Tuesday's Show and Tail - Flipped Over Horses

It's time for Tuesdays' Show & Tail' over at Angela's West Virginia Treasures! If you have a cute story and picture of a pet, or any furry (or non-furry) friend, you are welcome to join in! Check her blog for the rules, post away - and thanks, Angela, for being our host!I love all living creatures, but my favorite among the animal kingdom has always been horses. My earliest childhood memories were of watching horses galloping across the black and white TV screen - the Lone Ranger, Fury, and even Buck Barry's Buckaroo Rodeo, a children's program broadcast on our local television station in Grand Rapids. I recall standing in the kitchen with my dad one day (I must have been about 6 yrs old at the time), and he explained to me how to ride a horse and direct it by pulling right or left on the reins. Dad was not an expert by any means - he was afraid of horses since his days in the service when the enlisted men were allowed to ride cavalry horses for recreation when they were off duty. He claimed he was riding with friends one day when the horse he was on turned its head and tried to bite his foot! He bailed out of the saddle and the horse ran back to the stables, and that was the last time he ever got near a horse!

My love for "all things horse" continued, and as time went on I was able to own several horses in the years that followed. One of the horses I dearly adored was a Morgan named Sailor. He was a beautiful bay, but I was the only one who could ride him. He was spirited, and he had 'quirks'!
One day, an Illinois friend and I went riding. It was lovely weather that autumn, and we headed out towards a field that her husband had let grow wild that season. The grasses were tall - way above our horse's heads, and were turning a lovely golden brown. My friend's horse walked into the tall grasses, and Sailor started to follow, but then he became very upset and reared straight into the air on his hind legs!

As he returned to earth, I remember feeling like everything was in slow motion...he slowly began to fall, and I could feel the pressure of his body weight on my left leg...it was being crushed...and the pain began...But then, I could feel myself being slid through the grass, in slow motion....as I listened to the sounds of the horses hooves thundering briefly not far from where I lay.When I was able to stand, I noticed I was a good 3 feet away from the place where Sailor had fallen, and he stood stock still waiting for me to grasp the reins once more. I tried to figure out what had upset him so much, and I wondered if the feeling of the grass on his chest reminded him of an electric fence...or maybe the other horse being out of sight for a moment caused him to panic....

But, that was not as mysterious as the feeling I had of being pulled from underneath Sailor's body - I KNEW my leg was about to be crushed - I could FEEL the PAIN start - but how did I get so far from the spot where it happened? I should have been pinned by the weight of the 1100 lb horse....

Do you believe in Angels? This is only one of many times I have been kept from harms way, and so, you know MY answer to that question - - I DO!