kicked by a horse

On Saturday May 9th, Eden, Emmy, Elise and I went to my friends Chris & Jennifer's house to ride horses. Elise went first and did a fine job. She really enjoyed it, so much so that she was reluctant to leave the horse when it was Emmy's turn. I was leading the horse and Elise was following behind the horse despite my warnings. She came up next to me and then drifted back towards the rear of the horse again, but this time she decided the horse needed a belly rub. I'm not sure if the horse was tickled or irritated, but quick as a whip the horse cow-kicked and Elise was in the mud. This all happened behind my back, though I quickly became aware of it when Elise started crying. My friend Chris saw it happen and came running over to help. Fortunately, the horse only struck her leg; it could have been much worse. Elise was in a great deal of pain and was unable to bear weight on the leg, which was colored with a good sized bruise.

The horse riding session was brought to an early close, and I dropped Eden and Emmy off at home with Sara before taking Elise to the hospital. The news that we were going to the hospital was terrifying to Elise; she did not want to get a shot. She was very nervous when it was time for her leg to be X-rayed, but she survived and we were relieved to find out that nothing was broken. The doctor gave her some ibuprofen and sent us home. The next day she was walking, though with a noticable limp. A couple of days later she was back to normal, though the bruise lasted for some time.

Interestingly, Elise is looking forward to the next horse riding adventure, though I imagine she will be much more respectful of the horse's space next time.