before the rocking started

Yesterday was a beautiful summer day, and much of it was spent with Cierra and Harmony. We did some work on the pasture, mowed weeds, and restocked the hay. Brad has been working with Cierra on trailer loading for a while. She was doing awesome, loading great, staying alone, windows & doors closed etc. No issues. It was time for a mini-trip up to our house.  It would be Cierra's first trailer trip since we brought her home close to a year ago. She did so well, and really enjoyed her visit at our house. Just look at her...

...she looked around, trying to understand why our dogs were barking at her...

...and wanted to play follow the leader when our son rode a bike near her. She was enjoying her visit, and the lawn, and the fresh smell of the pine trees. She was relaxed...

...so we loaded her up to head back to the farm. I don't think she was ready to go. We heard a couple loud whacks accompanied by the infamous, it's never a good thing, rocking...how quickly things changed.

Somehow her tie down came loose, and we think she tried to turn around. Cierra smacked her head, broke a bar off the window, and the inside window, and bent a manger divider bar. Ouch!! She had a nasty U shaped gash about an inch and a half wide/tall, close to her right eye :( poor baby. Things were going so well, she was completely ready. It's such a shame. I have pictures of her injury, but I can't bring myself to post them - they are icky.

After the mishap, Cierra acted fine and loaded right back up without hesitation. She was her usual sweet self, being helpful, and following the boy who doesn't like horses and liked her nasty gash even less, around the pasture. At first we tried Tricare, but the gash was still seeping and wasn't looking any better. We called the vet. She came out early Sunday evening and sedated, cleaned up, glued, and put six staples in Cierra's head to hold the cut closed. We were instructed to give her Bute for a few days, and an oral antibiotic for 5. I sure hope she heals up okay, and the wound doesn't get infected. I posted a picture of her head, after the vet came and stapled her. Be warned tho, it's still not a pretty site...if you want, scroll down to see her injury.

Cierra is fine (she's semi-sedated in the last picture) and could care less. I would rather go back to the beginning of the mini-trip, before the rocking started. I like the other pictures better. You too? Scroll up. If only it was that easy.