As my grandmother said, I sure keep my guardian angel working. Thankfully, they were on duty today, I really needed them.
I was riding Artemis and we were loping on a big circle at one end of the arena. We were coming around close to the wall, nearly at the gate where a few people, including my mom, were standing. Artemis had dropped her outside shoulder and so was leaning very hard to the outside. I was trying to correct her and as we came up to the gate, she stumbled. With our speed and how much she was leaning, she went down.
The stumble threw me from the saddle and that's probably what saved me. I nearly went headfirst into the wall, I probably landed only a few inches from it. I hit the ground and she hit it about a second after me, landing on my foot. She moved and I was able to kick my foot free. My first thought was to get out of there so I rolled away from her.
I ended up sitting there, learning against the wall and I saw her for the first time. She was lying against the wall, the complete opposite way we'd been going. Honestly, for a few seconds, I didn't move. I was freaking out, trying to figure out if I was hurt or not. While that was happening, everyone at the gate was freaking out and trying to come in the arena. Artemis was in between the gate and I so they couldn't see me at all.
My mom came in and that's about when I realized nothing was broken on me. I jumped to my feet and now all I could think about was Artemis. She was lying with her head up but she wasn't moving at all and although there was no blood anywhere, I couldn't see if she was hurt or not. I went to grab the reins because if she went to get up I didn't want her to step on them and hurt herself further. Apparently I told her to get up but I don't remember that. Everyone was telling me to back up and give her space. After a few moments, she did get up.
I was shaking so hard I could barely stand but my only thought was her. I went all around her, feeling her over and checking her legs. Believe it or not, she wasn't hurt. She has a small scratch on her chest and an even smaller nick on her face but other than that, she's fine. My mom walked her around while I went to sit down before my legs gave out.
It was honestly one of the most terrifying things in my life. It's one of my biggest fears (as I imagine it is for any horse person) and I really don't know how we both got out of it unharmed. I am so thankful we did, but really, I don't know how.
I did not get back on her, although I know the logic is I should have. I couldn't have, my adrenaline was pumping and I was so freaked out I could barely stand. She calmed down a lot quicker than I did, but we were afraid she was hurt. My mom walked her around for a while, and then we let her stand in the barn for a while.
I did however, ride Socks afterwards. I knew I needed to get back on a horse or else I'd be absolutely terrified next time. Socks was awesome, of course. I walked, trotted and loped her. Before that though, we hosed off Artemis and then put her in a grass pen beside the outdoor arena while we rode. She grazed happily and shook off the fall pretty quickly.
And for anyone wondering, I was wearing a helmet. I didn't hit my head on anything but it was one less thing to worry about among everything else. I'm very sore everywhere, I feel like I got run over but I have no real injuries. Even my arm, the one I basically shattered, seems to have come out of it pretty okay. It's sore but it could have been a lot worse. My foot is fine too, the one she did land on. Even my saddle made it out okay, although none of us can figure out how as she flipped right over it.
It was my first fall since breaking my arm two years ago, and my first fall ever on Artemis. And despite how terrifying it was, there's a big part of me that's relieved it was from a stumble. It wasn't because she was misbehaving or trying to get me off, it was just a stupid stumble.
