Ah horses; man’s choice of travel many years ago. However, as many have found out, unscarable machines are much easier to operate and maintain than living companions. Being alive means having multiple different fears. One major fear that horses have is barking dogs. I found this out the hard way.
    My grandpa lives out in the countryside between my town and the next. One of his favorite pastimes is riding horses. He has a ginormous pasture on his property where his three horses could run around and eat the grass. This is where we normally ride because the ground is soft. That way, if someone fell off, it wouldn’t hurt that much.
   Knowing this, I wonder to this day why I ever agreed to ride with him on his road, which is basically nothing but rocks. We didn’t get very far since a woman came by walking her dog. As soon as the dog noticed us, it started barking and trying to break free of its collar. Fortunately, the owner had a good grip of the leash. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop my horse from freaking out.
    “Hang on tight to the reigns!” I heard my grandpa shout. It was too late. I felt the saddle launch me into the air. Time seemed to slow down while I was in thought. I finally hit the rocks hard and landed in the grass. After a few seconds, I tried to get up. I instantly felt pain grab my knee. I looked at it and noticed that it was busted open. Blood was spilling everywhere. It turns out that when I got bucked off, I landed on a sharp rock before bouncing onto the grass. My grandpa rushed to the house to grab the first aid kit. When he returned, he put a cotton pad on the wound and wrapped it with gauze. The only thing I could think about was “Is this what death feels like?”
    About a day later, my dad and I went to the Hospital. When we get in, the doctor grabs the needle and medical thread. My dad distracted my by telling jokes and asking questions. This seemed to work, as I didn’t really feel the pain.
    I had to keep the stitches in for two or three weeks. Doing this was nothing but torture. I was attending a private Christian Academy at this time. I could do the work, but couldn’t go out and play with the others. All I could do was sit there and watch them. When the day to remove the stitches came, I was filled with joy. Instead of having my dad distract me I played Sonic Rush, a game for the Nintendo DS. It worked even better than my dad’s jokes.
    A few weeks pass and my knee makes a full recovery aside from the scar which I still have today. The more I thought about it, the more my mind wanted to assign blame. Had grandpa not asked on that day to ride with him, or had the woman not walked her dog at that moment, I might have spared myself from this torture. I soon realized that those two things were nothing but a coincidence. My mind then thought that both me and the horse were to blame for not being ready for it. Then I realized how stupid blaming a horse is. Soon after, I forgave myself due to being around 9 or 10 years old.
    Most people may think that this was a small event in my life, but this was a major life lesson. After an accident, I blamed everyone at that place and time, including myself. After I realized that no one was to blame, my faith in those people and animals, my faith was strengthened. It may seem confusing, but that is what happened.