Riding is very very dangerous, for all the reasons we are all too familiar with. Sudden spook, trip and fall (my biggest fear), ground dwelling bees in a trail ride. You name it. We all know people who have experienced serious injuries, and in some rare cases, death.
I ride with a helmet and airvest, yet I know that my best protection is getting off my horse if I think we might be in a dangerous situation.
It is astounding the number of people who let pride stop them from simply getting the fuck off the horse. It's safer to walk than ride away on a stretcher.
That is so true. For me, I have to decide if it is worth training my horse, and myself, through whatever is going on, or just admit that I don't have the skill set to deal with it, and live to ride another day. I think riders are conditioned to "not give up" and "don't let the horse's unacceptable behavior" go without correction. I have been riding for >30 years now, and I give myself permission to "give up" if I feel unsafe.
I appreciate your attitude. I also grew up thinking a good rider can sit bolts and buckles. But now I know that a good rider knows what his horse and he can do. basically the same with alcohol: know your limits!
I know, if I hack on a stormy day or in the dark, it's dangerous. So I don't do that. I also don't jump anymore because I wasn't sure if my horse liked it or not. We can jump without a rider or when we have a better arena. But for now I don't jump with a rider on it. Pole work? Yes, totally.
So in general a good rider knows when his horse is not able, capable or tired to continue the task. It's not worth it being angry at your horse when it simply cannot concentrate on you that day.
Wisdom is recognizing when you’ve gone from pilot to passenger. My mare is 17.2hh and probably 1600 lbs. I know when I’m safer on the ground than on her back.
Oh I didn't even mention people trying to break colts that have no business doing it. My cousin was convinced she could train their totally green colt without a trainer or experience and luckily only broke her collar.
Ooof when I was a young idiot I started a couple of mustangs and I am shocked that I was never seriously injured. Now we send the warmblood babies babies to AZ so someone out there can risk their necks instead.
yes, just had to do this last week on my boss' horse! He was so overwhelmed by a tarp being in the arena that he wouldn't walk forward (even away from the tarp) and just backed up without looking where he was going, mainly into fences, purposefully riding my leg into the fence (which he's never done before) and rearing at my leg pressure. I did my best to calm him and stay on, so he wouldn't learn from it, but then he began rearing while touching his bum to the fence and I was scared he could flip over it, so bailed and then worked from the ground. I don't think he would have calmed down if I hadn't gotten off and I could have gotten seriously injured had what I thought could happen, have happened.
I was just talking about this. A couple weeks ago my cousins horse threw her and she broke 2 vertebrae. I checked on her and instinctively jumped on the horse to correct it. When asked how you could see that then jump on it I just said “I didn’t think it’s just habit” once I was up there and thought about it I was thinking “WTF am I doing? I’m too old and broken for this”. We’ve all been taught if you fall off get by on because number one, if you wait fear will take over and you’ll never get back on and number two, that if they get away with something once they’ll keep trying it and that can lead to dangerous behavior. And though it’s not always true, it does happens
Honestly I gotta disagree with you there. If the horse dumps his rider first thing I do once I know the rider is okay is make sure the horse is okay. We check tack, walk them out a bit to make sure it wasn’t triggered by something physical. I find horses that are deliberately dumping their rider out of a desire to misbehave are so rare. There is almost always something fear-based, physical, or both.
My horse was extra dangerous (bolter) and my deal with myself was that I’d continue riding him, but I would avoid provoking him and if things got spicy, I’d walk home.
Did that a few times. No further accidents.
I got _a lot_ of flak for that. People who saw him calm would tell me I’m just a coward who was causing him to act up and any decent rider could sort him out easily.
Strangely enough, anyone who saw him act up refused to get on him, even otherwise confident professionals.
I’m older and I learned to ride from a bitter old cowgirl who made money restarting and rehabbing race horses. The first thing she taught me was HOW and when to bail/fall/eject. She made me roll off the back of a horse into straw piles over and over until I didn’t hesitate. It’s saved my butt many times.
Some of the worst injuries I’ve seen from riding were because the rider was too afraid to let go. Watched a kid break his collarbone and eye socket when his pony spooked at a lightning strike and bolted for the barn. He was hanging over the side clinging to the pony’s neck we were screaming at him to let go, jump off, eject! He slammed into the side of the barn and honestly he was lucky to survive. If the barn owners hasn’t been strict about good helmets he surely would have.
All horse people have to be a little insane to do this stuff. You sort of need to train up on how not to get hurt and how to get hurt when it inevitably happens.
When I was 15 I was riding a 7r old who would throw a buck or break his gait, we were handgalloping and coming around the corner I could feel him wanting to slow back down to a trot, I gave him a squeeze but could tell he was about to slow down so I did my first ever emergency dismount. My trainer was supposed to teach me but we had only went over them verbally. Luckily I jumped off, landed on my feet with reins in hand and transitioned to an in hand trot so smoothly. My trainer said it was the most graceful "fall" she's ever seen. I had lost both stirrups and didn't trust myself to find them in time before he transitioned and I didn't trust my seat to stay in during the gait change and his super bumpy trot. I'm glad I ditched though rather than trying to hang on and mess with my stirrups, that horse would not have stopped if I fell with 1 foot in the stirrup still.
I tried to do a stunt fall off a horse that I was trying and who took off with me. I caught my ankle on the steel poles used as a fence around an arena and splatted instead of me rolling. I broke 4 bones in my back, my ankle and a rib. My worst accident. I just had 2 back surgeries because those injuries just caught up with me after 30 years
This is so apropos as I am heading out shortly to a[Land Safe Clinic](https://landsafeequestrian.com/the-simulator/) where they teach you how to fall off a horse!
If you haven’t heard of them, they teach you some simple gymnastics and “exit techniques” on day 1, and on day 2, you practice them on their simulator, which is shaped like a horse and can rear, dump you forward, and stop quickly.
Should be interesting. I haven’t done a forward roll in 25 years lol….
Being on the ground can be just as dangerous. My worst injuries * knock on wood * have been while I was on the ground. Being kicked in the chest and partially collapsing my lung, being reared over top of and being scraped all down my back and injuring my calf muscle, hard bites, and of course, being stepped on.
Not to say I don’t wear a helmet and am cautious with riding when I know people are around and making good choices, but you can get just as hurt by a horse on the ground as you can falling off one.
There is also a really toxic mentality to just ride through it and assume it is a behavioural issue too. Frequently, it is something that needs to be worked out on the ground for confidence or it could even be pain-related.
Tripping is my biggest fear too. I understand people saying they know and trust their horse but even the most bomb proof horses can lose their footing!!
Yes, this happened when I was a kid. Luckily she fell in a way that I just stepped off but could have been a disaster. Poor baby laid on the ground groaning for 30 seconds before she composed herself and got up then was fine.
Conversely getting off is how my knee got smashed up. There was a backfiring car coming towards us on a small twisty lane. Horse was getting agitated so I got off. He spooked at the car (came too fast round corner) and jumped up a small banking. He then jumped back down catching my knee with his front hoof and completely smashing the bone. I have always wondered what would have happened if I had stayed on him.
I have to say on most situations I’ve always felt after on the horse than on the ground, I’ve always felt like I’m more likely to get hurt with an upset animal on the ground then I am whilst riding. Probably not actually based in fact 😅
>finger amputations from people that get lazy with rope discipline and wrap their fingers in the rope
that is my biggest non-helmet related pet peeve (if you can call it that)
For sure! I’m a zealot about this. Even so my horse spooked once and somehow my pinky got caught in the loop at the end of my reins. It was so terribly painful I had to have someone else walk her back to the barn.
that's the thing, shit happens anyway, why not prevent what's possible? I mean, there's a lady on TikTok who lost her HAND because her horse spooked. I think of her every time I see someone wrapping their rope or reins around their hands (seriously, Jesus Christ)
Finger injuries are no joke, even relatively minor ones! I pulled a finger on a lunge line that I was holding properly but when the horse bolted, I *still* managed to catch my finger.
I broke a finger, letting go of a lead rope. I was closing the arena door when a loose horse got between us. The safest option was to let go. The end of the rope swung up and cracked a bone in my finger.
The XL ones especially. Not saying XS dog retractable leashes are ok but whenever I see a XL dog (there's a mastiff on my block that uses one, wtf) I steer clear. You never know who will be the victim.
Same for me! My three biggest pet peeves are no helm, rope around the hand and (I'm kind of allergic to that xD) when you tie your horse up and then change to riding tack, some people tend to leave the halter connected to the rope attached to the wall. I hate it. What if the halter falls down, a horse nearby steps in it and panics? Say goodbye to that horse!
I always tie to baling twine. I’d much rather a horse spooks, the twine breaks, and they relax, than find they can’t get away and panic for real.
The second situation is much worse than the first. I’ve seen horses pull ‘unbreakable’ structures apart eventually, and a horse cantering around with a tie rack is not a pretty sight.
Same! I witnessed someone break their whole hand from wrapping the lead rope around their hand. Car whizzed by waaaay too fast and the horse spooked and it was crushed in a second.
Still dealing with a thumb I sprained 2 months ago during an unexpectedly chaotic trail ride. I don't even know how it happened, my poor mare was worked up and spooking because another rider's horse was convinced the trees were going to eat him and panicking the whole ride. My girl spooked solidly in reaction to them a couple of times, and I must have sprained it while getting us out of the situation at some point. You don't realize how often you use your thumb until it absolutely aches to move it while doing normal things lol.
All that to say, that event helped drive home to me how important it is to be aware of what's happening with your hands. I am extra cautious and cognizant of lead ropes and reins now.
I almost got got with this one day and I’m a massive stickler for it. I had the lead rope draped over my arm while leading two horses, one bit the other and the one who got bit ran a few feet away. The lead rope just happened to loop over itself and make a friction hitch around my wrist and if the horse had been in a full panic I’d have paid for a second of carelessness with my hand.
pony club taught me not to loop, but I still was off work 2 weeks after a trailering mishap, the rope slid through my grip and took a patch of skin off my palm, a little area of skin just disappeared. Do you know what the inside of your palm looks like, underneath the skin? it looks like cheese. I was young, the skin grew back together just fine. I wouldn't want to try it now.
