Falling for horses, or off them?

Photo Cred: thehorseaholic.com

Now that it is very quickly starting to feel like fall in Alberta, way to early I might add, I thought it would be a great time to talk about all our horse related falls!

For many riders I am sure falls are far and few between, especially those of use who are graced with our horses who have angel wings, but for trainers like me who work with a large amount of young horses, accidents tend to happen. Try as I might, young horses still have a mind of their own, and I can't always see it coming.

Most recently, I was starting a young mare, what a fantastic little mare she is turning out to be! For a horse with very minimal human exposure, the last 2 months of ground work have turned this girl right around. Recently we started moving our feet under saddle, and boy this girl is calm, 5 rides in and she seemed so willing. Apparently silly old me needed a tune up because I thought it was a great idea to relax on this little horse and give her a loose rein, just for a second. It's been a very long time since I've been on a horse that bucked as hard and as fast as that little red mare did, but away she went. Completely unprepared to do anything, I lost my reins and then my seat, and over her shoulder I went.

I don't know about ya'll, but does anyone teach a course on how to land once bucked off? The scope of injuries I received from this tiny little fall are impressive. Landing on my face, extra gracefully I might add, was by far the best part of this whole ordeal. Amidst all that unluckiness, I managed to only fracture my poor nose, although unsurprising there wasn't a lack of blood coming from it. I also managed to somehow simultaneously land on my thumb, and detach the ligament (This one is great for proving just how valuable your thumbs actually are). And the bruising on my upper thigh (and bum, but lets not talk about it) its absolutely horrendous! Thankfully I had my helmet on! Otherwise I'm certain much more damage could have been done!

I'm not here to talk all about how bruised my body (and ego) is, but about how important riding safety really is! Everyone always says, "wear your helmet!" and I agree, but there is a lot of other precautions you can take as well.

Obviously. #1 Wear your helmet

#2. Starting younger horses? take a friend with you! (I was excessively grateful to not have to drive myself home, or to the hospital if I needed.)

#3 Remember that "boring horse training is good horse training" While its mildly impressive to watch someone ride a colt through a rodeo buck session, its completely unnecessary, spend the time with your young horse that they deserve and make sure they are completely okay with whats going on before moving to the next step. This is the best way to avoid an accident!

I'm hoping this tips will save a few trips to the ER, but as well all know, horse people are crazy and daring and accidents are bound to happen!

Play safe this fall, and stay up rather then down!

-C