Unfiltered Story #101091

(I take riding lessons at a small, family-owned farm 10 minutes outside my hometown. The horses there are fairly used to traffic noise, and except for the occasional small spook, we very rarely have problems with cars. I am riding my big gray gelding bareback in my instructor’s front yard, which borders the road, but has a tree border between us and it. A tiny white pickup truck pulls into the driveway and turns around, so that it’s facing me sitting on the road. I don’t think much of it, as people do this once in a while. However, the people in the car wait until I’m right in front of the car with my horse, rev the engine as loud as they possibly can (which was incredibly loud; I don’t think they had a muffler), and take off at about 100 mph down the road. I was extremely lucky, as my gelding is absolutely rock solid and doesn’t spook at anything. However, even though I always wear a helmet, I could easily have been seriously hurt, or killed. If my horse had decided to spook and thrown me, I would have hit the ground from over 5 feet in the air, breaking several bones, perhaps even my spine or my neck. If he had then continued to buck, and stepped on me, he would have for sure broken any bone he stepped on, killing me almost instantly. I will forever be grateful that he is the amazing horse he is, because he didn’t bat an eye at the noise. And to the two young boys in the truck: Gentlemen, if you’re reading this, I just want you to know that you are also extremely lucky people, because if my horse had spooked because of your purposeful attempt to scare him, and I had gotten hurt/killed in the process, you would have faced charges of vehicular manslaughter and criminal negligence. I hope that you think about the choices you make for the rest of your lives, and understand that your actions have consequences.