The Stovebolt Site Forums The Back Office The Greasy Spoon Oh Woe is Me.

At 74 (last week) I had a pretty good streak going, only a broken collarbone at age 4, hit a pine tree root while ridding my tricycle on two wheels. And a herniated disk ruptured at age 37. I'm thinking, yep doing pretty good.

Well, the wife needed a new trail horse. So 3 weeks ago she buys a good looking, gentle high papered quaterhorse. Been ridden by two teenage sisters for 5 years. A barrel horse. For those that don't know the only thing crazier than barrel racers is a barrel horse. She test rode the mare (that I nicknamed HB, Lonesome Dove fans get it
) and signed the deal after the seller dropped the price by a $1,000.00.

Sent HB to the trainer for a couple issues, get her back and all's good so we head to Clinton AR for 9 days of camping, ride'n and hollering at the National Championship Chuckwagon Races. First day HB does pretty good. LOTS of new sights and sounds. Next day my bride of 53 years, Mrs Kathy, is ready to pack up and go home. I convince her to let me ride HB a bit and take the edge off.

Things went pretty well, put her in a long lope up a long hill for a couple laps and went looking for wagons. Found 4, fell in behind them about twenty yard back and all was good till the last rig makes a u-turn and is heading toward us. All's still not bad.....then another wagon is behind us.

That's when things took a turn, literally. HB rared straight up and spun around before I could grab leather. I thought my landing was pretty graceful. Full spread eagle so as to spread point of contact, lessening chance of damage.

About then her backend was over me then she kicked my forearm, filleting about 5" of my left forearm, exposing bone and breaking the radius bone.
Several witnesses swore there was a kick or two too the head, all that left was a nice hematoma. Pulled a hamstring, walking is slow.

After laying prone and gathering up for a couple minutes I finely pulled up and looked at the wound damage, could see bone and lots of blood. I told the audance I needed someone to apply a tourniquet, no help, on about the 3 request a lady squats down and I tell her to remove my belt, wrap it around my arm above the elbow and tighten it till I say stop. She does. Then a local voluntere fireman ex army young man showed up and took over. my health care improved.

The ambulance showed up about 45 minutes later, then a two hour ride to the hospital and home about 2AM.

I'm stitched up, the bone is misaligned so they're giving things a week-10 days to make sure no infection, then going
back in, rebreak the newly nitted bones, setting em straight, put on another cast and let the healing begin.

We do have a Good looking, soggy, 15 hand papered quarter horse for sale. Names Horse Burger.
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RonR

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Well Ron, I hope you made up that great story. But if not?
Since your wife put you in that dilemma, Her nick name should be the Lonesome Dove version of HB?


Don

Well Ron, when you do it you go all out right! Yikes!!!

Glad to hear that young feller showed up to improve your care and things turned out for the better than they could have been.

Hope your mending goes well and just glad to see you still posting. Keep us updated as you can sir.

Wow! Best wishes.

Don't bounce like we usta. Glad you're going to be okay.

There's tough and then there's Old Corps Tough.

S/F
John

Ouch! I can definitely relate. The 'horse" that got me had two wheels- - - -a 1986 Honda Gold Wing 1200. A blown rear tire at 65 MPH plus a long slide with the bike riding me resulted in five broken ribs, a chipped vertebra, lots of road rash, and just about tore my left foot off. A very skilled orthopedic surgeon reattached it with two titanium splints and 15 screws, and he only missed getting the right length by a quarter of an inch. 11 years later, I walk with a cane most of the time, and wear a small heel lift in my right shoe. Now I ride a Harley instead of a Gold Wing!
Jerry

Horses can be dangerous for sure. Hope you heal up well, Ron.

My only horse experience was in Baja California as an 18 yo kid. We went on a horse ride and the nag I got wouldn't move faster than a walk, but when we turned around, i took off on a gallop and tripped on a hole, sending me over the front. Fortunately I was able to walk off still holding the reins. The horse suffered a skinned spot on his head. We walked the rest of the way back to the stable. There was no way I was getting back on that dumb animal.

Shoot, Ron. Very sorry to hear that. Take it easy and get healed pronto. I don't have to tell you at 74 it won't be as quick, but still not too bad. Sort of unsettling looking at your own bones, isn't it?

Like Kevin, the last time I had a horse "episode" I was 18...out near the Mexican border. I was with a group of about 12 people and I was riding a spirited, strong, recently and poorly broken mustang pony. All was fairly okay for the first few minutes. Then we went by a patch of mesquite trees from 10 to maybe 14 feet tall growing closely together. The pony figured he wasn't interested in any part of this nonsense, lowered his head and ran almost as fast as he could right through the trees with me trying to lie down and hang on...which was successful for 5 or 10 painful seconds. I was wearing a t-shirt so in that short spell I was cut, scratched, jabbed, ripped, etc. Maybe the most irritating part? I was trying to impress a girl who was also riding with the group. Like Kevin I got to walk back...to get some band-aids, merthiolate and tape. The pony never slowed down and nobody knew where he went. But he didn't kick me.

