when you fall off your horse, it's called an accident

Mood : bruised

Assalamualaikum and hello awesome peeps!..

it's currently mid semester holidays here in UUM, so the roads and walkways are pretty much empty, what's left are upturned rubbish cans raided by monkeys and plastics of dried leaves.. being a person who's mostly busy all the time (eceh, mengalahkan menteri la kau), finding an escape from my daily activities just to go horse riding is super hard.. that's why when I got a call from my horse riding trainer on Thursday, I flipped!.. it is the holidays so I'm free, no classes and no current responsibilities, well, except for sleeping till 12pm.. hehehe..

so on Friday morning at 8.30am, I drove my mums car to the Equine Center in UUM.. my trainer, Abg Wan greeted me with stable chores, his way of punishing me for not coming to train for 3 months.. sorry Abg Wan!.. (^^,) so around 9am, I groomed and saddled up Prince, one of the biggest horse in the stable.. okay, I was worried at first.. 3 months without training and riding a new horse that I never rode on before, that's kind of scary.. but my trainer was quite confident with me, so I just followed..

after 15 minutes, I got on Prince and headed down to the paddock.. was I nervous?.. hell yeah!.. Prince's head is huge, and he weighs a damn lot!.. but I stayed calm.. once I got in the paddock, I started walking and trotting, getting the feel of riding a horse again.. it felt so good, and so free!! missed the feeling so so much.. (^^,)

okay fine, this is not me, but you get what I mean.. hehehe.. I wore a helmet btw, much safer..

after 30 minutes of trotting, my trainer told me to canter, horse version of running.. I had cantered before, but on other smaller horses, so I was worried.. he gave me some pointers and I was on my way, cantering.. and it felt AWESOME!! XD Prince's canter was nice and flows well with my body, I felt like flying.. I did have a bit of problem in controlling the reins, but other than that, it went well..

disaster happened when I stopped to pause for a breath.. the whip I was holding accidentally hit Prince and he started to canter.. it's not suppose to scare me, since I know how to sit and balance myself during a canter, but my feet weren't in the styrup, making me loose my balance.. I panicked like hell, the horse still cantering on, turning into a fast gallop.. I forgot everything about horse riding at that moment, forgot that all I had to do was sit up and pull the reins I had in my hands which would make the horse stop.. all I could do at that moment was pray that I don't fall off, pray that the horse would just stop.. I did the only thing I could think of to prevent myself from falling - hug Prince's neck..

I held on to Prince's neck tightly, my body moving up and down in sync with the horse's fast gallop.. I could hear in the distance, my trainer shouting something, his voice sounded alarmed.. I couldn't make out what he said, all I could hear was my heart, beating fast in my chest.. my grip on Prince's neck was starting to loosen, and I know I'd be kissing the ground soon.. the only thing I could do was pray.. "Ya Allah, please save me, don't let me fall, don't let me break any bones.."

but you know how life is, sometimes you need to fall to know the meaning of success.. or stuff.. hehehe.. so that's where I had my first fall from a horse.. I've been bitten and had my foot stepped on by horses, so it was time for me to feel my first fall from grace.. eh, I mean horse.. =P

loosing my balance on the left side, I fell somewhat like this..

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my body flew on the left side of the horse, tumbling in the air and landing on my right hip in the sand, faced up towards the sky.. hey look, the sky is actually BLUE!.. I never knew.. =p Prince continued on with his canter, jumping over me (which was SUPER SCARY) and kicking my left leg at the shins.. ala, betis kiri la.. something like the picture below..

see the guys left leg?.. the back left foot of the horse as it jumped pass him must have hit him in the shins there, so I'm guessing the guys bones are probably broken.. the same thing happened to me, only my shin bone is not broken, just bent a bit.. it's still sore as hell, so is my hip, but Alhamdulillah, no broken bones.. (^^,)

once I was on the ground, I couldn't get up.. the pain in my right hip was a bit unbearable, giving me a sharp stabbing sensation.. Prince stopped cantering a few meters away, after realizing that the rider was missing.. my eyes were closed, trying to stop the pain, but I blinked a bit, trying to get the sand out of my eyes, thus catching a glimpse of my trainer walking towards me.. I pulled myself together, hoping that the pain will go away.. a few seconds later, my trainer was calling to me, so I looked up to find my trainer with Prince in his hands.. he asked if I was alright and if I could walk..

so I stood up, trying to balance myself.. okay, I'm fine, I can stand, nothing broken.. my trainer said I didn't look pale, which is a good sign, and asked if I could ride again, which I answered yes.. well, that was before I tried to walk.. my balance was off and I almost fell.. I got dizzy and saw the trees and sand and everything in very bright colours.. woahh, Prince's butt is HOT!!.. hahaha.. my trainer instructed me to go sit near the railing while he demonstrated the correct way to sit during a canter.. he explained why I fell, which was because my body was lunged forward signaling to the horse to go faster.. if I sat straight, the horse would have gone slower and eventually stopped.. he assured me that my fall wasn't bad, it wasn't like the horse was trying to throw me off, it was because I lost my balance.. whatever the cause was, I'm still thankful that I didn't suffer any serious injuries or broken bones.. Alhamdulillah.. (^^,)

my trainer in front riding Prince, the horse I fell off from.. he's HUGE man..

currently I'm resting and nursing my injuries.. my right hip has gotten worse tho, I can't sneeze or laugh without feeling pain.. I hope this goes away soon, it's super hard for me to make jokes if I can't laugh right.. and my left shin is getting better, but it's still sore.. and there's a dent in my shin bone, it's no longer straight, which is kinda cool when you run you fingers through them, you can feel the curve.. hahaha.. I mean, think about it.. how many people with bent shins from a horse kicking it do you know?.. so I fall in the AWESOMELY COOL category.. hahaha.. ehem, but don't go getting weird ideas and getting yourself a dent too okay?..

last but not least, I would like to thank my family - my mum and my sisters - who have been helping me to get better.. thanks for getting stuff for me, and also refilling my ice bag, you guys rock! =D and thanks to those who cared on Facebook and calling and messaging me on the phone, you guys are awesome too!.. (^^,) no worries, I'll get my leg and hip x-rayed on Monday, just to make sure everything is okay, kay?..

I assure all of you, this is NOT the end of my horse riding days.. I will continue once my injuries are healed, so worry you not.. hahaha.. besides, I'm no quitter.. later awesome peeps!! (^^,)

p/s : all pictures, except the last one, belongs to Mr Google..