Just Call Me Chip

My first trailer "accident" happened Saturday, June 18. By the way, this was also my first full day of real ownership of Zoe. I officially bought her on June 17! I was loading up the baby to go to a clinic and she decided to act up -- would go willingly into the trailer and then back out just as fast. We worked on getting her to stay in the trailer once loaded. It took about 15 minutes of smacking her on the butt every time she thought she would shoot out the back. Finally she stayed quietly in the trailer.

Well, until I went to close the butt bar. Just at the moment I was about to hook the bar with the small metal exposed piece that slides into the lock, she stepped back. And of course the damn metal end of the butt bar hit me right in my left front tooth. Blew the corner of the tooth away. Thankfully it didn't hurt one bit. I never felt an impact or had any pain. It just made a clean hit, enough to explode the corner of the tooth into my mouth.

Zoe should thank her stars I didn't have a knife or gun in my other hand. She would be hamburger on the driveway. Instead, I calmly took her the rest of the way out of the trailer and put her in her stall. I was fuming inside. I called my husband to tell him what happened -- I hadn't even looked at the tooth yet. I really wanted to know if I had to go to an emergency room or if I could go on to the clinic and get dental attention on Monday. Since it wasn't that serious - no pain, no blood, most of the tooth still there - we decided I could wait. So I loaded up the horses and went on to the clinic.

Ends up that chipping a tooth was only the beginning of a bad day.

Warming up Jimmy for his lesson, he is fine. Wait 5 miuntes as I chat with the trainer, and when we start again he is limping. What the...!?! We decide it is better not to work him. So I am out $50 and a much needed lesson before next weekend's show.

I'm warming up Zoe on the longe with side reins. All is going well. She looks great. She picks up the canter and throws in a few bucks. And breaks the outside side rein. Damn. More $$ going out my pocket because of that horse!

At dinner that night we are having a good time. I've had 2 glasses of wine. After dessert I am standing at the counter talking. One hand gesture and I break an empty wine glass on the beautiful marble countertop. Damn.

I go to bed and hope that's the end of my bad luck.

Next day, horses load picture-perfect coming and going. That's the way it should have happened yesterday. Jimmy is fine for his lesson and we have a good ride. I still need to work on my simple change through the walk. He's a plow! Zoe is wonderful. She longes perfectly (in borrowed side reins). David rides her for the first time in canter. How beautiful! And she is so well-behaved and accepting! It was a good day.