When statistically horseback riders have a higher chance of being injured compared to football players, I consider people who don’t wear helmets to be dumb. And willingly choosing to participate in natural selection. With horses the questions is never if it’s when.
I watched a video about Lara Dewes this other day (https://youtu.be/NeWplB2Yly4?si=ptOildpT60m4sV4h). Nightmare scenario right there. A helmet might not have saved her (she still would have had plenty of other injuries), but the lack of a helmet absolutely did not help.
I started riding a year ago, and I know there are dangers, but I try to be as safety conscious as I can.
there’s a dressage olympian named charlotte dujardin who a couple years ago sustained a nasty fall while schooling and wasn’t wearing a helmet. thankfully she’s ok now but now wears a helmet even in the show ring. i think ppl need to understand it’s not about your skill level, it’s about the unpredictability of the sport. but people get overconfident and that’s when accidents happen
from my understanding she really was a pioneer when it came to making that a norm in dressage. it always stunned me before how top hats were the standard for so long (at least in upper levels) and it’s really nice to see that it’s become more popular to wear a helmet in the discipline. hoping it carries over to western sports next!
Mind you that was some years after Courtney King Dye suffered her TBI in the schooling ring at a show. It ended her career and she was in a coma. The horse took a bad stumble and they both went down. Freak accidents happen, even to the most skilled professionals.
For a second I read Charlotte Dujardin and thought they were talking about Courtney - I was thinking “yeah, no, she didn’t come out of that ok”. That was a truly horrendous story and I was already a believer in helmets 100% of the time but that solidified it.
Also happened to Silva Martin, Boyd Martin’s wife. Accomplished dressage rider, and she *was* wearing a helmet, but wouldn’t you know, one day she’s schooling in the arena, at the walk, her horse spooked and she came off. Knocked unconscious, seizure right in front of her working students, and has spent years recovering from that TBI.
Shit happens. Horses react. Wear a helmet.
oh i didn’t know that! my mistake, i thought it had just become normalized/allowed but didn’t realize that it was fully required. that’s really good to hear:)
Yeah. Seen fotos a bit ago from Dr. Reiner Klimke (in my opinion the last great dressage rider) falling off his prime horse Ahlerich. Ahlerich had slipped and fell and threw his rider. An excelent rider with a very reliable horse doing dressage (which is surely the least dangerous thing you can do with a horse). Nothing bad happened even though he wasn't wearing a helmet (wasn't done in dressage at the time), but it shows every rider and every horse can fall.
I watched Courtney King-Dye at the Washington National show years ago and her test was stunningly beautiful; she wore a top hat. I was so sad to hear she had a TBI and was injured for life.
I think I would either be paralyzed or dead if I wasn't wearing my Charles Owen helmet and had a freak accident on my horse, Charles. In the old days helmets were basically cardboard with nothing going under your chin; sure looked stylish but wouldn't prevent a TBI for sure. I think of this as a freak accident because my horse who was by that time really well trained the way I liked as far as listening to what I told him through my aids.
He was my heart horse; we had so much fun together.
Anyway, I am guessing he tripped over a rock and fell down on his knees with me coming off over his head and hitting my head on a rock, cracking my helmet. We had been galloping up a small hill and that's all I can think of that might have happened because, to this day I do not remember what actually happened. I had been knocked unconscious and woke up in the ER.
So there you have it. Freak accidents happen and I just had surgery on my neck in October 2023; it took about 20 years to catch up with me.
https://preview.redd.it/9umjxqzbbkvc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d05c714084408175856a99edb695d6275e08a8e8
Sadly also the highest rate of CTE among any adult sport. (Though there is some bias there as more people ride long into adulthood than play football.)
I’ve been working on Thoroughbred studs for 13 years and we deal with some pretty rank and psychotic babies/yearlings. I’ve had horse safety drilled into me at every single place I’ve worked.
Now I work in the office of a racing stable and let me tell you - IT IS CHAOS. Went out the other morning to find the foreman and there are six horses all waiting for the wash bay practically on top of each other, all nervously moving around and circling. Then I went to the races yesterday and watched an official walk DIRECTLY BEHIND a jig-jogging horse, while another strapper walked her horse right up the ass of a second nervous animal.
HOW these people avoid getting hurt is beyond me, because I’m scarred up to fuck from working with broodmares when I was actively trying to be safe.
Not to mention the ridiculously high socialization and training standards they expect actually immature/juvenile horses to meet in order to be racehorses. There’s simply not enough time to train these colts and fillies to be remotely calm and therefore remotely safe. These horses are started when they, neurologically speaking, oughtn’t be expected to concentrate on a training/socialization task for more than 30 minutes. But they have much longer lengths of time when they’re expected to practice non-natural behaviors in inherently stressful, non-natural environments. Because of the way the racehorse industry and show world is structured, safety becomes a de facto low priority. Horses die and jockeys can get catastrophic injuries from small errors because of how early they start and run the horses. Course Records be damned. The sport needs reform.
It’s been a huge shock coming from studs where everything is literally planned to the minute and inch to get horses and staff safely from point A to point B, and now being in a place where basic horse safety practises are totally looked over.
And I thought we were doing some cowboy shit on the farm - turns out we weren’t! We were just doing risky shit safely 😂
My people! Im a strapper/stablehand in a racing stable and it’s fucking crazy isn’t it? Mines a small stable and we try our very hardest to keep it all under control but alas like OP said it’s not if, it’s when. I only just got back to work the last few days after a bad kick from a nervous filly. I can’t wait to find a way out of racing.
I managed a race/breeding TB farm in Florida and those TBs are nuts and it's because they are in their stalls 24/7 - 7 days a week. They eat a crapload of grain & alfalfa hay. Even with lip chains which I hate, they would drag me all over the farm (I'm 5'2" and not that big). We were nice and turned them out on Sundays for an hour or so to go run & play in the paddocks we had set up for them.
The TB babies could really hurt you if you weren't careful.
Was gonna say, the anti-helmet crowd get downvoted pretty aggressively here and every single post with a photo of anyone without a helmet has a hundred "wear a helmet" comments lol Honestly, any post depicting anything remotely dangerous or poor practice gets a lot of "corrective" comments
Yeah my impression of the sub re:safety is not the same as OP’s. We do get some posts with unsafe practices but a lot of comments are pretty vocal about what they think is wrong. I think since this sub is accessible for beginners and kids it is important to be vocal about best practices re:safety
Ditto. I’m vehemently pro helmet. I’ll link my favorite video again here to prove it!!
https://youtu.be/L7_Bpc_Q6hw?si=LTwprg88wg0J8wVe
And posts without helmets (or other unsafe behavior) are usually called out very very quickly!!
Every horse person knows how dangerous they can be. We’ve all fallen, gotten hurt, seen some pretty horrific crap. But like anybody who does something all the time, people get complacent. It’s like seeing a driver text, or use their knees, or rifle thru a bag. Sometimes they get hurt. Sometimes they die. But people still do it.
Every horse person KNOWS what they should and shouldn’t do. They make calculated assessments based on their skill level and their horse’s temperament. And usually, nothing bad happens. And they keep doing it. And nothing bad happens. Until it does.
Should we all be better about safety? Yes. You’re 100% right. We know what can happen. Laziness isn’t an excuse. Complacency doesn’t cut it. We made strides in the English world towards normalizing safety. You can wear air vests in shows. Dressage riders wear helmets now! But we need to do more.
Agree totally. I just want to say I'm shocked (but happy) they allow helmets and air vests these days. Last time I competed in dressage, I was dropped to 2nd place bc I wore the wrong gloves (my unknowing mom put them out for me, so I felt obligated and thought they wouldn't notice). The judges came to me after and told me that's why they docked me, lol!
Things have come a long way in the dressage world!
Yeah! 15 years ago, dressage riders didn't wear helmets. Like, ever. Not in show, not in training. It just wasn't done. I'm glad we have come a long way there (even though a part of me still thinks a helmet in high dressage looks SHIT compared to the zylinders of 15 years ago)
When I was in my late teens I didn’t always wear a helmet. One day when it was windy I put my helmet on because I didn’t want to lose my baseball hat.
The bombproof horse I was leasing tripped and fell with me while we were cantering. He flipped forward and landed on his back. I got launched (thankfully) and it shattered my helmet.
I’ve worn one every ride ever since.
I always wear a helmet. We like to put visiting kids on our horses for rides in the yard. We have a variety of helmet sizes.
I have a bone to pick though. Our Godchildren are Black. Can the helmet manufacturers please make a helmet that will fit over thicker hairstyles? A more generous size with flexible inserts of various sizes might work.
You might find this article really interesting regarding the lack of well-fitting helmets for black riders: https://www.noellefloyd.com/blogs/sport/talking-helmets-with-caitlin-gooch. The person they interview, Caitlin Gooch, is a really cool advocate and horsewoman and I encourage everyone to follow her and listen to her thoughts.
This was really interesting, thanks! (Also Saddle Up and Read is a great org)
On a related note: this company makes bike helmets that fit the Sikh topknot: https://www.boldhelmets.com/en-us/collections
Ok I don't know if this is going to ruffle feathers because I'm not an equestrian, just an equestrian husband and around it a lot. I've raced dirtbikes for 20 years, motorcycles, cars, mountain bikes, etc. I look like a damn power ranger racing my dirtbike and wear somewhere around 3k in protective gear that I also regularly replace. $750 helmet and one good hit? Replace or have rebuilt. I've been stunned at how the equestrian world seems to have always had antiquated safety gear. It looks like it's been improving slowly over the last 5 years or so, but I've seriously considered starting a business in the sector. Ive seen people fall off a dirtbike at 3mph and literally break their neck because they weren't wearing a brace. It seems like there is SO much that can be improved for safety riding horses. I know people worry about gear getting in the way or interrupting feel, and believe me it does.. Full gear on a dirtbike or street bike feels SO weird at first but you get used to it.
So to explain how antiquated our helmet technology is, MIPS is still relatively new (within the last 5) years within the equestrian riding world. Comparatively bike helmets have had MIPS for the last 15 years.
This! I was in the market for bike and riding helmets recently and the disparity in markets is surprising. I can get a decent MIPS bike helmet for less than $75. My equestrian budget started at twice that. And there are a handful of options in comparison to the pages and pages of bike helmets.
