Ridecamp: [RC] Attacked By a Mattress <G>

After reading the stories under the "bombproofing" thread, I thought I'd 
share the latest life-threatening (TIC) calamity to befall my horse.  The 
poor guy had an "Arabian Moment" yesterday that probably took 5 years off his 
life.  He's always been pretty reactionary (let's just say he has a 
well-developed sense of self-preservation - LOL), but I gotta admit, this 
little adventure just about did him in.  <G>

I'd just finished up an hour and a half conditioning ride...I'd planned to go 
farther, but cut it short due to getting started late and it just being so 
blasted hot (SE Texas, 2:30 pm).  We were walking back along a moderately 
busy two-lane road through the National Forest.  I'd just run into a fellow 
endurance rider and we'd spent a few minutes visiting, then Chivas and I 
continued on down the road toward the trailer.  We were nearly to our turn 
off, so I crossed the road and was on the side facing on-coming traffic, 
riding about 20-25 feet off the pavement.  Chivas was puttering along, 
ignoring the traffic as always.  I saw a pickup approaching with a mattress 
and box spring in the back.  It crossed my mind that neither appeared to be 
tied down very well.  Suddenly, the mattress leaped out of the truck, landed 
about 40-50 feet ahead of us, and cartwheeled down the shoulder of the road 
toward us.

As the mattress began its sinister leap, I made a desperate (and fortunately, 
successful) grab for the breast collar strap and a handful of mane.  Chivas 
sat back on his haunches, whirled to the left, and bolted down the mowed 
roadside with a speed and impulsion generally only seen in Thoroughbreds 
exiting the starting gate at the beginning of the Kentucky Derby.  As he 
accelerated down the roadside, neck outstretched and ears plastered flat 
against his head (and in his mind, the mattress undoubtedly snapping at his 
hocks <G>), I could only hold on and go with the flow.  I do remember looking 
over as we passed the pickup (the driver had hit the brakes), and seeing the 
driver's shocked look.  Whether his shock was at losing his mattress or at 
the sight of a terror-stricken chestnut Arabian tearing down the roadside 
with a rider clinging to his back, I don't know.  I soon felt Chivas' initial 
panic and impulsion subside, at which time I began reeling him in.

I finally got him stopped and turned around.  I glaced down at my HRM, and 
noticed a HR of 187.  Hmmm...it had been in the low 50s when we were walking 
up the road.  I may have stumbled upon a new method of interval training.  My 
husband could drive down the road and hurl various articles of furniture out 
of vehicles at us.  <G>  Took me a while to work Chivas back up the road to 
where the Great White Mattress lay waiting.  I got him to within about 40-50 
feet of it, but no amount of blowing and snorting on his part would 
deactivate the creature.  So, in the interest of time, I crossed the road and 
we sidled past it from a safer distance.

As I was attempting to get past the mattress, the pickup driver was 
apologizing profusely for spooking my horse.  He actually seemed more worried 
about me and my horse than about his brand new mattress, which was now 
somewhat worse for the wear after its adventure.  After I calmed down, I 
realized that had the mattress flown out of the truck a second or two later, 
it could have hit us.  But as it was, all ended well, and I was left with a 
vague feeling of disapointment than no one had been standing around with a 
video camera to capture the attack on film.  <G>

Dawn in East Texas (where even the bedding can be dangerous...)

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