The long way home

The wind blew strong, howling through the darkness. The rain stung my face like a thousand angry bees. Walking blind, all I could do was wait for the lightening to flash across the dark sky giving me a short glimpse of the path in front of me. The thunder rumbling over the hills and through the trees so loud, I'd jump at every clash.

Why was I out walking through the bush in a thunder storm you may ask. Well I had decided that I wanted to go for a ride earlier that evening. I saddled a very fresh and feisty three year old gelding and headed out across the pasture. I had only rode Charger a handful of times, but he had always been great aside from being slightly high strung.

About an hour into my ride, it came time to cross the river. Charger had never cross the river before, but I urged him forward and he walked into the water calm and collected. The river was high this year and I couldn't recall exactly where the crossing was. All I could do was hope that I was in the right spot. As we came to the deepest part of the river I took a deep breath. I reached down to give Charger a pat on the neck and just as i looked up there it was!

A tree! A very large tree! raging down the river towards us. I pushed Charger forward but we didn't get out of the way fast enough. The tree separating me from my horse and twirling me under the water as I was pulled downstream.

I was able to hold onto a large rock and slowly drag my wet, weak body to shore. I looked up to see Charger pacing back and forth on the other side of the river. There's no way he would cross the raging river without a rider. I would have to walk home to get another horse.

So there I was. Walking home through miles of treacherous terrain and thick dark bush. I didn't mind the walk until darkness fell upon the valley and the only light I had to guide me was a quick flash of lightening.

As the lighting lit up the night sky, I caught motion behind me out of the corner of my eye. My heart began to race and I began to panic. There had been three recent cougar attacks in the area over the past week. I stopped and tried to listen for footsteps but I couldn't hear anything over the roar of the thunder and rain.

I assured myself that it was nothing and kept pushing through the thick bush. At this point I had lost the path and I was beginning to panic again. There was miles and miles of bush in this area and it was very easy to get lost. It was in that moment that I heard the snapping of twigs behind me. I whirled around and as another flash lit the sky around me, there he was....

It was Charger. His eyes wild with fear. His muscles glistening with each crack of lightening. I rushed to him, wrapping my arms around his neck and breathing in the sweet smell of sweat and leather. I stood there hugging his neck for warmth, only now realizing how cold I truly was. It took every ounce of energy I had left to climb into the saddle.

As the rain began to subside, the sun began to peek over the horizon and I saw it. BLOOD! A lot of blood, gushing from a large claw like gash in Charger's shoulder. At that moment i began looking around, scared and frantic. I knew exactly what had caused the large wound! It had to be the cougar. Now that the sun was rising I could see how bad it truly was. I took my jacket off, wrapping it around Charger's neck and shoulders to try to stop the bleeding. Charger was weak and in a lot of pain. Luckily we were able to find the path and slowly make our way towards home.

As we crested the last hill and the barn came into view, i couldnt help but think....

Where was the cougar, and how did Charger find me? These were questions that I would ask myself forever as the cougar was never spotted again.

As for Charger and I. We have a bond between horse and rider that I have never experienced before, and as we fly across the high mountain ridge overlooking miles of beautiful valley, we are one. The wind in his mane and the wind in my hair. The thundering of hoofbeats echoing through the valley . I will forever be thankful that I chose to ride charger that afternoon..