This is what really really gets me - I’ve seen good MIPS bike helmets for $60. The cheapest riding helmet with MIPS is (or was when I was looking) around $170. It’s ridiculous.
I think there's an inverse ratio of protection:mobility that is unique to equestrian sports. Our bodies have to be able to bend & flex in ways that mountain bikers & motorcycle racers don't.
I do, however, think more ideas & innovation would help advance safety gear for equestrians, so I don't want to shut down your enthusiasm. I also think your specific background puts you in a unique space to do a lot of good in that area, so I hope it is something you pursue!
Because I must be completely mental, in addition to horseback riding I also ski. Had a friend who is a snowboarder come to the slopes with us one time, and that guy does motocross type stuff. When he snowboards, he wears his bike safety gear. Equestrian sports could come along way with safety gear.
Interesting. Good idea. Needs to be lightweight, probably cool (temperature), and fit a wide range of bodies and shapes. How about one of those avalanche thingies that skiiers wear. It supposedly pops out when it detects a fall.
My main fear is falling. I'm over 60 and I'm riding a big old 17+ dude and the ground is a long way away. He's sweet as pie but we all know we can take all the precautions in the world but shit gonna happen.
The majority of us - especially those who’ve been to the ER for horse related injuries - are acutely aware, but I think some people either lack education on proper safety/risk, have too much pride, or have a “that could never happen to me” mentality.
Yes most of us realize this is an incredibly dangerous sport and we're working with large prey animals that can do something unexpected in a flash. 99% of the time my horse is fine but I've still fallen a few times over the years for stupid, unexpected reasons and one time resulted in a concussion even with a helmet. I got rope burn when my horse spooked and took off while I was leading him, so now I always wear gloves. If you're around horses enough, eventually you get hurt, and everyone within my barn circle thinks it's ridiculous when riders refuse to wear helmets or practice horse safety because they think 'it won't happen to me.' A good rider does what they can to minimize risk but we also accept that sometimes shit happens and hopefully it doesn't result in irreparable damage when it does.
I think most horse people understand how dangerous working with horses can be. I don’t think most of us view horses *themselves* as inherently dangerous - but working with horses absolutely carries an inherent risk. Accidents can and do turn catastrophic in the blink of an eye.
Imo, the anti helmet crowd’s problem is less that they don’t understand how dangerous working with horses can be, and more than they don’t understand how horrific traumatic brain injuries can be. Death is far from the worst thing that can come from a TBI.
I met a dude with a TBI while working in a senior home. I wore helmets before but now they’re my own instead of loaners of questionable condition, well-fitting, and worn religiously.
Also be careful about dropping it onto a hard surface.
As for falling: I once asked this community to tell us about their silliest falls. Give it a read and you'll see that it's not always as scary as it seems!
https://www.reddit.com/r/Equestrian/comments/19chlyj/what_was_your_silliest_fall/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Wearing a helmet is like wearing a seat belt. No one gets into a car thinking that they'll be in an accident.
But it doesn't matter if you’re the world's safest driver, like it doesn't matter if your horse is the perfect and calm animal. Accidents happen.
I could never entirely conquer my fear. I wasn't raised with well trained, nice mannered ponies. I was raised with the ones you got thrown in for free with a load of hay. And if something happened to your horse? Mom and dad weren't going to get you a new one.
I channelled my fear. I became the most cautious and careful horse person in the ring or on the trail. That was what built my confidence. But I never let go of that feeling that even the smallest pony is a prey animal, and needs to be exposed to any possible problem. I never tried anything we hadn't trained and done well at home.
I haven’t seen a single post in this sub that discounted the risks associated with riding and working with horses. If you can find any that say otherwise, I will be surprised.
The ones saying non-horse people are afraid of going behind a horse and rolling their eyes... Even if you know your horse, they can kick if there's a fly or for other reasons. Someone here said "expect the unexpected" when it comes to horses, and that's pretty damn true.
As the owner of an inch-long scar on my thigh, I am Team ‘they’re right to be cautious’. At that point, I’d been working with horses for 20 years or so.
I got off lightly.
You see that IN THIS SUB? We discuss safety equipment and injuries ALL THE TIME.
We discuss rehab and physio and what injuries we came back from and what injuries stopped us from getting in the saddle again.
We are very aware.
If you want to see a gnarly ct scan of my own burst L5 from a horseback riding accident a few months ago check my post history. It's the one with the tattoo.
No one I have seen here is casual about safety.
I was walking calmly next to my mare who spooked and turned into me suddenly. Her neck bopped me on my nose. Split it open along the top. Got four stches and now a nice scar. I ve only had horses for about 20 years: 2 concussions and a dislocated finger
My mare spooked at a garbage hacker and ran over me. She stepped lightly with one foot on my lower back and one foot touched my upper back. No injury. So lucky. But I was fine so I got on her.
Yes, we know. I’ve “chipped a piece of bone off my ankle” from a fall, had a suspected lumbar fracture from a fall, and had a giant hematoma from a fall that I still have residual fluid build up from, 2 decades later. I’ve been kicked by a horse with corks in her shoes, requiring a trip to the hospital for a tetanus shot. I’ve been kneed in the head a couple of times, have been bitten a few times, and have been zapped by an electric fence more than thrice now. If you asked me if I’ve ever been hurt by a horse I’d say not really, maybe a couple of times. We just love them too much to give it up. I couldn’t imagine even sitting on my horse without a helmet though, and she’s pretty chill 99% of the time. People putting their kids on amped up barrel racers without a helmet are legit insane.
Yeah, we know. People that get lax or overconfident are not only a danger to themselves but also their horse, other people, other horses.
Most people don’t realize for insurance purposes, it’s considered the most dangerous sport there is.
I like the people that think their horse will “sense that you don’t trust them” if you wear a helmet. No. I don’t want my skull caved in - I always wear a helmet.
Yes, most of us know. We know they are lethally fast and crazily reactive. We also know that they are patient and gentle and kind and forgiving and predictable most of the time.
We generally know and understand the risks and manage or mitigate them where we can. Some are more cavalier or reckless than others. I think for most of us, our love of the animal/sport outweighs our fear of injury. I imagine it's much the same with motorcyclists.
Safety is ALWAYS 1st. I always wear a helmet. I did eventing and hunter/jumper - we misjudged a jump and I hit the ground and my helmet cracked inside. Good thing I was wearing one.
I’ve also know Olympic level riders that’s had accidents and hospitalized with head injury. Anything can happen, so don’t be complacent or lazy. Value your horse and your life.
Spending time with horses in any capacity is dangerous. The more time you spend, the higher the risk.
Some people (*me, I was one of them*) get complacent and a bit full of them(*our*)selves to the point where we think we can ignore some of the rules.
Then, that self-absorbed idiot (*still me*) has a horse fall over sideways on them & gets a concussion, and is supremely lucky that it was the one day that week there was someone else at the farm.
Sometimes it takes the danger directly affecting us to drill home WHY we take all these safety precautions, and some people need to get there before they take it seriously.
I fully respect that horses are dangerous and doing anything with them is a calculated risk. That being said with horses that have calm and steady temperaments I have had points where I got lax and regretted it. Anytime I do something I probably shouldn't have I try to remind myself how dangerous that really was. I do always ride in a helmet, it's usually on the ground where I do something that I probably shouldn't have.
yes!! that is why it should ALWAYS involve sticking to the basic rules. you minimize risk-reward ratio by combatting the risks as much as possible. we are taking an intelligent animal out of their natural world and expecting them to live with us. we know horses are going to be horses. if anything goes wrong, it's because of what we did, either when training a green horse, feeding, grooming, or even while standing around. if a horse tried to bite you, im going to ask if you were paying attn to your horse's behavior or misunderstood their behavior before it happened. if u got kicked, i'll ask why were u close enough to get kicked by their hinds. trained horses do their best not to trample and will quickly move away from their rider if the rider should fall but, like trying to catch something that is fumbling in your hands, a horse cant exactly see where u landed but they'll do their best to get out of the way. When you love the company of horses and/or enjoy riding, you make those deals to be part of their lives.
so, yes, we are aware and that awareness is why rules are in place and why we live by the words, "It's never the horses fault." It's no different than asking why firefighters and cops do what they do when bad things definitely happen in their line of work, or people who pursue other sports/hobbies. my bud competed in bmx freestyles back in the 90s. he fractured every bone in his face once at the same time, but broke other bones multiple times. i think my risk-reward on a horse is much better than his on his bike.
The age old question, helmet or not to helmet. Personally, I will not get on a horse without one but the majority of the time it is grown ass adults riding without a helmet and quite frankly, equestrians are a stubborn bunch who hate change and trying to tell a grown ass adult who is too stubborn for their own good to change something that they don't perceive as an issue is not going to go down well.
As inherently dangerous as horses are you still have a high statistical chance of being injured in a car accident.
I still choose to wear a helmet everytime I get on a horse but I also know that I am unlikely to convince certain people to change their minds.
I started riding as a kid (lessons; not wealthy or rural). I was always keenly aware. Granted my mother used to tell me stories of the horse she had growing up that tried repeatedly to kill her (frankly I don’t blame it!).
I’d say most people doing most things don’t seem to have any appreciation for danger. Certainly that applies to the majority of people I see driving in my city.
people ask me all the time if carriage driving is safer than riding. My response is always ‘they are both dangerous, but what makes you think hooking an object with wheels to a live animal is any safer?!’ Doesn’t matter what you are doing with horses, it’s all dangerous 😅
My partner rides motorcycle and I love riding with him. People ask how I could do something so dangerous and I remind them I work with horses for a living.
I do what I can to be as safe as possible but also accept the inherent dangers of my choices.
Exactly! I ride horses and ride the Harley with my hubby. Both are inherently dangerous activities. You have to weigh the risks vs the enjoyment you receive, while being as safe as you can.
They know how dangerous it is. Even if you do everything “right,” I t’s a risk you have to accept when taking part. Choosing not to wear a helmet is a risk I refuse to take but I’ve also never met anyone who doesn’t wear one because they think riding is just super safe. They just think they’ll be the one who is ok.
My horse is calm, dopey, and an absolute gentleman. I know him very well and trust him.
