10 Years Off My Life

Odin and I had a bit of a scary moment last week...

I was hauling him over to the neighbor's to ride in the indoor with a friend.  Went to load him and he stepped in just fine, tied him and just before I turned to get the divider he pulled back hard.  When he didn't get anywhere he set back and pulled back H.A.R.D.  He ended up slipping and falling.  When he jumped to his feet he lunged forward then set back again, did that a couple times.  Fell at least once more during all that.

*keep in mind I'm at the front of the trailer during all this with no place to go*

My mind was racing trying to figure out what to do.  I had already tried to untie him but he had pulled too hard and the "quick release knot" was jammed.  I didn't have a knife on me but I did have my phone.  Did I have time to wait for someone to get there to help and who would be the quickest to reach and get there?
He paused and I started talking to him.  I honestly don't know how I kept such a calm, logical tone of voice as I spoke to him because I was pretty damn nervous.  I babbled something about needing to stop being bad and act like a grownup, how he had been in the trailer plenty of times and knows how to load, I told him he needed to come and stand up at the front of the trailer beside me and just be g.o.o.d.  He calmed right down and stepped forward, then touched his nose to my elbow like he was saying "Sorry Mom.  I'm not sure why I freaked out." 
He wouldn't come forward quite enough for me to get the divider closed, but he stood stock still while I smacked him in the ass with it to try to get him to step forward.  Oh well, better than another freak out lol 
Then I talked to him about what our options were.  I didn't want to leave him in the trailer alone while I got a knife to cut the leadrope loose just in case he started to pull again.  The knot on the halter was jammed as well.
(so much for the theory that if you tie a rope halter properly you can un-jam the knot if they pull, I guess there's only so much pulling it can take at a time) 
Thankfully I park the truck and trailer beside the barn, I told Odin I was going to slip his halter over his ears, that when he was loose he needed to let me get out of the way and then he had to go to the gate and I'd let him into the alleyway.  Sure enough as soon as the halter was off and I was out of the trailer he stepped out and went right to the gate, I opened it and he walked into the alley nice and calm.  While he hung out eating some stray bits of hay off the ground I grabbed a different halter from the barn and caught him up again.
We went back to the trailer and I closed the divider and loaded him up in the back half.
(probably not the safest way to haul but I was going less than a mile, literally right next door)
I was quite happy with how calmly he just stepped right in, like not a thing had happened just minutes earlier (I know *I* was still shaking, and it wasn't until a few minutes into my ride that I stopped)
When we unloaded at the neighbor's we went right in to ride and he was just fine.  Moved out pretty nice, a bit of a looky-loo at first (it was his first time there).  Went to load to go home and he loaded just fine again.
Why he freaked out will be a mystery.  However it does underline something I've been noticing about this colt... he may have a bad moment here and there but it's usually pretty brief and he comes back SO nicely.  Like Monday night at our lesson, when I asked him to lope he kicked up with his hind end, I said in a stern voice "Hey now, none of that!" and he settled in to work.  Sure he was just feeling goofy but he stopped and came back with a good attitude and a good mind.  The trailer incident was the worst he's freaked out in ages, last time was during the first bit of doctoring that leg wound that was down to bone.  However I hope he doesn't freak out that big again, this one took 10 years off my life!