Monday, October 27, 2008

Many Heartfelt Thanks

Thank you all for the wonderful responses to my last post. I really do appreciate the outpouring of affection for the big guy. He continues to be just fine, and aside from a little fuzzy thinking, I am feeling quite well myself. My dad is not only an accomplished Brego rider, he is also a neuropsychologist who specialized in head trauma (and yes, he still lets me ride) and he has performed all sorts of scans and probing questions. I am in good hands.

I let people know I was going to be taking a break, not to instill fear or drama :), but because last time I went for a week without posting, I had many concerned people emailing me asking if Brego is ok (I'm looking at you, Funder). So, between packing, and organizing every last penny, I wanted to give people notice that we're ok, but I will be immersed in the Other Life for a bit. And maybe that's not such a bad thing.

As for the fall, it has helped to learned that it does happen, even to the best of us. My engineering brain always reaches for a root cause, however. As Beckz mentioned, the distance really wasn't that long. Surely, the answer could not be that Brego lost his brain/concentration? Well, I have the benefit of watching the video in slow motion, oh about a hundred times, and I even sent it out to my trainer/friend in Texas and we all came up with an idea. Brego was attempting to do the "front foot tap", where he glances his front foot down on his departure over the fence. He's done it a few times, and if I had more time I could dig up some video, maybe another post... But I have never done anything about it because he managed to pick it back up and clear the fence. Anyway, this front foot tap went bad, either from the footing or fatigue or mental lapse and when his left fore slipped instead of tapping, he brought his right fore down to catch himself and the deal was sealed.

Losing his brain is a wildcard. Front foot tap I can work on. Even misplaced, the front foot tap points to confidence and insecurity issues, which we can always improve on.

Here I am, rambling on. My point, and I do have one, is Don't Dispair. Brego and I are not on a permanent break, and I think an introspective rider acting conscienciously is what draws people to this blog (or Brego's flat out handsomeness. Either one.).


What is life without a little existential angst?