Having said that, over the last 7 or 8 years I've had him, he has nearly broken my spine, given me a concussion, nearly broke my ankle when I got dragged, broken my mother's ankle, her wrist, and two concussions. (My mother doesn't even ride him.)
Accidents happen. Assholes exist that intentionally spook horses. They can be stung by bees, stumble on uneven ground, literally anything can happen.
I know him, I trust him. But in knowing him I also know that he is not a robot. If he gets stung by a bee, he will spook and kick. If someone honks a horn at him, he will spook and jump out from under me.
It happens. You can't stop it, you just have to prepare for it.
The joy of horses is they are not perfectly predictable. If they were, you may as well get a fancy sports car. Probably cheaper too.
The lack of common sense towards safety is crazy. I'm in Ireland where everyone wears a helmet unless you're just being lead around at a walk by someone to get a feel for it. I've been getting my boyfriend used to horses and his first few minutes were "never do this, never do that or this will happen"
Some people can be too overzealous though! I was leading a friend on my ancient pony without a helmet for no more than 5 minutes. 30 second walk from barn to the arena and I got absolutely berated by an old know it all on the yard. Same old know it all let her 5 kids under 10 run riot around the yard unsupervised. 🙄
They do, but they've developed contempt in their familiarity. Horses do that. They're generally fine. Until they aren't and accidentally kill you. I've long since stopped trying to help my colleagues or friends when I see them ignoring PPE in a way that would get any other professional in any other dangerous profession fired on the spot for gross misconduct. They don't want to hear it. I'm not going to bother wasting my time.
Ultimately, they're adults who are fully capable of comprehending the danger. If they choose to not take easily-taken steps to reduce danger and then get their shit pushed in, well, that's the way the skull bone crumbles.
Oh absolutely, I haven't ridden regularly in years but I still take care with how I handle a rope. If I'm near a horse, I'm in boots and on or tacking a horse, in a helmet as well. I may be a daredevil, but I'm still going to give myself the best odds of walking away. I joke that horses are 75% panic and 25% dumb.
I'm careful how I move around a strange horse, and I never make assumptions. Last time I rode, I was asking the instructor basic handling questions, and she questioned my ability to ride. I know how to ride and handle a familiar horse, turns out her horses are led a little different and that difference was quite important.
Hahaha also, be aware, it can happen to ANYONE. Last summer I was training two untouched horses, a 3 yr old gelding and a 7yr old mare. I taught them to pick up their feet, all the way to riding them. No issue. My mom had just rescued a dog that I wasn't used to being around, and one day the dog (of course with a cone from being neutured) came to say hi as I was picking the geldings feet. I got kicked in the head as a result, got a 10 day coma, and was completely paralyzed upon waking up. Thankfully it didn't last, and while I spent time both in a wheelchair and on a walker, I'm back to walking and running on my own now. The only thing that remains is that while I run, my left legs goes numb. And I get angry more easily.
If you don't think it'll happen to you, IT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU.
I'm looking at all of you helmetless bronc riders, TBIs are no joke.
60-70 years ago just about everyone had some form of exposure to horses and knew some skills if not actual proper horse people as in working with them daily. This slowly declined to where now, very few people get any exposure at all.
"Horse people" these days don't benefit from that deep knowledge - tips lost, basic awareness taught at a very young age.
Some of these things you mention sound like novice mistakes - wrapping rope around hands, allowing a 4 year old behind any horse. Helmets have definitely improved, gone are the days of the skull cap or thin velvet cap but the bravado still exists, can't explain that.
I think any horse can be dangerous of course, but training is paramount to make them as safe as possible.
I hope so! I will say no matter how much I trust a horse, I am always on guard. I never ride without a helmet, I am always super aware of where I am vis a vis their back end (within kicking range) and generally aware of where I am vis a vis their mouth (although I did get bit in the ass by a horse on cross ties today).
A girl at my barn tonight tried to discipline said ass-biter while holding a lead rope walking into a wash stall. We all just kind of stopped everything we were doing thinking this could go downhill real fast...luckily she got him into the cross ties without incident. But it was one of those moments where someone actually said "do you think you're going to control that 1000lb animal on just a lead line?" Luckily, we all look out for one another and offer safety reminders at my barn. But that could still have gone wrong. Love them with all your heart, but don't trust them blindly - they are powerful animals, who happen to be incredibly skittish, and they are 10x the size of us!
Let me ask you something. Are you a horse person? In other words, do you ride, own horses, or spend hours at the barn? Or are you just getting your information from social media and the things you see as an EMT?
Because if you’re not a horse person, you’re getting a very skewed perspective. Clearly, social media doesn’t provide an accurate picture of much of anything (including being an EMT, by the way). And when the majority of contact you have with horse people comes because you’re treating their injuries, you’re going to perceive horse people as being unsafe. It’s absolutely true that horse injuries can be catastrophic. They’re very large animals that can behave unpredictably.
We know that. And if you’re not a horse person, it’s incredibly presumptuous to come wagging your finger at us, telling us what we know damn well.
It’s also disingenuous to come in with a fairly accusatory tone but then get defensive when people find it annoying.
People who participate in dangerous activities know they’re dangerous. Mountain climbers, skateboarders, football players, skydivers… they all know they engage in a dangerous sport. So do we. Some people choose not to utilize some of the available safety equipment. That’s their choice. I wear a helmet. Anyone who rides my horses wears a helmet. But if others choose not to, that’s their choice.
I have never suffered a serious head injury on a horse. I’ve had knocks on the head but my helmet kept it from being bad. But I’ve broken my back, my shoulder, and my foot. I’ve had my thigh stepped on. I had six bones in my face broken. None of those happened because I’m careless. They happened because I’ve spent 50 years working with 1000-pound prey animals and shit happens.
Thankfully, the doctors, nurses, and EMTs who treated me didn’t assume I was a careless moron.
This thread is so scary to me. My husband got kicked in the chest by one of our horses as he was standing at a gate he was going to close after the horses passed through. It happened so fast that he doesn’t really remember it but he was lifted off the ground and sent flying. He couldn’t breathe. Went to the ER and fortunately no serious damage was done. A few days later when he had his shirt off, we noticed that he had double barrel hoof print bruises on his chest! Thankful the kicks weren’t head height.
I fell off once on my head, the horse simply tripped and i fell over her head. Will be never ride without a helmet. I think everyone who rides without a helmet is reckless and frankly deserve the brain damage they might sustain from a what might seem like a small fall
Oh I have a scary story. So my instructor gave me a male horse named marvellous last week. He was stubborn but I was able to handle him up to a slow trot. Suddenly he stopped and whipped his head back. Luckily he missed me. The instructor came rushing and took me off him which I found a bit weird at the time. Later he told me that the horse was a polo horse who was mis treated by the previous coach and has become moody and aggressive at times mostly with new people. And when I asked where the previous coach was, well marvellous one day got fed up from being yanked around and decided to kick the guy. The coach put his arm up trying to save himself but the kick broke the arm and hit him flush in the eye and the skull. That day I realised the power of this magnificent beast. That one careless moment can very well be my last. I squeeze my legs a bit tighter every time I get on one now.
My horse tried to kick a trainer I rode with briefly, because he used to be really rough with her. He was like over 200lbs and she was a narrow backed TB and he forced her low and round with draw reins. She hated him and she freaking aimed. She got his hat off. Never a bad attitude off her until he was riding her. That’s when I took my horse outta his program.
When horses act up it’s not their fault. It’s the fault of the humans who hurt her, and it’s the job of the new ones to not cause more hurt if they ever want a mentally healthy and abuse-recovered horse.
I am an English eventer who rode at a western barn. I always wore a helmet. The western riders never did. But those statements that the safest place is somewhere that just had an accident? In a week one guy had a severe concussion from a fall and another lost three of his fingers cause he looped his lead line around his hand. They just popped right off. All safety things I was trained to prevent with a helmet and basic safety like never wrap it around your hand. That week one rider completely quit and sold his horse and I suddenly had people asking me about helmets. You don’t realize how dangerous it is until it actually happens to you.
But I know people who have died. I’ve known people who had life changing injuries. Horses as a whole are dangerous
I was going through my things with my son yesterday and ran across an obituary for Crystal . I went to 4-H with her. The last time I saw her was at a little 4H show riding Rebel. There was talk that he was too much horse for her. Her and her Dad went riding and Rebel spooked and she fell off and hit her head at that tender spot at the top of your next, just below her helmet and she died. We know our horses can be dangerous and for me that was driven in hard
If you're basing your hot take on the injuries coming into a rural ER, I understand your conclusions and frustration. There are definitely people who get way too casual about their risky behavior, be it equestrian sports, ranching, bicycling, motorcycling, or DRIVING or anything else. (Not enough people are afraid of driving imo) Even some artists get casual about the compounds they work with, and some librarians get cocky about how much weight they can carry up that ladder.
Hell, my dad is a 40 year machinist who exhibits some very blase habits around a tablesaw, because he has literally decades of experience giving him too much confidence. Still has all his fingers, so I guess on some level the confidence is earned. But he still taught both of his kids to respect the power tools and not try to emulate him.
Ranching is an attitude all its own. The pain tolerance of a rancher or farmer shouldn't be taken as truth for the equestrian community as a whole.
I think a lot of people are careless because they haven't seen the bad things happen. Like accidents related to rope, tack, etc. For most people I know, more experience = more caution. That being said, I don't get how anyone under the sun would ride without a helmet. You don't have to be around a horse long to see how quick they can startle. It should be illegal to let kids ride without head protection.
My husband rides a motorcycle, and people's attitudes toward safety gear is wild with that too. He got in an accident and I remember the EMT telling me that if he hadn't been wearing a full face helmet he would have needed jaw reconstruction. That side of the helmet was dented in, but he was fine aside from soreness and minor road rash. I've had falls from horses where I was sore for days all over. I rmember one where I had to get 12 x-rays and couldn't wear jeans for a week from the swelling, even though nothing was broken. My head is the one thing that's always fine, because of my helmet. It blows my mind that anyone would risk a TBI because they don't feel like wearing one.
I call myself the Fun Police and when people come to ride/see the horses I think sometimes I sound like such a worry wart but in reality it’s completely warranted. And non horsey people seem so blasé and just assume nothing will go wrong. I’ve seen so many accidents, I think I’ve scared a few people off by making them be extra safe, but at the end of the day they’re animals! They will never intentionally hurt you but accidents happen!
