And that is the reason nothing is taken for granted. There is a lot on her plate and she needs to be sure. She doesn’t mean to be trying, stubborn or moody. She has to be careful – her reasons are pure.
Guilty loves to take kids on trail rides. First of all, she knows that she is in control of that ride and secondly, there are all kinds of grass, leaves and foliage every step of the way. To her, it is like she is at the drive-thru window at MacDonald’s and there are french fries everywhere just waiting for her to snatch. We have had an unusual amount of rain lately and the trail was muddy. I was walking slightly behind her as she traversed through the woods carrying a six year-old boy while following another horse. When we came up on a patch of fresh young ferns growing just off the path, she knew she could get a mouthful or two in before I could catch up and move her along and her rider was busy “squirrel hunting”, so she stepped off the path to reach them. To her surprise, her left back leg sank in the mud way up over her hock. This immediately put her completely off balance and her only choices were to sit down like a dog, roll over or to start scrambling. I watched as it played out as in slow motion. I saw her go down in the back end. My first thought was to get the little boy off the horse and out of danger, hoping that she didn’t panic and start trying to hop up or lose her uprightedness (is that a word?). At the same time, I was aware that she may break her leg if she went completely over on it.
Guilty looking out for everyone.
Not to worry, Guilty behaved in the most noble manner as she always does when push comes to shove. After all, she is my alpha mare and it is her responsibility to take care of her herd – and that includes any horse or person in her charge. While one leg was buried in the mud past her knee, she folded the other hind leg under her so that her belly was flat on her ground. Then she did the most amazing thing – nothing. Absolutely nothing. She stayed perfectly still until I pulled the child from the saddle and out of danger before she began her labored struggle to get out of the mud. She made it with some effort and her leg had a few gashes in it, but overall, she was fine. Everybody was fine. That is what she does. We walked back to the barn where I hosed her off, doctored her cuts and gave her an entire watermelon for being so calm in a crisis. Okay, I realize that Guilty brought this all on us when she strayed off the path in the first place. She is guilty of that, true to her name. Even so, I was thanking my lucky stars that she took full responsibility for that and strategically got us out of that mess safely. That’s my girl.
Knowing Horses by Heart 