        He saw it coming too late to stop it.  Her jump was off-balance, either from poor footing or the difficulty of standing on two legs.  She half-fell, and his instinct was to try and catch her.  Dale managed to take one step forward before a flailing hoof came in contact with his shoulder, twisting him around.  She fell forward, driving the two of them down to the beach.  He didn’t have time to brace himself, but he managed to wrap his left arm around her and yank her close to him, trying to avoid having her collapse on top of him as they hit.