Worst Ride Ever?

A little confession is good for the soul. What was your worst ever ride? Did you ever have a day when you wanted to get off the horse, toss them out of the pasture to free-range roam (to a neighbor's, you hoped), and sell all the junk the pony came with?

Before all you readers flip your lids, no, that hasn't happened, not recently at least. I thought a little confession would be good. I realize I've left out some of my horror stories of rides. Reading how I've gone splat & had the beejeebies scared outta me might explain why a little canter in a fenced field still makes my heart race.

It was late summer, oh, hmm.. 2005, I think. I had been riding for about three years. It'd been lesson horses for the first two years, steady lesson horses at that. Chewie and I were just getting used to cantering together. I was boarding him at a co-worker's house. I was riding him, and realized later the ground was a bit too slippery, but I was riding anyways.

No matter how much canter we did, he refused to stop throwing his head, and refused to pick up his left lead. Knowing I was probably at fault, and needed a solid lesson to fix my cues, I tried turning him in the right direction that the right lead would be the right answer, and we could call it a night.

Then, all of a sudden, Chewie's rear went in the air, followed by his front end, and finally, the rear again. I wasn't able to stay on, because when his rear end kept going in the air, I kept pulling up on the bit. Splat. I don't even remember how it happened, but I was on the ground, and he was at the other end of the pasture.

Next day, I got sick off the pain pills while my then-instructor lunged Chewie. Lunging in the bit, he was bucking, rearing, and being impossible to lunge. Lunging in the halter, he was a saint. Still a bit strung out, but not nearly as bad as in the bit. Cause? Chewie had never had real dental work done. A good float, and he was as good as new.

Such cannot be said for my confidence. I wasn't physically injured, but mentally, this was the first of three big falls that have messed with my head.