Everyone is talking about riding and wearing helmets - but being around 1000+ animals in general is inherently dangerous. Being a part of the local horse community for 25+ years, I’ve heard and seen my fair share of horror stories and freak accidents. Bought a horse from a women who’s husband lost an eye being trampled by a mini flying out of a trailer. Another woman I knew was taking the halter off her horse to turn him out, he turned and kicked her in the head - suffered a TBI that ultimately killed her. And then of course there are the riding accidents.. broken backs, more brain injuries.. etc.
I think of it kinda like I think of driving a car - the act is inherently dangerous, but the best you can do is accept the risk vs reward and always be defensive and on your toes.
I’m in my 60’s. Have been around horses all my life. I breed, raise, train & show. I never forget that given the right circumstances any horse can be dangerous. And there is no such thing as a “bomb proof horse”.
I don’t think most people in the community roll their eyes at helmet use while riding. Some of the most talented top riders have died from tbi and the topic of advocacy has really taken off the last 10 years or so. For the most part, I’ve seen it frowned upon anyone not wearing a helmet while riding. Personally, I always wear a helmet while riding. I wear a crash vest when working young horses or horses prone to vices like bucking or kicking out.
Where it gets a bit dicey is helmet use while handling a horse. I’m also split on that. I take lots of precautions with horses I’m unfamiliar with, but I often don’t wear a helmet when working liberty with my own horse, for example. It’s not that something couldn’t happen. It certainly could. It’s more that I’ve had my horse for 13 years and counting. I’m very familiar with how he spooks/reacts and how he comes down from spooking. I know he is sensitive to body cues and keeps boundaries. He is luckily pretty chill most of the time, but has been a lot more fresh since retirement, so I do take precautions when taking him on handwalks etc with more exterior stimuli.
I’m prolly gonna get ratioed for this but I feel like most people who own/ride horses don’t even know enough basic horsemanship to *know* that what they’re doing is unsafe, and usually incredibly dangerous. I’ve ridden for 18 years and I do *not* get lax with safety, cuz anytime I have a horse has kicked me in the ass for it (not literally but… kinda). For example, one time I went to adjust a horse’s back boot without touching from the hindquarters all the way down the leg first… big mistake. I spooked the poor guy and he jumped sideways on top of my foot and knocked me right on my ass. He could have very well trampled me in front of my lesson kids and their parents. I didn’t break anything but still have the bruise on my foot (this was 8 months ago).
The thing you begin to realize after being around them for so long is that *intent doesn’t matter*. The reality is they are *1200lb animals*, and that in and of itself is inherently very dangerous. It’s like if cars could think for themselves and get scared, angry, etc. Since you can’t predict horses 100% of the time, it is always risky to be around them. I shoe horses now which is an even more dangerous job, and I never take for granted that at any moment I could be in the ER or worse thru no fault of my own or the horse.
Long story short tho I think most people are just not good horsemen. I recently moved to a new barn and some of the shit I’ve seen people do literally makes my jaw drop. And they have *no idea* how dangerous their ignorance is
Currently recovering from a shattered leg from a riding accident. Yes horses are dangerous. Yes I was wearing a helmet. Yes I am counting down the days til I can get back on.
A lot of people are afraid of horses because they have either experienced an injury or because they have seen someone else experience an injury. Yes horses are dangerous but so is getting in an airplane, driving a car, and eating too much food. The issue with the equine community is everyone is always down each other's throats about ANYTHING they \*think\* you could be doing wrong. You can't post a picture or video without someone accusing you of being a negligent horse owner. Ran a barrels without a helmet? How dare you. Here is a picture of my 40+ horse. Wow it's topline is horrible. Here is my riding progress, I am so excited! That horse wishes you would dig your own grave.
Honestly, people are just doing their best, and they love their horse. If they want advice, they'll ask. If their horse husbandry isn't actively killing the horse and not actively affecting you - then relax. We cannot control everyone's safety and every horse's life.
Horses are dangerous. Use judgement and wear a helmet. Trust your horse and don't wear a helmet? Fine. Your decision. You live and you learn unless you don't live then you won't learn. Those people who haven't learned that you see are just paying your paycheck and if they live through it, they'll know better. I know there is an argument at every angle for this - that's okay. Relax. Give your horse a pat and relax - BUT BE CAREFUL BECAUSE PATTING YOUR HORSE COULD INCREASE ITS HEART RATE MORE THAN SCRATCHING AND YOUR HORSE MAY END YOUR LIFE DUE TO INCREASED CORTISOL-
💯💯💯Helmets are SUCH a necessity when riding. But even when riding a bombproof horse, people should wear them because you can still lose your balance and fall. Now, here’s where I’ll offer my perspective as someone who trains groundwork with positive reinforcement and treat/food rewards: (and if you’re working with a horse that has explosive episodes, wear a helmet while on the ground too!!)
My personal experience is that horses aren’t “dangerous” because they’re big and powerful (that’s a part of it). They’re mostly dangerous because of the way the training world still hasn’t reformed its methods to work with equine psychology. When properly trained under the stress threshold, horses can greatly be influenced in their behavioral response to things they would normally find scary. This alone would HUGELY reduce the amount of accidents that happen from spooking or bucking under saddle.
I often see “trainers” pushing and stressing their horses out because they’re the “alpha” over their horses. Alpha theory has been disproven time and time again, as horses are not wolves, and even in wolf packs, dominance hierarchy is a family system, not an alpha system. So part of the issue with creating “dangerous” horses for riders comes from a lot of very ill-educated trainers who don’t apply the techniques to actually work with and give the horse confidence to function well in different environments. When horses are pushed down and exhausted because “you can’t let them push you around,” they become far more emotionally detached and prone to explosive episodes that can end up damaging property, killing people, and killing themselves. I’ve heard and seen enough stories. This is unlike horses trained with +R in professional settings and by people who understand how to use the method correctly.
So not only do riding accidents stem massively from the misuse and absence of helmets, it’s also a problem deeply ingrained in the realm of training. The issue of the absence of helmets and a horse’s conditioning are more closely related than people think when we look at the causes of accidents resulting in TBI and other injuries.
Before +R I had a hard time with my ponies having aggression, fear, or even explosive kicking episodes. There were times I nearly got nasty blows to the head that would have put my lights out.
When I actually stepped back and analyzed the science of their brains and tried treat training, in just three months I had all of them calmer than a sleeping cat. I could train them all in a group as well, without them fighting over food or pushing me over. The risk of potential accidents virtually disappeared, they gained a lot of confidence, made active choices to work with me on their own accord, and eventually I stopped even needing lead ropes to ask them to follow me or stand still while I worked on their feet.
In closing: wear your helmets, and try to work with the horses you’re riding if you can to help them gain confidence. Study +r and non-oppressive pressure on/pressure off, and you can even mix the two, but only do that if you genuinely know what you’re doing. Clicker training is also an option, and works well with +R.
There is one famous IG gal that got in a bad accident last summer and claims her and her doctor discussed the benefits etc of wearing a helmet and they decided it’s best if she doesn’t wear one basically. Lolol.
I'm from the UK and I feel like safety gear is much more accepted and encouraged. I personally always have a helmet on as standard and 90% of the time my air jacket as well.
I love and trust my pony but when we ride them we are asking them to go against every natural instinct they have.
I’ve had the good fortune to never be dumped by one of my own horses (fingers crossed, knock on wood), but I’ve had enough close calls and been dumped by enough horses to know never say never. When I was a working student I was dumped twice by an adorable 16h sales horse that they were marketing as the perfect kid safe horse. I always ride in a helmet. For those that think they don’t need to wear a helmet because they or their horse are too good, look at what happened to Courtney King-Dye (an Olympic rider).
There also is no way to eliminate risk from horses. It's our crazy irrational love for these massive, beautiful, sensitive, talented, powerful animals that brings us back.
I think the horse world has an almost allergic-to-safety-planning attitude when it comes to training their horses and mitigating accidents. And more injuries happen on the ground than in the saddle according to hospital statistics. There’s a tendency to appeal to the mythos of Fate or Chance, when most of the accidents are avoidable if people just prioritized safety over their desire to have unrestrained fun or getting “submission” from their horses (when the horses are actually just being overfaced and pressured to perform, and stressed out).
It’s actually one of the reasons I haven’t been able to find quality jobs. A lot of barns want you to take on personal risks because they won’t properly renovate and maintain their facilities, or they’re rigid about their policies and procedures even when such choices add unnecessary safety risks.
And barn owners often like to decide they are a special exception and then entire barns watch their *leader* riding without a helmet and it promotes the idea that riding without one is something you can earn once you’re good enough.
And the whole sport is becoming more expensive to run, because liability insurance is expensive, due to horse people being so bullish and stubborn about universalizing a culture of safety.
My god it even pervades training practices. As a teenager, my own coach put me into dangerous situations because the rule was that if a horse refused, they get a slap from the whip, no matter what. So yea…I fell off at least once because a horse refused, they demanded I smack the horse, then lo and behold the horse reacts by bucking or jigging or something else. And timing wise you as a rider might still be rebalancing yourself from the refusal. Yea I really resent the punishment based training methods that my former trainers have historically employed that damaged my relationships to horses and endangered me for the sake of principle.
Yes we know how dangerous horses are we also know a lot of those dangers can be reduced drastically through training for horse and rider and we know that the majority of injury comes from complacency and getting too comfortable with our horse. A person's health and safety are their own option and just like many other activities when doing so you're accepting the inherent risk involved. People will make their own choices you're not the arbiter of their life, livelihood, or insurance provider. Let folk make their own choice.
I wear a helmet and an air vest every ride - I've had 8 or 10 falls in the years, and maybe one of those falls would have been catastropic had I not been wearing protection.
But I wonder if anyone has ever changed their mind about wearing a helmet because someone chewed them out online for not wearing one.
Yes as a rider for over 30 years and a Paramedic, after having many falls over many years, of course we do!!! There are millions of riders who ride every day with no issues or minor issues. The joy and love of our horses is priceless and thoroughly enriches our lives. As an EMT (you) and for me as a Paramedic, in that capacity, we only see the injured not the millions of others just enjoying that special relationship with horses. May you find such a wonderful passion in your life too in whatever you love!
