Another fall...

Horses are dangerous.  

Haven't I said this before?

ALL my boys seem to be attracted to danger.

Stifling them does no good,

all I can do is try to limit their risks.

Thus all the riding lessons. 

I imagined that it would be safer and less 

risky to have them learn technique.

Well, not so...

because they are always going to be boys and 

always going to be reckless.

These are the horses our boys ride.

Here in Ecuador people use English saddles,

or smaller ones that are made specifically for jumping.

They are harder to stay in when the horse is 

bucking than a western saddle, 

as they have no horn in the front to hold onto.

I just learned the dangers of these small saddles.

Not content to just walk or trot anymore, 

the lessons they are now taking are all about 

playing polo (very popular here)

 running or jumping.

Bleu and Liam persuaded Julia today to let them run 

down the dirt road on the mountain.

They were going fast and loving it.  

Until Bleu's horse got too close to Julia's.

 Her horse kicked Bleu's.

Then the real rodeoing began.  

After hearing all 3 of them tell the story 

I am grateful I wasn't there to watch.

After Bleu's horse bucked from the kick, 

it began to sprint, 

then he rammed into the side of Julia's horse and

Bleu fell off the side.

But he was still hanging on to it's neck and mane.

 when the horse jumped again, 

he was sandwiched between the 2 horses

and he finally let go and fell off the side of the road.

Sound like a John Wayne movie?

Liam said it was the coolest thing he ever saw.

He was so proud of Bleu. 

SO very glad I was at home cooking.

Will encouraged him and soothed him.

"I'm proud of you, now it's time to dust 

yourself off and get back on that horse," Will said.

Once again he made him get back on and run his 

horse back down the mountain. 

Not sure that was wise after a bad fall and a blackout, 

but Will is determined to grow these boys into men 

and I trust him completely.

After about 30 minutes Bleu 

came back with a pounding head and body aching.

He's now asleep on the couch and I am constantly 

waking him to see if he is conscious.  

Overreacting I know, 

but high strung I am when 

it comes to my boys getting hurt.

The closest hospital is 2 hours away.  

If he starts throwing up we will be on our way,

 but until then Will says we wait.  

Nothing is broken so no harm done,

 just another battle story for my boys to tell.