Today we went on a long ride…a very long ride. Much of it was gorgeous – I can’t tell you how (as a smalltown American girl) I feel when riding through a picture-postcard English village, by a 12th century church. Let’s just say that I never expected to be in that situation, and it’s wonderful. :)
Kip did have his first major freakout today – I shouldn’t complain, because he hasn’t had many serious ones. He’s excellent in heavy traffic, completely safe (for a baby). And then we experienced our first tunnel. Actually, the first, small one was ok – I think the dark and trappy feeling scared him, but he went through. The steam train could be heard in the distance, but thankfully wasn’t going over it when we were going through. And then we came to the large tunnel. I forced him through it, for several yards – there was a group of other horses at the far end, waiting for us, and I hoped he would just decide to bolt for the end, if he needed to. The sound of all the hoofbeats was echoing and re-echoing in the tunnel, and he completely lost it. He spun and crashed into the wall, shaking us both down to the bone. I didn’t fall off, and he didn’t fall, but it was a good, hard slam into the stone wall. Thank god for helmets. After he hit the wall, he stopped long enough for me to get off and walk him out – I walked him for a way and then got back on.
Bute for him, ibuprophen for me. And then Phil was extremely pissy with me when I got home because he wanted me to go shopping and I’d been gone for most of the day. *sigh*
My head hurts…