Today, at the moment that I started to write this post, this happened less than half an hour before, and believe me I stood shaking on my feet.
At this time the weather is very nice here, actually it's even a little too warm. The last few days we had temperatures from 38° Celsius in the shade. It's even so hot that a few numbers of our outside thermometer melted from the heat (they are made of plastic).
So – we decided to go for a lunch in a nearby tavern. It's located in the middle of the woods in a very old little cottage. It's really a beautiful quiet and natural surroundings, a place to become at ease in nature.
When we arrived there on the terrace there also arrived a man and a woman on their horses. It were really two beautiful tall horses, they were very at ease.
The man tied the horses to a pole in the meadow close by, only approx. five meters away from the terrace.
While we sat there waiting for our lunch I said to my husband: “I only hope that those horses don't attract stitch flies”. I said this because I react very allergic to such a stitch. (I can't find the exact translation for it, but we call this fly a: Daas. It gives a very nasty stitch. Actually they are very visious. A normal fly you can hear but this one makes no noise at all, you can't hear it buzzing, and you are bitten before you know it. They are also thinner than a normal fly. I wonder if you know them and how you call them. Do you have them also at your place?)
After we had our lunch we decided to do a little stroll in the woods. Meanwhile the man and the woman were still lunching and their horses stood very at ease grazing in the meadow.
We began to walk along a small path. Left of us was a small ditch and left of that ditch a wider path.
While we were chatting to each other, we were suddenly startled by cries of people and the neighing of horses on the background.
Suddenly we saw one of the horses running on the wider path. It rushed straight at us, it had stampeded. It dragged the pole to which it was tied with it. That really startled the animal, the pole hit in all directions, between the bushes and against the legs of the animal.
It all happened so fast, we both stood there, not knowing which side to choose to run away. I yelled at the horse, trying to send it to another direction, but despite this it rushed right towards us.
That was such a scary moment folks - when I think back on it I almost start shaking again!
Then – we had good luck with the animal's “bad luck”.
It crossed the ditch towards our side and then it stumbled in full speed and fell - head over heels into the ditch. It lay there with its feet up in the air.
That the horse stumbled was our luck, I mustn't think what could have happened otherwise.
The poor animal - it was totally in panic but it didn't take long before it stood back on its feet.
Very shocked it rushed off, now on the wider path, while the owners now also came running on. I yelled at the man that his horse had fallen head over heels into the ditch - he had not seen that this happened. They were now trying to catch the second horse, it also had chased away but it wasn't so scared as the first one.
Luckily the woman could catch this one very soon. The man kept running behind the first horse but it took no long before we couldn't see it no more. The fact that he had no transport (they arrived on the horses) made the situation very worrying. The wider path on which the horse rushed away eventually ends on a motorway.
Oh oh – I really had to do with the animal.
Then there arrived a man on a bike and he offered him his bike to search after his horse.
Meanwhile, someone had taken pity on the second horse and yet another cyclist also lent the woman his bike to search after her horse.
After a while – they both had disappeared out of our sight.
Oh -- I wished that there wouldn't happen an accident.
Imagine that the horse would hit a car in panic, this wouldn't be the first time that such thing happens. Then also some people would get hurt. I even wouldn't think on this.
Still very shocked we went back from were we came, and then I found one of the horse's stirrups still attached to its leather belt hanging in the bushes. I went to the man who had taken care for the second horse and handed it to him.
When we drove away with our car we were not at ease because it could be possible that we might encounter the stampeded horse but except from its “excreta” on the road we didn't see abnormal things. We wondered what would have happened.
And - what do you wonder?
Perhaps you know me already a little.
Maybe you can guess.
I was not at ease before I knew what happened to the poor animal.
Before I could end this post (hm hm:) - it takes a little longer than when you write a post) I phoned the tavern and they had good news.
The owners had found their horse and it was OK. Probably it was bitten and frightened by the nasty stitch of such a “stitch fly”, such one where also I was so afraid for.
Wasn't this a lucky end for the *three of us!
That good news – made my day!
Have a nice day too -- without such an encounter! :):)
See you!
PS: Of course: the three of us are, the horse and we both!
NOTE: in case you are interested: this is the place where the scary expirience took place.
Click on the link below to read.