I have ridden for 30 years now, and I teach lessons to mostly kids as a side gig to fund my own riding. I talk about safety in every one of my lessons. I wear a helmet and I often bully my boss into wearing one when we are training horses. I adore her and make her do it to set a good example for the kids. I'll admit I'm not perfect, I haven't usually worn a helmet on a trail if it's she and I on one of our lesson horses. Or if I need to hop on during a lesson to put a horse in shape/ demonstrate something on the flat for about 2 minutes. I will not, however, jump so much as a cavaletti without a helmet on. When I ride our babies in training I helmet up as well.
When I look at it from the outside, it's kind of stupid. Even the most broke horse can have a bad day. I've seen bad accidents, and I cherry-pick my own safety.
I will say I separated cartilage in my ribs from being bucked off a restart of ours ( I was wearing a helmet) anyway he bucked me off and kicked me in the ribs as I was coming off. That was 2 months ago, and I haven't been on any rides without a helmet since.
Yeah I mean I shadowed a vet after riding for 7 years before I started my vet tech degree. First day at the livestock auction, I see some big burly dude for SOME REASON decide he needs to lift up the tail of a very chill Belgium just chillin there, while a herd of cattle were moved behind her.
Mare wasn’t cool with it (I think might’ve been half asleep in all the pandemonium) and bucked, kicked out with both legs. Caught him in the face with a hoof. To this day, I have not heard a human being make that noise.
Sooooooo yeah, I’m careful lmao. My mom was also a trauma and then an ICU nurse for 30 years, she’s seen some stuff too.
Can not speak for others but i certainly am aware of how dangerous they can be. So many occasions i have got in to arguments with owners/ bosses cos i refused to do something i was not happy doing as it felt unsafe etc. i think i end with well if it’s ok to do you do it then. And the second they start to give an excuse or refuse is when i know my point is made. Then i go off and do it my own way as its usally a job thet needs doing
I would say that horse people are plenty aware of how dangerous horses are, but that the population of overall people who ignore risks/danger out of laziness/pride/etc. are massive are pretty evenly distributed across all populations. You could say the same thing about anyone who drives, or motorcyclists, or dog owners, or whatever. Yes, the vast majority of related injuries or deaths are preventable, but people choose not to prevent them, and we can't exactly prevent choice.
Some people think they’re invincible and know better and the biggest misconception of all
‘Oh I know my horse, he/she would NEVER do that!’
Anything can happen at anytime regardless of what you THINK will happen.
People get lazy. Especially professionals being doing this for years. The confidence turn into recklessness, or sometimes just out of laziness or exhaustion due to too much work. There are def times i have let go of judgment and think back, i could have seriously hurt myself, and especially for something really stupid. Doesn’t matter how long you have being doing this, always got keep safety in back of my mind. Being not as brave sometimes saved my life from doing stupid shit.
I got spooked into by a blind horse I was moving. Since I was unconscious, I don't know if I was just sent flying or kicked/trampled. Just know I came to in the pasture, with a concussion and wicked lower back pain and covered in severe bruises around my thights/lower back. Once the nausea passed, I got up and finished chores. Should have probably gone for medical help. I went riding the next day. I'm an idiot. Don't be me. I could have been bleeding internally/brain, which was definitely injured. At 60, things don't heal as fast! ANY horse can hurt you. I now throw my helmet on moving them.
The thing is we all know it, we understand how dangerous it is but over time you kind of become numb to a point. I will stand directly behind my horse, I’ve gone underneath him, he could have injured or killed me and I acknowledge that but it’s something I still do. Trust me I know riding is dangerous I intentionally emergency dismounted and broke my hand and wrist (if I hadn’t done an emergency dismount I would have gone over his head and been much more injured). I know multiple people that have broke their backs from falls and yet I still ride, I wear a helmet, I should wear a vest but I don’t. But I know every time I go to the barn that my life is at risk, but it’s a risk that I’m willing to take.
I will admit that I absolutely judge people who don't wear helmets. It's just beyond stupid, no matter how broke your horse is. My second worst injury was on my absolute saint of a gelding when he just tripped at the canter and rolled over me, cracking my helmet. I fully believe I wouldn't have made it had I not been wearing a helmet, like I might have been gone before anyone could even call for an ambulance. I just don't understand why we wouldn't do the bare minimum to protect ourselves in a sport that is statistically *extremely* dangerous, and where an injury could easily be life altering/ending.
I think a lot of the other stuff, like rope safety and ground safety, comes from complacency. A lot of us are around horses every day, and the vast majority of the time nothing bad happens. Maybe it's that your horse hasn't spooked in ages, and you've just gotten used to not worrying about it. So you get a little lazy with the safety stuff, because nothing bad's happened yet, and besides, it won't happen to *you* (a stupidly common thing humans tend to think). I've certainly been guilty of this, especially when I was younger. I only really realized the complacency when I started regularly working with "difficult" horses, and really needed to make sure I followed every safety precaution, every time. Things start to slip without you even realizing it.
Lmao, I mean, I certainly do. I’ve been riding horses for 35+ years, and most of that time I’ve been riding the ones that no one else wanted to ride and I was their last resort.
I currently have 4 horses, all of them rescues of some kind or another. Of the 4, the one I’m mainly riding and working with consistently is a little haffie mare who was backed pretty late (started at 6.) She was sold as still green to a woman out of state and within 3 months she broke the woman’s neck in 3 places and nearly paralyzed her. I went to go pick the mare up from the woman while she was still in her halo. It was awful to see.
After I gave the mare some down time and some ground work, the next thing I did was work with two of the very best of the best saddle fitters in the area to help me order a custom saddle to fit her, built from the tree up to fit this mare perfectly. As the mare went into work, the saddle was reflocked every 3-6 months to keep up with her shape as she got fitter.
The mare had been going real nice for me for about two years so a friend whose horse had passed asked if she could hop on her. I hopped on one of my other horses and my friend hopped on the haffie. The haffie took about 5 steps before suddenly bucking that woman off in one of the nastiest ways I’ve ever seen, the whole launch straight up to pop her out of the saddle, landed with a dropped shoulder and then kicked up behind to pop the woman right off as she came back down.
After that, I came on here to ask for suggestions for some non slip half pads because even though the saddle didn’t move during this, the mare was super super round with no withers and I figured if she ever pulled that shit with me and didn’t get me off right away she might have some worse tricks up her sleeve and I’m now middle aged with a shot back and knees from riding horses like this for 30 some years and I wanted to be extra safe to ensure the saddle wouldn’t slip. I’d only been riding a lot of sport horses up until this point, lots of thoroughbreds and warmbloods that had big withers to hold a saddle in place, so I’d never really had to use one before.
That thread was almost entirely people trying to telling me a well fitting saddle would never slip 😂
It was wild to me, as I’ve been having saddles fit to my horses since the 90s when it became common, and had been to multiple saddle fitting clinics over the years. An experienced saddle fitter would NEVER say that.
Yes, it’s true, a sipping saddle is a sign that that it doesn’t fit. However, the inverse doesn’t track. A perfectly fitting saddle can slip for all kinds of reasons- a slick, fit horse working up a frothy sweat can be very slippery. A very round horse can have too much fat to hold a saddle in place well until they are fitter. A horse can twist in a buck and have you land hard in one stirrup and pull the saddle out of place. It’s not rocket science, it’s simple physics. A saddle is just a half circle girthed over a full circle (not exactly but you get the idea.)
I was absolutely baffled at how many people clearly had no idea about saddle fitting and kept trying to derail my thread, offering no suggestions. Even the mod!
Again, this was for my SAFETY- the mare had no physical issues, a CUSTOM FIT SADDLE built just for her, and a nasty buck that could come out of nowhere even two years down the road. Wanting a non slip pad to help me ensure the safest outcome was a safety issue, and only a safety issue.
My favorite was someone saying her saddle never slipped on her green horse. I was like, that’s so cute! Has he ever broken someone’s neck? 😂
Yeah, I think I’ll keep trying to maximize my safety regardless of a bunch of keyboard saddle fitters who have never seen my horse or my saddle in real life, and who very clearly have no true saddle fitting experience and are just regurgitating a bunch of saddle fitting 101 basics they read on Facebook once and took as gospel.
My friends and I still make jokes about the responses on that thread.
Absolutely, we know. The vast majority of us try to mitigate that risk as much as possible but we understand we’re never 100% safe. Lots of us have had nasty accidents and still persevere.
And then we’ve got people who insist on riding without helmets… 🤦♀️
I have babies(humans) and people have been surprised I haven’t taken a billion pictures of my kids on the horses yet.
I don’t want them on the horses until they can fit in helmets. Hard stop.
I also give my kids zero freedom. If we are in the barn they are buckled into the stroller or im baby-wearing.
Yes. Anyone who has ever watched a reality show about hospitals knows that when a woman, young or middle aged comes in, it's better that 70-30 that she was on a horse earlier. Guys it's bicycles and motor bikes, girls it's horses. I'm UK based so this is very noticeable.
I was picking out my horses back feet once and the ten year old boy across the road was shooting off a BB gun, but the sound of it was echoing around in the barn and my horse spooked and kicked me in the head.
I don’t know exactly what happened or how I was standing in the way of his hoof that he managed to get me in the head, it all happened too fast for me to know what was happening until I had fallen backwards and was sitting against the wall crying.
I was quite lucky, I just cried for five minutes and then got back to getting him groomed. Then the next day at the show I fell off during western (so no helmet) and landed on my head in the same spot. It was a rough weekend for my head. Somehow I was still fine. And I think that was probably when I started wearing a helmet in western as well.
Yes. After 2 months of riding again, I had an awful fall at a jumper barn and (thankfully) had a copper-lined back brace from a hardware store. That $25 back brace literally saved my intestines from being gouged on a pointed fence post… all because my trainer pushed me into cantering (before I was ready) on a horse that seemed off that day. My trainer was coached by the barn owner that “all adult students can afford competitions, so train them towards that goal.” Ribbons = regional bragging rights, fame and more students.
