Unexpected Fowl Encounter

I was riding my frisky mare in the indoor arena this morning. I make it a habit to always ride with my helmet. As I was trotting along the rail, I felt a hard whack against the front of my helmet, which nearly knocked me off of my horse. I was dazed for a brief moment, and didn't know what hit me. Imagine my surprise as I saw a startled and wobbly pigeon flailing its wings up toward the rafters! Yep, that's right! I was HBP- hit by a pigeon. If I hadn't been wearing my helmet, I would have really been injured. The ironic aspect of this story is that my mare is extremely spooky and was totally oblivious that anything had happened to me. I suppose it would be a good idea to get a plastic protective cover for my helmet.