A Lucky Escape

My absolute nightmare happened yesterday (14.2.12). After a lovely Valentine's day, Ric (my partner) received a message via facebook, asking me to ring the farm urgently. My mobile had died some hours before, and as most days I barely use my phone, I didn't worry about it. Using Ric's phone, we rang the farm. The news was frightening to any horse owner- Hillary had got herself caught in the gate in a freak accident. The gate had been removed but they had called the vet in the emergency, and Hills had undergone some x-rays. The worst part of this was, was that I had drunk a few glasses of wine by this time and was not legal to drive. Panicking, I phoned my mother, but could not get in touch with her. I then phoned a taxi. There was no way I wasn't getting to the farm.

Eventually I got in touch with my mother and one taxi ride, followed by a ride in my mother's Land Rover later, I arrived at the farm. Hillary was eating (a good sign) but could barely bear any weight on her leg. She'd been given a huge shot of pain killers, and kept fidgeting with the bandaged back leg, picking it up and putting it down. Her x-rays had come out clear, although the vet couldn't definately rule out a hair-line fracture. Everything had happened while I wasn't there; while I had been playing pool in our local pub, laughing and joking, totally unaware. I felt angry with myself for not being there for her.

That night (last night) I did not sleep a wink, worrying about her.

This morning, I waited for the vet to call to tell me when he'd be visiting again. I went into work for a couple of hours, despite being off on holiday) to take my mind off it, but it didn't work. By the time the vet finally arrived, I couldn't focus on anything else- I'd been mindlessly brushing Hillary for about an hour already.

The vet arrived, and was very helpful. He watched her walk out of her stable, and the prognosis seems positive. Hillary is lucky to be still with us; she is the luckiest outcome of a very unlucky situation. She needs to be given painkillers for the foreseeable future, and also for the time being, any form of exercise that falls beyond a 2 minute walk is strictly forbidden. She is due a scan late next week to assess more finely, whether there is any other damage.

I am gutted. More for her than for me, but I really wanted to continue riding. I feel like there is a lot befalling her at the moment, and I don't for a second believe she deserves it. I am so unbelievably thankful for the people that rescued her, and indeed for the fact that she is still here, but for the time being, my saddle will sit firmly over the back of the sofa, than over the back of my horse.
Thank you to all those involved in helping us last night. From the bottom of my heart.

Get well soon my Sunshine x x x