When I was young my Uncle took me to see the Rockettes Christmas Show at Radio City Music Hall.  I was amazed.  The precision of their movements were mesmerizing.  The height that they could kick as one, the colors, the outfits, were spectacular.  I wanted to be one of them when I grew up.  To this day I watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade just to see them, and once again I’m transported back to my childhood.

Have you ever watched, I mean really watched the power behind a horses kick?  Have you ever noticed the extent of the length of an outstretched leg?  It’s actually unnerving. I saw my mare put her foot through my stall door twice.  We’re talking 3/4 inch plywood framed by two by fours and cross braced with the same.  Kind of reminded me of the guys who break concrete blocks with their heads.  The first time, I ran into the stall figuring she had broken her leg or at least did some tendons in, and she would not be hunting for a while. Nope, didn’t faze her in the least.  Now that’s raw power.  My husband however, was not impressed.  That was a brand new door.  Magic never like strange horses coming into her barn and was going to let it be known by whoever was walking by.

My husband was not a horse person when we bought our first farm together.  Our barn and house were pre-revolutionary, they were over 300 years old, but not in that bad a shape.  The barn was three stories high.  We totally enjoyed redoing both the house and barn.  By the time we were done the barn had a new coat of barn red paint with white trim.  The house was white with barn red trim.  Just like in all the pictures on Christmas Cards, with snow all around, sparkling on the huge roof.  Oh I miss that barn and house, but not the snow.  Anyway, when the last dutch door was hung, he stood back and admired his work and said., “my work here is done, I never have to come into the barn again.”  At that point I told him, “you don’t know horses, it’s fix and repair daily.” And sure enough when he came home the next evening from work, I mentioned that one of the horses had removed half of one of the dutch doors and back to the barn he went.  To this day he comes home and asks “Okay, what did you break today?”  His work shop was in the house garage back then, when we moved here he moved his shop to the barn since that’s where all the action is.

This all came back to me when my friend and I were wrapping one of the horses legs.  I was wrapping and she was watching.  Both squatted down when the mare swiped a fly off of her belly.  Yes this is Florida and we have bugs year around.  We both stopped and looked at the leg and each other.  She was nowhere near hitting either one of us, but it was a reminder that we become to comfortable around horses legs.  How many times have I bent over to clean a front hoof without thinking about those back feet, and one comes passing by.  I should know better.  I get to relaxed around my horses.  We all do. They are not kickers, so to speak, but there can always come a time when they get bit by something and really throw a kick.  Oh yes, they know we are there and in a thinking moment will avoid us, but there is always that “for every action, there is a reaction” moment when they just respond to the bite and never think about who is in the way. Bob’s old appendix hated bugs, and if there was one on his body he would body slam you to get that bug.

Now we all know that the safest place to be in a kick situation is either right up against the horses leg or at the extreme reach of that kick.  You may get kicked, but the impact is really reduced.  Now if you are anywhere in between, its major damage.  I’m very aware of strange horses and walk wide around the back, but this one mare got me.  It was feeding time and even though I was far enough away, she stepped backwards and let out with both back legs.  She was just telling the other horses that this was her food and not to come into her private space.  I assume she knew I was walking behind, but if she really cared, I’m not sure.  Maybe the kick was intended for me.  Maybe she didn’t want me in her space.  I don’t really know.  She got the bucket I was carrying, which hit me in the ribs and sent me flying through the air.  Now this is all taking place in a 13 acre pasture with basically nothing but grass in it.  The other feed buckets were spread far apart and nowhere near us.  But boy when I landed, I hit something big and hard.  As I laid there trying to determine if I was alive and still able to move, I thought, what did I land on? There’s nothing here.  But oh yes there was.  A brand new salt block.  Picked myself up, check all body parts and hurried off.  It was Sunday and I had Children’s Church.  I was hurting, but I’ve hurt before.  That was until I went to the doctor a couple of weeks later for my regular check up.  Three broken ribs. Oh well ribs heal.  Been down that road before.  Don’t sneeze, cough or laugh.  If I hadn’t been as far back as I was it could have been real bad.  Learned to carry my cell phone after that.  Otherwise no one would notice until the buzzards started circling, or it was dinner time.  Bob will always seek me out if a meal is missing.

My point in this whole story is to always pay attention to where you body is, especially your head.  Even though you have a trust worthy horse, stupid things happen.  We teach the little ones, not to walk behind a horse – any horse, but we don’t even think about it ourselves.  When a horse stretches his leg out backwards it only reaches a certain distance, but when he throws a kick it goes further, with a lot of power behind it.  Fly season will be coming up.  Don’t be on the receiving end of that kick, it will leave a lasting impression.  I’ve been on the receiving end of four kicks, and they all hurt.  I know three were directed at other horses and I intercepted them, and there’s always the last one that I’m not sure about.

I am pleased to say that all the horses I received kicks from where other people’s.  Now that says something right there, but I’m not sure what.

Keep your head up when working around those feet and legs, and Just remember to always watch the Rockettes from a safe distance, the show is much more enjoyable.