Back on the Horse

Today Joe, Ev, and I gathered up the cows on horse back and moved them from the Sand Hill to the Bull Field. As we started up the hill to gather them all, the rain slowly moved in. By the time we reached the cattle it was coming down.

I'm not an excellent rider but I'm pretty confident by now, but in the rain and mud things can get a little hairy. I was trying to skirt the cattle to push them up onto a road. Walking at a slight angle down a bank. Suddenly, Lady (the horse) lost her balance and crashed to the ground. She fell uphill so the fall wasn't that far but I still ended up getting my leg caught underneath her. She scrambled to her feet. I was able to keep my hands on the reigns and get out of the saddle but Lady was really shaken up. She jolted and then took off, running about 50 yards from me. Slow to get up, I walked off the pain in my leg until I reached Lady. She was shaking and I was a little nervous but after five minutes of soft words and a couple reassuring pats I was able to calm her down and get back on the saddle. Never before has the term "get back on the horse" had so much significance to me.

I was a little more cautious the rest of the day, avoiding inclines and muddied areas. But we were able to get the cows where they needed to be and move eight bulls across the ranch. All in all, today was a great success.