Great weekend! Awful end to it.

Apparently it was not a good weekend for trailering and noses.

But let me start at the beginning.

I went up to NT's place to help clear the trail that goes around the property - it's a cool thing, but it was all but impassable in a few places because of all the brush.  So the call was put out for volunteers to help clear it.   Well, heck, thought I, I'll kill two birds with one stone and go do work in the morning, then ride in the afternoon!

So I hooked up S' truck to her trailer, packed the trailer, and went to head out Saturday morning.  Apollo is turning into kind of a brat about the trailer.  I honestly think he just doesn't like it - it's a 3H slant with just a wood floor, no mats, and it's relatively small, so he's squnched in (totally a word) when the divider is closed.  So I think he finds it an unpleasant ride, even though it's open and airy.  And I am pretty sure he has my number on this, because he refuses to load when it's just me, but when I get a second person behind him with a stick in their hand to help load him, he walks right on.  No stick even needed.  And he tries to turn around in the trailer and walk out forward as soon as possible when I unhook the lead thingy.

Trail maintenance went well!  The trail is really pleasant, and with those steep hills it'll be good conditioning work.  Clearing brush was quite the job, though ... oof.  If it weren't for a couple of ladies and their power tools on the first pass, we'd have had a much harder job.  Once we got the path cleared enough, the bush hog went through.  Woot!  I brought enough to drink and didn't dehydrate myself this time, too.  I am still exceptionally sore today.  Although, as you'll see, that might not just be the work ...

Then I had a lesson with NT.  At first, I was having trouble getting Apollo on the compressed, powerful trot step he needs, just going back and forth over a gymnastic.  I got the trot right, and we started working on Apollo really using himself over fences.  He had been jumping a little flat, just pushing off with one foot, not really making any effort.  So even though there was a great course set up, including a little liverpool and a shark-tooth that I would have liked to jump, we just worked back and forth over the vertical.  It was all about Apollo, and he had to do his job.  He hit the fence once, and he really did NOT like that.  He hit it, stumbled, and then spooked.  Poor kiddo!  When he finally got it - push off with both hind feet, bascule for days, and knees to nose, we called it a day.  It was pretty damn fun to ride, and NT said it looked great.  I have to say, it was nice to have my position squared away and be able to focus on the horse for once!

So after more loading shenanigans, we headed home.  Got home, pulled the truck and trailer into the pasture as usual, closed the pasture gate, and parked so I could unload the pony.  Opened the rear door, got on the trailer (no escape door), undid the divider, put Apollo's lead rope on his halter, and unhooked him from the trailer lead thing.  I was about to unload him when he swung his head around and bashed me in the face.

Y'all, I have never seen stars like that before.  Ow ow ow ow.  I am not sure if I unloaded him or if he unloaded himself; I don't really remember.  My nose was bleeding, my hat was knocked off, my glasses were hanging off my face, etc.  I knew this had actually broken my nose.   So I staggered over to Apollo, took his halter off, and walked up to the house for help - S *is* a doctor!  They weren't home, though, so I called Matt and told him I needed him to pick me up and take me to the emergency room ... and then I fed the horses.  Because it hadn't started to really hurt yet, and I knew that it would start, so I better get on the stick in a hurry before I couldn't any more.

X-ray confirms the break, but no displacement - yay.  Seriously, I did NOT want to go through setting it.

So I look terrible, all swollen and a nasty black eye (red, actually, since my skin is so pale) and a cut on my nose.

Sigh.  Bad juju.