Flashbacks and nightmares.

I haven't slept properly since the hunt on Saturday so today when I finished unexpectedly early at work I went and did a gym workout instead of riding, to try to get rid of the excess adrelaline and stress that hunt on Saturday caused.

The stuff on the Facebook page has been removed and there is no explanation on the hunt website. The current explanation going around by text is that the horse fell in the river and was in difficulty, and then had a heart attack. I recall now that it was on the edge of the bank when I saw what I now know were its death throes, so I assume that the extreme exertion and/or fright of getting out of the river triggered the heart attack. Or maybe it was just coincidental, though that seems to me to be fairly unlikely, given the timing.

To add to a bad situation, I've been told that the horse did not belong to him but was borrowed and he was  looking after it for the owner. I'll bet that made for a difficult conversation.

Part of my flashbacks have been seeing the Field Master's face covered with bleeding scratches. Today I remembered why that was. We were told in no uncertain terms that if we did not pass the reseeded areas that we were going to go around in single file on the field margin, that we would be sent home. There was quite a lot of it, some of which we cantered round. But no-one had cut back the trees and even children on ponies were getting their faces whipped by hanging twigs/branches. Several times I had to duck right down onto the saddle face downwards and let the stuff whip the top of my hat to avoid it being my face. Radar is very difficult to control in that situation, quite aside from me being effectively blind as well. It was just another feature of a very bad day.

I hope to get a much better night's sleep tonight and that the memories will now fade. If the weather holds for a good day on Saturday out with my regular hunt, that will help a lot.

C