A cop with a broken eye socket can fire such accurate rounds?

[csziggy]

35. Oh, definitely in shock - but I was luckier than you were

Because of the way the horse's head and mine collided, my injury was really very confined, just the upper orbital ridge broken and bruised. That didn't reduce the swelling or bleeding, but I'm sure it wasn't as bad as yours!

I was stupid later that week, though. We were campaigning one of my horses and I went to the show to watch him in the class. Because our trainer had several horses make it to the halter championships, I agreed to lead my colt in. Easy class, walk the horse to the first judge, trot the the second one, line up and let the judges look the horses over.

The walk went fine but when I asked him to trot, he boogied to the right then kicked to the left. I was oblivious, being blind in the right eye I saw none of his capers. When he kicked to the left, he made solid contact with my thigh. Everyone around the arena *heard* it THUD. Everyone gasped.

So here I am with half my face black, blind in one eye, holding a colt who could have blown up again, and barely able to stand on that leg with tears running down my face. the judge let me hand the colt off to the ringmaster who finished the class for me. The colt won Reserve Champion and finished the year as Reserve Champion (in his six months of showing against a horse who had shown the entire year).

Oh, it was the colt's dam who had knocked me in the eye. I still loved those horses - and I still have one of the colt's daughters here.