An Unexpected Dismount (wear your helmet!)

Posted on June 2, 2011 by

Well, it happens to just about everyone who rides horses on a regular basis. Yep, the “unexpected dismount” (aka unplanned, unscheduled, fell-off-and-oh-that-hurt). This is what it looks like when I’m actually successful at staying in the saddle:

My big mare Secret

Yes, that is me in the saddle. I realize my head is cut off, but this was the best shot of her I had to show her size. I look like a pea on her back, don’t I? Good grief, my legs barely come halfway down her side. But I digress…

My point is that she is BIG. She’s tall (16-3 hands) and stout. I am short (obviously), about 5’3″. When I come off her, it sure feels like a long way down. Plenty of time to think about how much it’s going to hurt when your body makes impact.

This time, it was an accident. She tripped on uneven ground, went down to her knees, tried to recover for a few strides… but by then it was too late for me. I somersaulted over her head and my head/neck/shoulders hit the ground. I was thankful for many things, believe it or not: the soft ground due to recent rains, the fact that she avoided stepping on me and my riding instructor was right there to help. But more than anything, I was thankful for my helmet. I don’t know if it saved my life or even saved me from serious injury, but I know it definitely would have hurt much worse if it hadn’t been on my head.

Please wear your helmet when you ride.

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Does Your Dog Freak Out in Thunderstorms?

Posted on May 16, 2011 by

Mine does.  In a big way (hey, she’s a big dog).  Since my first dog was thunderstorm-phobic also, I’m guessing there are many other dog owners out there who are in the same boat I am.

Here is Roxie, goofy Lab-extraordinaire, when she’s happy.  This is NOT how she looks when storms are in the vicinity:

goofy dog

Roxie running to me sitting on the ground... glad she chose to run around me instead of into me.

Things I’ve tried so far in my attempt to ease her stress:

  • Benadryl. I don’t like giving my dog drugs, but when you’re desperate for sleep, it can help.  If I give it to her, I only give 1 or 2 pills of Children’s Benadryl and that’s it (she weighs 80 lbs).
  • Thundershirt.  This seems to help take the edge off of her anxiety, but it hasn’t eliminated it.  I did make the mistake of getting a size too large for her though, so I wonder if it isn’t snug enough (the store where I purchased it wouldn’t let me exchange it).
  • Lavender calming room spray. Smells nice, but I noticed no effect on her stress level.
  • Putting the TV on and turning the volume up. This only fools her temporarily, when the thunder and lightning is still off in the distance.
  • Trying to desensitize her by playing thunderstorm sounds in various “white noise” applications on the computer. This DOES seem to help, but it takes time and patience to gradually increase the volume (no, doing it all in one night doesn’t work!).
  • Having her lie down next to me and just making sure I keep a hand on her or my arm around her. This has seemed to help her also. I don’t coddle her, but I do comfort her.
  • Putting her in a covered crate. This can help if I can actually convince her to go in. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve crawled in there first and stayed there with her (hey, it’s a big crate) until she was calm enough for me to leave her there.

Something I haven’t tried yet is the DAP Dog Appeasing Pheromone Diffuser. It has good reviews and I’ve heard good things about it from a few people, but it is a little pricey for something that I’m not sure will help.  If anyone else out there has tried it with success (or has other suggestions), I’m all ears. :)

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Can YOU Jump Rope With Your Horse?

Posted on November 17, 2010 by

Obviously, Secret and I have some work to do before we can achieve this. Well, now that I think about it, we may have done something similar to this in the past. It just wasn’t on purpose.

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And Life Goes On

Posted on August 15, 2010 by

Yes, life does go on. Funny how that happens. Something devastates you and it feels like your world is brought to a standstill. You wonder how you will get to the other side of the pain. Eventually though, you begin to notice that the world hasn’t stopped and by going through the motions of everyday routine, you gradually start to heal. Each day gets a fraction easier (although granted, there are those painful setbacks here and there).

A close friend of mine recently passed away. She committed suicide. I have so many emotions surrounding this. The only way I’ve been able to deal with it is to feel that she is now at peace and her pain is gone. People have asked me if I’m angry at her. No, I’m not. I do know why she did it and I also know she likely felt there was no other answer for her. She tried for many years to heal from her past, but in the end could not do it. I cannot blame her for that.

I wish I could have helped her… and I especially wish I could have at least told her one more time that I loved her. But that’s always the wish when we lose someone (or a pet) we love, isn’t it? Don’t wait. Tell them now. Better yet, show them now.

I’m off to go hug my dogs, give my birds a smooch, and share some love with family and friends today.

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Melancholy Day

Posted on July 5, 2010 by

Today would have been Bailey’s 11th birthday.  I always thought it was a bit ironic that she was born the day after the 4th of July, since fireworks were not her favorite thing.

Bailey playing fetch

Bailey's favorite pastime: FETCH!

I tried to tell her the fireworks were in celebration of her birthday, but I don’t think she was buying it. Those were long nights for us, waiting for the fireworks to end so we could both sleep. I always thought that it would be a great time to take her camping out to a remote area, but I never did. I always thought I had more time, that next year we’d do it.

This is yet another reminder to myself not to put things off that I really want to do. I don’t like the feeling of “I wish I would have…”.

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Not Just a Dog

Posted on June 15, 2010 by

This video touched my heart and reminded me of Bailey.

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Gratitude and Grief

Posted on November 29, 2009 by

This was Thanksgiving weekend and it’s almost over now. A time to be thankful for our blessings and I have many.

There is one thing in particular that I want to express my gratitude for this year. I am thankful I was able to share 10 years of my life with Bailey, my yellow lab. She passed away suddenly on September 7th, very early the morning of Labor Day. The cause was a ruptured tumor on her spleen that we didn’t even know she had. It never showed on the x-rays.

There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of her and wish she was still with me. The void left by her death is huge and I wonder if it will ever be filled again. To say that I miss her is inadequate.

I hope that I’ll be able to write more about her – our life and adventures together, as well as what happened at the end. Right now it still hurts too much.

Thank you, Bailey-girl.

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