Subject: Re: [RC] [RC] what do I think when coming off?
Even with all my falls lately (nothing succeeds in breaking a person quite like old age), Dawn Carrie reminded me of one in particular. Not that I was hurt very bad, but the "oh, sh****" factor. When I got my middle horse, he has come from bad circumstances and was very thin, but (I thought) rideable. I had put my older, much more portly gelding's saddle on him. I was about to get on, not thinking about much except whether the girth was tight, and the boy took off, as only an ex-racehorse can, heading straight for a block wall with me mounted behind the saddle. I knew he would make the requisite hard right, I just did not think I would make it with him. I figured I would be paint on the wall. I've ridden through a lot of storms in my day, but I had never before bailed. I can't say I remember the process, but I ended in a heap at the foot of the wall.
Before I fell, I remember this feeling of absolute calm as I assessed my options. However, since then I have broken bones and I don't have the same equanimity I had that day.
