Yesterday was our hunt’s Fall Hunter Pace. I wasn’t planning to ride because I had to catch a flight out of town later that day and generally I have too much to do. Plus, Freedom was recovering from a small stone bruise.

However, since he came sound and I hadn’t had the chance to ride much last week, I went. We had a glorious time. The day was cool and slightly overcast which was perfect for moving out and covering some ground. Despite his five days off Freedom was in fine form. We met a new friend and were thoroughly enjoying the fences and the fields.

Except for one thing. About half way through the pace we ran into some ground bees (which I believe are actually yellow jackets).  Ground bees are a real problem in the fall as it seems that they get particularly aggressive. When out hunting, if someone yells “bees” you need to move through fast or turn around and find another route because once they get stirred up, those bees are angry.

I got stung once on my wrist and was thankful that Freedom didn’t get stung as we were crossing a gully with no good place to accelerate.

I didn’t give it much thought. It was itchy and a bit red but that seemed normal. When I got home I took a couple of Benedryl and iced it. Then I got on a plane and flew to Las Vegas.

It was when I woke up this morning that I realized I had a problem. My right hand and my arm up to my elbow was now swollen, itchy, hot and red. Who would have thought that one bite would be such a problem. I’ve never had much of a reaction to bee stings/wasp stings before. So I spent my first two hours this morning at a clinic where I was prescribed antibiotics, steroids and a Tetanus shot.

And to think, my biggest concern yesterday was not falling off my horse!