Husband and bomb-proof horse getting on
well,  my mare's doing everthing I ask.  Everthing I could have asked for a
first ride.  Laughing, smiling, looking at the cows, letting my husband
practice trotting.

Suddenly my husband said: 'heads up!' and this big honking gelding blazed
in from nowhere, practically knocking my mare off her feet.

His horse wickered and simpered and battered her eyelashes.  Mine screamed
a challenge and started trying to (alternatly) rear and strike with front
hooves and cow kick (she connected at least once) with the rear ones.

I tried to calm my horse, tried to keep an eye on my husband's horse
(needen't have worried, the hussy did nothing more than the horse
equavalent of giggle and flirt) and tried to convince the gelding that he
was not a stallion and that he'd be a lot happier elsewhere.

Just when I thought things couldn't get worse, another gelding arrived.
Both proceeded to circle my horse, roaring, bucking, screaming and kicking,
to which mine replied in kind.

I had seen these geldings before, but had not seen them in this particular
pasture for months.  I was thinking they'd been moved to another pasture as
I'd been given permission to ride the property and the property owners
hadn't mentioned them.

Now, here's where I want your opintions.  I felt that the situation was out
of control.  So far, my horse had tried to rear (which I managed to kick
her out of) and had done a couple dozen little crow hops as she cow kicked
the circling beasties. I ducked my head, stayed low on her withers and took
up as much slack on the reins as I could.  I waited until she paused for
breath and kicked my feet out of the stirrups and hopped off.  I clipped
off one side of the reins so she could now circle me and proceeded to move
this party to the nearest gate.  I was prepared to turn her loose and worry
about saving the humans first.

My husband was still having a great time, but I got him to get down too and
told him that if he felt he couldn't control his horse from the ground, he
should unhook the reins and let her go.  He proceeded to happily lob dried
cow patties at the geldings as he led his calm but prancing mount.

We managed to make the gate (some 50 yards away) and got through
unmolested.  Once the gate was closed we both re-mounted and rode home
quietly.

My husband's been telling everyone at work about what a great ride he went
on this weekend and how exciting it had been.  I'm nodding, smiling and
wondering what I should have done.  I felt as if either of us could have
been thrown at any minute and that the situation was a barely controled
near-miss disaster.

I'm pleased at the bomb-proof mare's responce; had mine been as calm as
his, I would have probably had us both ride quietly for the gate.

My mare's been around strange horses before at play-days, and taken the
occasional swipe at too-friendly geldings interested in her privates, but
had never been under saddle while strange horses were at liberty.  I have
never seen her this furious.  However, once I was on the ground she did not
attempt to yank herself free and kept herself between me and both geldings.
She stopped bucking and rearing and instead screamed and bared teeth at
them.

What should I have done?  Any suggestions?  What do you do when strange
horses come exploding out of the brush at you?  If I had seen them coming,
what would have been a good strategy other than running like mad for the
gate?

Just obsessing over the might-have-beens,


Tara Wheeler
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"She is the virgin harlot. She is vulgar, witty, knowlegable to a depth
that terrifies, cruel when she is most kind, unthinking while she thinks,
and when she seeks to build, she is as destructive as the corriolis storm."
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Bijas from 'Dune Messiah' speaking about Alia and harpy@io.com