weird falling stories

[Guest guest]

Many years ago I had something really weird happen to

me. I was living with my daughter in Arizona on a

Horse ranch where I raised Spanish Barbs.

 

Since I raised and trained all the horses pretty much

by myself, I had started to use the French tether

system.

 

[After the loss of the men of Europe from WWII the

horsebreeders of France came up with this tether

system. Using leftover and abandoned materials at

hand from the Alied forces they worked out a method

that enabled light weight women, teens and even one

armed men to still be able to handle Stallions and

Bulls. (During hand breeding of cattle and horses, it

takes three or four people to handle the livestock.)]

 

Thick cable was threaded through old hoses (back then

they were canvas and could be hand stitched over the

cables) then ran the cable ends through big metal

eyes, doubled them over and clamped them. Each end

was done and then the one end was fastened to a pipe

with a wide lip and driven DEEP into the ground.

 

This enabled the handler to walk a 1500 pound stallion

or 2000 bull (using a nose ring on the bull) and clip

the end of the " tether " onto the halter.

 

The animal would then be able to run free in a

circular area, and the cable, being so heavy neither

broke nor tangled around the creature's legs.

 

Since I had read up on on French breeding methods (The

Stallion would be on the tether and only the mare had

to be on a lead line and presented to the stallion,

enabling hand breeding to be done by ONEe person.) I

went to the hardware store and made my own system.

 

After many years of use, and various improvements, I

had a great means of giving various animals " liberty "

to run and frolic at will, without having to be right

there " hands on. "

 

I had some folks coming out to see one of the

stallions, so I put him on the tether so he could run

and show off.

 

Once they arrived, I did my usual drill of working his

legs and feet etc to show how well he handled.

 

At the time this had taken place I had been using the

system for about a dozen years. Now this was a mature

stallion who had been on this tether daily for up to

an hour at a time while he was either cleaned for

showing, viewing or breeding, as well as hoof trimming

and grooming. (I always checked before each horse's

use, I had several of theses tethers.)

 

This was the place he got to eat grain, got massages

and brushing and got lots of postive handling. They

all looked forward to tehter time and I used it as

part of my reward system.

 

Well he did not like these folks at all and was

standoffish instead of his very friendly self.

 

I firmly believe that horses and all animals can tell

if a person is a " good " person or the right person for

them. I told them that I was sorry, but that he

didn't like them, so that the interview was over.

 

I was standing on one side of the area the tether

enclosed and was empty handed.

 

One of the people in this party started off towards

the stallion without warning, and at a fast clip. He

was saying something about how I was wrong, the horse

liked him just fine and I was being stupid. He was

going to show me!

 

The stallion shied violently away from him and broke

into a dead run. Of course since he was on a tether,

he was going in a circle and I was INSTANTLY aware

that I was in harms way.

 

I had only microseconds to act and all I had time for

was to raise my hands up to cover my face before the

cable hit me.

 

I by all rights should have been killed.

 

[NOTE: I had a few months before that been sent home

from surgery for ovarian cancer stage IV to settle my

affairs (which is why I had buyers looking at the

stallion that day) and had started a course of

juicing, essaic tea and raw organic eating.]

 

SO here I am in danger of getting killed or badly hurt

in a horse wreck...

 

I didn't even get my hands all the way to my face when

the cable hit me in the chest. My hands clutched

it... the horse was going so fast I literally flipped

head over heels and landed on my feet. The stallion

stopped dead and came and rested his head in the small

of my back, hiding his face away from this man's

hands.

 

I gave " ta da " grin and dusted off my hands. Turning

I then used my hands and voice to calm my stallion

while asking them to please leave. (He was still very

nervous, and this horse is usually Mr. Calm himself.)

 

By the way, I didn't sell him to them, anyone foolish

enought to move that fast, and that carelessly by a

stallion, was not the right person for him.

 

I have no idea if they ever understood that it was not

a trick done to show off, but a gift of mercy that I

was not seriously hurt.

 

I think if they had been looking at me... that one

spilt second of terror that flickered across my face

would have given me away...

 

At that time they left thinking I had trained him do

to tricks... The big blustery man who had been the

horse " expert " was furious that I wouldn't sell to

him. He left muttering that he would like to have him

so he could be " properly broken. "

 

This stallion had won many awards for shows, parading

and was used in and around other horses and was very

well trained. So I am glad I listened to him when he

told me he didn't like this man.

 

Later I heard that his rep was that of a man who used

spurs and whips freely on all his stock and he had a

REALLY bad temper. SPCA got after him for beating one

of his dogs to death with a shovel after it growled at

him.

 

 

Laura

 

 

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