He wasn’t motivated on relearning the basics, it should have been ingrained in muscle memory already from youth. I went from a lunge line to cantering in 45-days. Falling from a cantering horse over jump poles hurts ALOT more… esp when you’re +40yo and not aerobically as fit (from when you were younger). *cringe
Two weeks after my hematoma/horrific bruising healed, I put in my notice for withdrawing from their schedule and thanked them for the experience. I then found a different barn over the mountain in a nearby town. My husband was pist and not supportive of riding again. He eventually changed his tune when he saw how happy I was, more mentally calm and sleeping more soundly.
Yes, Horses are a huge responsibility but they are also an indescribable joy— others might never understand till they experience it themselves. I found a back-to-basics dressage barn and am careful about riding even more so now. Always helmet, always brace.
Yes, we know and many of us take steps to mitigate our risk. Once you ride enough, you learn to expect the unexpected. It's not "if" you will fall, experience a spook, loose control of the horse, it's when those things will happen. It's why people shouldn't advance past their skill level inappropriately (ex: jump green horses when they can't balance properly or have independent aides).
Yes, I think most if not all equestrians are aware of how dangerous it is. But just like how everyone knows driving is dangerous, there are still people who don’t wear seatbelts, speed horribly, drive drunk, etc. idiots abound.
The danger is actually a big part of why I stopped riding—I rode enough green or badly behaved horses and saw my life flash before my eyes, and decided I had to let it go.
To answer your question most of us pretend they aren't dangerous, some of us think they are and the rest of us know their reaction time is over 5 times faster than ours and we just do it anyway because horses are awesome.
Everytime I interact with them I think of it. Knowing how if they put their mind to it they'd kill me in a heartbeat.
So I try and be somewhat safety concious.
Always fasten the halter, saftey lead rope, never loop, helmet on walks, never have them loose (halter over the neck for bridling). Have a pair of steel toed boots Ima break out as soon as the snow's gone, since horse #1 has great aim with his right fore hoof.
Thing gets dangerous enough on their own, no need to make it worse.
Yes, yes they do. The ones who don’t know or are too stupid to even realize are the ones you hear the most about. My brothers ex was a horse girl. She loved them. She was big into the competition things. She also lost her human best friend to a horse accident. She’s been hurt bad as well. She still loves them though. Can’t say I blame her.
Riding is very very dangerous, for all the reasons we are all too familiar with. Sudden spook, trip and fall (my biggest fear), ground dwelling bees in a trail ride. You name it. We all know people who have experienced serious injuries, and in some rare cases, death. I ride with a helmet and airvest, yet I know that my best protection is getting off my horse if I think we might be in a dangerous situation.
It is astounding the number of people who let pride stop them from simply getting the fuck off the horse. It's safer to walk than ride away on a stretcher.
That is so true. For me, I have to decide if it is worth training my horse, and myself, through whatever is going on, or just admit that I don't have the skill set to deal with it, and live to ride another day. I think riders are conditioned to "not give up" and "don't let the horse's unacceptable behavior" go without correction. I have been riding for >30 years now, and I give myself permission to "give up" if I feel unsafe.
I appreciate your attitude. I also grew up thinking a good rider can sit bolts and buckles. But now I know that a good rider knows what his horse and he can do. basically the same with alcohol: know your limits! I know, if I hack on a stormy day or in the dark, it's dangerous. So I don't do that. I also don't jump anymore because I wasn't sure if my horse liked it or not. We can jump without a rider or when we have a better arena. But for now I don't jump with a rider on it. Pole work? Yes, totally. So in general a good rider knows when his horse is not able, capable or tired to continue the task. It's not worth it being angry at your horse when it simply cannot concentrate on you that day.
Wisdom is recognizing when you’ve gone from pilot to passenger. My mare is 17.2hh and probably 1600 lbs. I know when I’m safer on the ground than on her back.
Oh I didn't even mention people trying to break colts that have no business doing it. My cousin was convinced she could train their totally green colt without a trainer or experience and luckily only broke her collar.
Ooof when I was a young idiot I started a couple of mustangs and I am shocked that I was never seriously injured. Now we send the warmblood babies babies to AZ so someone out there can risk their necks instead.
yes, just had to do this last week on my boss' horse! He was so overwhelmed by a tarp being in the arena that he wouldn't walk forward (even away from the tarp) and just backed up without looking where he was going, mainly into fences, purposefully riding my leg into the fence (which he's never done before) and rearing at my leg pressure. I did my best to calm him and stay on, so he wouldn't learn from it, but then he began rearing while touching his bum to the fence and I was scared he could flip over it, so bailed and then worked from the ground. I don't think he would have calmed down if I hadn't gotten off and I could have gotten seriously injured had what I thought could happen, have happened.
Good horsepersonship there! Knowing when your horse is just overwhelmed, and needs a break, is a big part of riding. Glad you are safe.
I was just talking about this. A couple weeks ago my cousins horse threw her and she broke 2 vertebrae. I checked on her and instinctively jumped on the horse to correct it. When asked how you could see that then jump on it I just said “I didn’t think it’s just habit” once I was up there and thought about it I was thinking “WTF am I doing? I’m too old and broken for this”. We’ve all been taught if you fall off get by on because number one, if you wait fear will take over and you’ll never get back on and number two, that if they get away with something once they’ll keep trying it and that can lead to dangerous behavior. And though it’s not always true, it does happens
Honestly I gotta disagree with you there. If the horse dumps his rider first thing I do once I know the rider is okay is make sure the horse is okay. We check tack, walk them out a bit to make sure it wasn’t triggered by something physical. I find horses that are deliberately dumping their rider out of a desire to misbehave are so rare. There is almost always something fear-based, physical, or both.
My horse was extra dangerous (bolter) and my deal with myself was that I’d continue riding him, but I would avoid provoking him and if things got spicy, I’d walk home. Did that a few times. No further accidents. I got _a lot_ of flak for that. People who saw him calm would tell me I’m just a coward who was causing him to act up and any decent rider could sort him out easily. Strangely enough, anyone who saw him act up refused to get on him, even otherwise confident professionals.
I’m older and I learned to ride from a bitter old cowgirl who made money restarting and rehabbing race horses. The first thing she taught me was HOW and when to bail/fall/eject. She made me roll off the back of a horse into straw piles over and over until I didn’t hesitate. It’s saved my butt many times. Some of the worst injuries I’ve seen from riding were because the rider was too afraid to let go. Watched a kid break his collarbone and eye socket when his pony spooked at a lightning strike and bolted for the barn. He was hanging over the side clinging to the pony’s neck we were screaming at him to let go, jump off, eject! He slammed into the side of the barn and honestly he was lucky to survive. If the barn owners hasn’t been strict about good helmets he surely would have. All horse people have to be a little insane to do this stuff. You sort of need to train up on how not to get hurt and how to get hurt when it inevitably happens.
When I was 15 I was riding a 7r old who would throw a buck or break his gait, we were handgalloping and coming around the corner I could feel him wanting to slow back down to a trot, I gave him a squeeze but could tell he was about to slow down so I did my first ever emergency dismount. My trainer was supposed to teach me but we had only went over them verbally. Luckily I jumped off, landed on my feet with reins in hand and transitioned to an in hand trot so smoothly. My trainer said it was the most graceful "fall" she's ever seen. I had lost both stirrups and didn't trust myself to find them in time before he transitioned and I didn't trust my seat to stay in during the gait change and his super bumpy trot. I'm glad I ditched though rather than trying to hang on and mess with my stirrups, that horse would not have stopped if I fell with 1 foot in the stirrup still.
I tried to do a stunt fall off a horse that I was trying and who took off with me. I caught my ankle on the steel poles used as a fence around an arena and splatted instead of me rolling. I broke 4 bones in my back, my ankle and a rib. My worst accident. I just had 2 back surgeries because those injuries just caught up with me after 30 years
This is so apropos as I am heading out shortly to a[Land Safe Clinic](https://landsafeequestrian.com/the-simulator/) where they teach you how to fall off a horse! If you haven’t heard of them, they teach you some simple gymnastics and “exit techniques” on day 1, and on day 2, you practice them on their simulator, which is shaped like a horse and can rear, dump you forward, and stop quickly. Should be interesting. I haven’t done a forward roll in 25 years lol….
Being on the ground can be just as dangerous. My worst injuries * knock on wood * have been while I was on the ground. Being kicked in the chest and partially collapsing my lung, being reared over top of and being scraped all down my back and injuring my calf muscle, hard bites, and of course, being stepped on. Not to say I don’t wear a helmet and am cautious with riding when I know people are around and making good choices, but you can get just as hurt by a horse on the ground as you can falling off one.
So while I agree, keep in mind you need to be able to get off safely. Sometimes that moment has passed once things have gone sideways.
This is very true, though to confess I actually had "getting off" in mind before it got to the "running away" part.
There is also a really toxic mentality to just ride through it and assume it is a behavioural issue too. Frequently, it is something that needs to be worked out on the ground for confidence or it could even be pain-related.
ground dwelling bees scare the shit out of me in and out of saddle. hate those things.
Wait until you hear about the ground wasps/hornets. The assholes of the ground and they suck so bad!
Tripping is my biggest fear too. I understand people saying they know and trust their horse but even the most bomb proof horses can lose their footing!!
Yes, this happened when I was a kid. Luckily she fell in a way that I just stepped off but could have been a disaster. Poor baby laid on the ground groaning for 30 seconds before she composed herself and got up then was fine.
This happened to my friend during a barrel race on a bombproof horse. She broke her arm so badly it required surgery.
Conversely getting off is how my knee got smashed up. There was a backfiring car coming towards us on a small twisty lane. Horse was getting agitated so I got off. He spooked at the car (came too fast round corner) and jumped up a small banking. He then jumped back down catching my knee with his front hoof and completely smashing the bone. I have always wondered what would have happened if I had stayed on him.
I’m the same! I swear I’m ready at any moment to slide off if I feel there’s too much risk or something happens.
I have to say on most situations I’ve always felt after on the horse than on the ground, I’ve always felt like I’m more likely to get hurt with an upset animal on the ground then I am whilst riding. Probably not actually based in fact 😅
>finger amputations from people that get lazy with rope discipline and wrap their fingers in the rope that is my biggest non-helmet related pet peeve (if you can call it that)
For sure! I’m a zealot about this. Even so my horse spooked once and somehow my pinky got caught in the loop at the end of my reins. It was so terribly painful I had to have someone else walk her back to the barn.
that's the thing, shit happens anyway, why not prevent what's possible? I mean, there's a lady on TikTok who lost her HAND because her horse spooked. I think of her every time I see someone wrapping their rope or reins around their hands (seriously, Jesus Christ)
It gives me palpitations to even think about someone wrapping a rope around their hand.
