Calamity and Serendipity

We awoke to frost on our tents this morning. It was cold and drizzly during breakfast and promisted to be an uncomfortable day of riding. We took a long time to pack the yak carts and get moving. Then the terrain was rough and boggy and the horses slowly picked their ways across the steppe. As we climbed up to the first mountain pass, the drizzle turned to snow. It would have been beautiful to be riding in the snow if it hadn't been so cold.\r

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Calamity struck first. We had just crested the first pass when we stopped for a short break. As Marcus dismounted, his rain poncho caught on the pommel of the saddle. With his left foot still in the stirrup, he reached back to free his poncho. Something about the flapping of the poncho spooked his horse and the horse started to buck and kick. Marcus's left foot stayed caught in the stirrup and instantly Marcus was under the horse and dragged about 15 feet before his foot finally came free.\r

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It was the scariest thing I've seen in a long time. It happened so fast we barely had time to react before it was over. Marcus lay wrapped in his poncho on the ground and I was sure he had sustained serious injuries. It had looked like something from a 'worst moments in rodeo' video and I couldn't believe he would walk away from it.\r

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In fact, when the tour leader and others finished examining him, I was amazed (and thoroughly relieved) to hear that he had only one bad cut (a hoof print on his shin) and some bruises on his chest. The group tried to clean and bandage the cut. Then we had to decide what to do next. Incredibly, as the discussion went on, Marcus got up and walked a little way to see if he would be able to carry on on foot. Although he appeared steady on his feet, he was starting to feel the cold and we decided to pitch a tent quickly to give him a chance to stay warm.\r

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The yak carts had just caught up to us at this time. We grabbed one of the tents, threw it up in record time and got Marcus inside with his sleeping bag and some dry clothes. The crew started the propane stove and was heating some water when Serendipity came our way.\r

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Four horsemen rode up along our same trail, a European couple and their two guides. The man called out, 'How are you doing?' Someone replied, 'We've had better days. Any chance you have a doctor in your group?' 'Well,' the man answered, 'we're both veterinarians if that will do.' Will it ever!\r

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Andy and Chloe (the vets) dismounted and were shown to the patient. Andy inspected the cut while Chloe asked Marcus about the bruises and any other symptoms from the accident. Andy decides to put a few stitches in the wound (they had a sterile suture kit with them!) and dress it. They then give instructions for cleaning the wound and changing the dressing each day, along with some pain killers and antibiotics.\r

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We were dumbstruck by the good fortune of having these two come upon us just after the accident. It turns out that their guides were from the same tour company we were using and had decided to follow our route when Andy and Chloe showed up in U.B. looking for a last-minute horse trek in Western Mongolia.\r

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Everyone, especially Marcus and his wife I think, was relieved to have educated opinions on Marcus's condition. That afternoon, as we started discussing our alternatives for going forward or going back, we felt we could make an informed decision that didn't put Marcus at undo risk. We eventually decided to continue forward. Marcus decided to walk, riding a horse on a lead whenever his leg got too uncomfortable.\r

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We each said a couple of extra 'thank you' prayers at the next 'ovoo' shrine we came to.\r

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Photo album: Mongolia\r

http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=c931oof.6yy31t0v&x=0&y=-h2vxir\r