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

LOL.  Guess I shouldn't have kept you so long talking, you may have been
past the turnoff before the killer mattress got there.  It is too bad there
wasn't a video camera nearby.  You could have gotten on the ever popular
FOX show: "When Furniture ATTACKS"

--- Rae Callaway
--- tallcarabians@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
--- Tall C Arabians - SE Texas



> [Original Message]
> From: <RDCARRIE@xxxxxxx>
> To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
 > Date: 6/3/2002 5:35:49 PM
> Subject: [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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 Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
 Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
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