Safety Concern

While yesterday was upsetting due to Milo's new lameness, I did get the chance to be home earlier and get stuff done such as laundry, cleaning, and even washing my truck and trailer. I make the habit of washing my trailer every time I use it. After Milo is unloaded, I scoop out the manure then and there, and hose off the mats. Call me crazy, but if I wash after every use it not only keeps it clean and nice to look at, but easier to wash each time and, Id like to think, keeps the integrity of the trailer in tact because green Washington slime doesnt build up on the corners and creases. The point is, I just like to feel that I am taking the best care of my investment as I can.

That being said, I had extra time yesterday and had not yet washed my trailer since the last show a week ago. Not to mention it was 50 degrees out and sunny. Perfect day! Ho hum, I washed the trailer and even figured out that I could hold onto the tie hook and stand on the wheel well to reach the top (formerly, I was standing on either the quad parked next to it, or jumping up and down repeatedly to suds the top). I washed the rims, then went to scrub the underside of the wheel well (lots of mud caked on under there), and SCRAPE. Ouch!! I had cut the underside of my wrist right across the veins. I looked at my wrist and saw a cut but didnt think much else and finished my washing. The suds running into the cut stung, but I finished it out thinking if anything, the soapy water was helping to clean it out.

I finished and washed up in the house. My wrist was still bleeding. It was about a three in long cut across my veins and somewhat deep. I held a towel to it and it eventually clotted and stopped. But it is sore and tender.

This got me thinking: if it was really that easy for me to cut myself on the edge of the wheel well, how easy might it be for my horse to injure himself when tied up there? All he would theoretically have to do is put his head down to nibble grass, then unexpectantly bring it up and potentially hit his head on the diamond plate edging. It was that easy for me to cut myself, an injure prone horse could find an even easier way to hurt himself Im sure.

So now the question is, how can I avoid that from happening? Save from applying a rubber or soft edging to the diamond plate, I really cannot think of anything. Any ideas?

Maybe Im just oversenstive especially to the fact that my horse is currently lame and its making me hyper sensitive to anything that could cause injury.

Edit: I found this weather stripping from Home Depot, here, that I believe might do the trick:

 It is weather stripping that is designed to be put around door frames or windows to keep air and moisture out. It is self adhesive and waterproof, so it should (in theory) go right onto the diamond plate edging and stick in place without coming off. It is a rubber foam so it would act as a great bumper for the edging. My only concern is really if it would "wrap" around the edging well or not. Now I think I just need to go to the store with not only measurements of the wheel well edging, but also to talk to a CSR at Home Depot and find out if he/she believes it would be a good solution and stay in place. I think I will take Boyfriend along too as he is much more of a handyman than I am and would most likely know if it would work for the job or not. I will keep you posted on this project!

Aha, this seems to be a better option, in fact. This is a foam tubing, usually put over pipes to prevent freezing. Amazon has them here for only $6.65, plus it is pre slit. So, this would cover the edging better than the above stripping I believe. But I would need to find some sort of adhesive to keep it in place that will attach well to the diamond plating as well as the foam tubing. Home Depot has this as well on their website, so I should be able to feel it and compare to the stripping above. Again, Ill keep you all posted!