Abby's Rotational Fall/Jump

I am quite shaken from an accident Abby had this afternoon that could have killed her. How it turned out so well is a miracle. I have never, ever seen anything like this happen to a horse.

I brought Abby into the barn this afternoon and cross-tied her so I could groom her. Still in heat, she was quite annoyed to have to leave her pasture boys. She got SASSY. (Maybe that's where her previous name came from!)

She pulled, she paced, she tugged, she squealed. She danced around in her ties and got sweaty. Frankly, she was obnoxious and I was not even going to try to groom her in that state.

Knowing that she needed to learn that if I said she was to be tied, then that was that, I went into the lounge where it was cooler and where I could keep her under observation.

Her antics continued for twenty minutes! But I was determined to wait her out.

And then Abby did the unthinkable.

Never, ever did I expect her to jump the arena wall!  She gathered herself and tried to leap over it from a standing position. That wall is probably 4 1/2 feet high! All I could think was, "Oh my goodness, she is going to kill herself!" I was alone at the barn and had no one to help me go to her aid or help get her loose.

Her head was still tied, and so as she jumped up to clear the wall, the rope pulled her head around, causing her body to flip and for Abby to somersault and then crash down onto her back and onto the arena floor.

I do not know how she could clear that wall from a standstill like that.

I do not know how she failed to hang herself from the rope. Or keep from breaking her neck.

I do not know how she did not catch her leg in the lead rope and snap the bones.

I was totally helpless to do anything. There was nothing I could do to prevent her from jumping or to save her from herself once she began. She was on her own, and so was I.

After landing hard on her back with her legs splayed out,  Abby was able to get to her feet. Still upset, and to my disbelief, she began pacing and pulling some more. I thought she might try to leap back out of the arena.

That was it. I could not risk another rotational fall if she tried to jump the arena wall again. I ran over to her and with shaking hands, unclasped the tie, setting her free in the arena. She trotted around a bit and then came over. I opened the gate and let her out. Then I called Tim and reported what had happened.

He dropped everything and came out with his son-in-law, Brandon, to help me check her out. Tim was very thorough and Abby is lucky - her injuries are very minor. She's limping on her right foreleg, although she has been a bit off for a few days, so that may not be related. I was very concerned about her neck and head, but she can bend easily in both directions and did not show any evidence of pain when we made her bend in both directions. Tim lunged her and she was fine, there, too.

She has a good scrape on her left flank and some small scrapes under that plus one on her nose. I think she will probably be sore tomorrow and expect her to move a little more slowly for a few days.

This evening I will go check her again, just in case. In the meantime, I had one of the biggest scares of my life, and probably the worst scare I have ever had horse-wise. I still feel shaky, but I have offered several prayers of thanksgiving that she was not badly injured or even killed.

The highs and lows of horse ownership. THAT was a low.