Sorry to hear this, Ron. Hope healing goes well.

Bummer Ron. As an experienced physical injurer, keep up on the pain meds. A hurting body takes longer to heal. It got to the point each time I would gain 30 lbs snacking while pilling.

My first memory of horsing around was when I was about 5 years old. At the ranch, grandpa whipped up chicken gizzards and livers for breakfast one morning. I didn’t want any part of that. Saddled up an ole mare named Bobbles to head to aunty’s about a mile away. She always had bacon and pancakes. I only made it half way before the saddle slid under. I guess at 5 I didn’t have the strength to do it myself. Had to finish walking, which defeated the whole wrestling the saddle down off the shelf and up on the horse. That great horse knew what to do by stopping, waiting for me to let go of the horn and hit the ground. Never did much riding after Bobbles passed. Most started to move to 4 wheelers by then. Only needs food when used, not all the time just sitting in the barn.

And listen to the therapist. It might be painful at the time, but will save on things ‘stoving’ up later.

Thanks all for the well wishes! All's going pretty well, not too much discomfort and the repair surgery is tomorrow. The emergency room doc described the break as complicated. After seeing the x-ray today I understand why. At the break the two pieces overlap by about 1/2". The radius bone being too short has caused a joint at the wrist to become disconnected. Expectation is that with a splice plate bolted in place all will self correct and be good in a few months.

I asked the Doc how long till I could do real work, we've got 4 biggish oaks down from weather and I plan to split 2 to 3 years of fire wood from them. Doc "it's liable to be cold at the Rhodes house this winter." Luckily we split two years worth last year.

RonR

Chip, Great story! At 5 I can see it being tough cinching up a girth. When I was in young single digits we had, Ol' Maude. She served as the wagon, plow and saddle horse. In the corral, next to Grand Pa's forge and anvil was a big tall stump, (tall being relative). My cousins and I would lead Maude to our step stump and climb on, sometimes all three together. That was a good baby setter horse.

RonR

Horse stories is it then ... I started riding young. My sister tells me that Billy the bad temper Shetland pony (um, aren't they all??) threw me 13 times in a row before he finally gave up and just let me ride him. I was probably 6 or 7. Soft sand arena. Didn't hurt, just made me more determined. My last time getting thrown was about 20 years ago when my daughter's Appaloosa (um, yeah ... "Appaloosa -- screws a loosa") refused a jump on a cross country event. He stopped but I kept going ... and took out the jump. Sorrtta like Christopher Reeve but I didn't get hurt. I replaced the cross poles, remounted, went back around and laid into him with the crop with everything I had just at the approach ... and we went over the jump just fine. I think of Jack the Appie every now and then ... when I'm wood working and I reach for the glue bottle.

Sorry to hear of you injuries. Back in my youth I rode a lot of horses, the worst was a few times the horse went left and I went right ridng bare back.

I could fill up several pages worth of “horse stories” and still not be 1/4 of the way finished. Started with one horse which turned into 26 then whittled down to 9 by last summer. I was 77 and Ms Kathy was 75 and I knew it wasn’t safe any longer to keep the horses around. Sold the entire herd and never looked back. We had tons of fun doing Play Days, Trail Rides, Parades and a few Cattle Drives in the 30 years we owned our equine friends. Mets lots of good people and a few bad ones too. We are happily out of the horse world.

Get well soon Ron.

Martin, Thanks for the get well wishes! And congratulations on cutting the horse umbilical cord. That day is coming at our place one day, but it’s not today. We’re a smaller operation than what you guys ran. We built our 40x60 barn back in the 90’s and most we’ve had in it is 6 head. Put em up for grain twice a day and then free range in pasture year round.

Countless memories from horse camping with our boys, trail rides and trips to the Rockies, Ozark's and nearby states.

For my Mrs. Kathy riding is a birthright, a reason to get up and out every day. She’s been riding since she was 6 months old (as she tells it She was the spark plug that pulled 7 or 8 local like minded country girls together 30 years ago and they soon owned the Blue Ribbon at all the local parades. Starched Wranglers, Starched white shirts matching black hats and red silk wild rags. They were quite the sight. Rodeo Grand Entries, lots to do. Almost all her pards have passed, moved or can no longer ride. I’ll make it a priority as long as possible.

Shoot if we sold out, I’d have to figure out how to turn the barn into additional shop space……….WAIT!!!