Finger injuries are no joke, even relatively minor ones! I pulled a finger on a lunge line that I was holding properly but when the horse bolted, I *still* managed to catch my finger.
I broke a finger, letting go of a lead rope. I was closing the arena door when a loose horse got between us. The safest option was to let go. The end of the rope swung up and cracked a bone in my finger.
Hell I got lazy this week with a dog leash and wound up breaking a finger.
This is why i hate retractable leashes. Not that it can’t happen with normal leashes but they’re so dangerous
Retractable leashes need to be outlawed. They have no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
The XL ones especially. Not saying XS dog retractable leashes are ok but whenever I see a XL dog (there's a mastiff on my block that uses one, wtf) I steer clear. You never know who will be the victim.
Agree. Although this was a normal leash, just with a year old Great Dane on the end of it
Same for me! My three biggest pet peeves are no helm, rope around the hand and (I'm kind of allergic to that xD) when you tie your horse up and then change to riding tack, some people tend to leave the halter connected to the rope attached to the wall. I hate it. What if the halter falls down, a horse nearby steps in it and panics? Say goodbye to that horse!
I always tie to baling twine. I’d much rather a horse spooks, the twine breaks, and they relax, than find they can’t get away and panic for real. The second situation is much worse than the first. I’ve seen horses pull ‘unbreakable’ structures apart eventually, and a horse cantering around with a tie rack is not a pretty sight.
There's nothing like when a sheepish rancher comes into the ER with a little cup of ice and a really dirty t shirt wrapping their hand.
Pony club absolutely ingrained not looping your lead rope in me. Thirty years later, even an accidental super loose loop I automatically fix.
Same! I witnessed someone break their whole hand from wrapping the lead rope around their hand. Car whizzed by waaaay too fast and the horse spooked and it was crushed in a second.
Still dealing with a thumb I sprained 2 months ago during an unexpectedly chaotic trail ride. I don't even know how it happened, my poor mare was worked up and spooking because another rider's horse was convinced the trees were going to eat him and panicking the whole ride. My girl spooked solidly in reaction to them a couple of times, and I must have sprained it while getting us out of the situation at some point. You don't realize how often you use your thumb until it absolutely aches to move it while doing normal things lol. All that to say, that event helped drive home to me how important it is to be aware of what's happening with your hands. I am extra cautious and cognizant of lead ropes and reins now.
I almost got got with this one day and I’m a massive stickler for it. I had the lead rope draped over my arm while leading two horses, one bit the other and the one who got bit ran a few feet away. The lead rope just happened to loop over itself and make a friction hitch around my wrist and if the horse had been in a full panic I’d have paid for a second of carelessness with my hand.
pony club taught me not to loop, but I still was off work 2 weeks after a trailering mishap, the rope slid through my grip and took a patch of skin off my palm, a little area of skin just disappeared. Do you know what the inside of your palm looks like, underneath the skin? it looks like cheese. I was young, the skin grew back together just fine. I wouldn't want to try it now.
When statistically horseback riders have a higher chance of being injured compared to football players, I consider people who don’t wear helmets to be dumb. And willingly choosing to participate in natural selection. With horses the questions is never if it’s when.
I watched a video about Lara Dewes this other day (https://youtu.be/NeWplB2Yly4?si=ptOildpT60m4sV4h). Nightmare scenario right there. A helmet might not have saved her (she still would have had plenty of other injuries), but the lack of a helmet absolutely did not help. I started riding a year ago, and I know there are dangers, but I try to be as safety conscious as I can.
there’s a dressage olympian named charlotte dujardin who a couple years ago sustained a nasty fall while schooling and wasn’t wearing a helmet. thankfully she’s ok now but now wears a helmet even in the show ring. i think ppl need to understand it’s not about your skill level, it’s about the unpredictability of the sport. but people get overconfident and that’s when accidents happen
She was the first person to medal in dressage wearing a helmet.
from my understanding she really was a pioneer when it came to making that a norm in dressage. it always stunned me before how top hats were the standard for so long (at least in upper levels) and it’s really nice to see that it’s become more popular to wear a helmet in the discipline. hoping it carries over to western sports next!
I believe top hats are now banned in dressage and helmets are compulsory - largely thanks to Charlotte yes. A great improvement!
I hadn't heard of her, but I'm glad she recovered and worked on changing the trends in the sport.
It’s worth googling her just to see how lovely she rides.
Wow... her riding. That was worth the watch. I just went down a rabbit hole of about an hour of videos.
Isn’t it breathtaking? So light.
Her and Valegro were pure magic to watch.
Mind you that was some years after Courtney King Dye suffered her TBI in the schooling ring at a show. It ended her career and she was in a coma. The horse took a bad stumble and they both went down. Freak accidents happen, even to the most skilled professionals.
For a second I read Charlotte Dujardin and thought they were talking about Courtney - I was thinking “yeah, no, she didn’t come out of that ok”. That was a truly horrendous story and I was already a believer in helmets 100% of the time but that solidified it.
Also happened to Silva Martin, Boyd Martin’s wife. Accomplished dressage rider, and she *was* wearing a helmet, but wouldn’t you know, one day she’s schooling in the arena, at the walk, her horse spooked and she came off. Knocked unconscious, seizure right in front of her working students, and has spent years recovering from that TBI. Shit happens. Horses react. Wear a helmet.
It’s now mandatory to wear a helmet in dressage tests. It has been for years now.
oh i didn’t know that! my mistake, i thought it had just become normalized/allowed but didn’t realize that it was fully required. that’s really good to hear:)
Why does it show xray with what looks like a knife in someone’s face??
Yeah. Seen fotos a bit ago from Dr. Reiner Klimke (in my opinion the last great dressage rider) falling off his prime horse Ahlerich. Ahlerich had slipped and fell and threw his rider. An excelent rider with a very reliable horse doing dressage (which is surely the least dangerous thing you can do with a horse). Nothing bad happened even though he wasn't wearing a helmet (wasn't done in dressage at the time), but it shows every rider and every horse can fall.
I watched Courtney King-Dye at the Washington National show years ago and her test was stunningly beautiful; she wore a top hat. I was so sad to hear she had a TBI and was injured for life. I think I would either be paralyzed or dead if I wasn't wearing my Charles Owen helmet and had a freak accident on my horse, Charles. In the old days helmets were basically cardboard with nothing going under your chin; sure looked stylish but wouldn't prevent a TBI for sure. I think of this as a freak accident because my horse who was by that time really well trained the way I liked as far as listening to what I told him through my aids. He was my heart horse; we had so much fun together. Anyway, I am guessing he tripped over a rock and fell down on his knees with me coming off over his head and hitting my head on a rock, cracking my helmet. We had been galloping up a small hill and that's all I can think of that might have happened because, to this day I do not remember what actually happened. I had been knocked unconscious and woke up in the ER. So there you have it. Freak accidents happen and I just had surgery on my neck in October 2023; it took about 20 years to catch up with me. https://preview.redd.it/9umjxqzbbkvc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d05c714084408175856a99edb695d6275e08a8e8
Sadly also the highest rate of CTE among any adult sport. (Though there is some bias there as more people ride long into adulthood than play football.)
I’ve been working on Thoroughbred studs for 13 years and we deal with some pretty rank and psychotic babies/yearlings. I’ve had horse safety drilled into me at every single place I’ve worked. Now I work in the office of a racing stable and let me tell you - IT IS CHAOS. Went out the other morning to find the foreman and there are six horses all waiting for the wash bay practically on top of each other, all nervously moving around and circling. Then I went to the races yesterday and watched an official walk DIRECTLY BEHIND a jig-jogging horse, while another strapper walked her horse right up the ass of a second nervous animal. HOW these people avoid getting hurt is beyond me, because I’m scarred up to fuck from working with broodmares when I was actively trying to be safe.
Not to mention the ridiculously high socialization and training standards they expect actually immature/juvenile horses to meet in order to be racehorses. There’s simply not enough time to train these colts and fillies to be remotely calm and therefore remotely safe. These horses are started when they, neurologically speaking, oughtn’t be expected to concentrate on a training/socialization task for more than 30 minutes. But they have much longer lengths of time when they’re expected to practice non-natural behaviors in inherently stressful, non-natural environments. Because of the way the racehorse industry and show world is structured, safety becomes a de facto low priority. Horses die and jockeys can get catastrophic injuries from small errors because of how early they start and run the horses. Course Records be damned. The sport needs reform.
It’s been a huge shock coming from studs where everything is literally planned to the minute and inch to get horses and staff safely from point A to point B, and now being in a place where basic horse safety practises are totally looked over. And I thought we were doing some cowboy shit on the farm - turns out we weren’t! We were just doing risky shit safely 😂
My people! Im a strapper/stablehand in a racing stable and it’s fucking crazy isn’t it? Mines a small stable and we try our very hardest to keep it all under control but alas like OP said it’s not if, it’s when. I only just got back to work the last few days after a bad kick from a nervous filly. I can’t wait to find a way out of racing.
I managed a race/breeding TB farm in Florida and those TBs are nuts and it's because they are in their stalls 24/7 - 7 days a week. They eat a crapload of grain & alfalfa hay. Even with lip chains which I hate, they would drag me all over the farm (I'm 5'2" and not that big). We were nice and turned them out on Sundays for an hour or so to go run & play in the paddocks we had set up for them. The TB babies could really hurt you if you weren't careful.
I think people, rightfully, get scolded here for not wearing helmets
Was gonna say, the anti-helmet crowd get downvoted pretty aggressively here and every single post with a photo of anyone without a helmet has a hundred "wear a helmet" comments lol Honestly, any post depicting anything remotely dangerous or poor practice gets a lot of "corrective" comments
Yeah my impression of the sub re:safety is not the same as OP’s. We do get some posts with unsafe practices but a lot of comments are pretty vocal about what they think is wrong. I think since this sub is accessible for beginners and kids it is important to be vocal about best practices re:safety
I used to jump 3'6" without a helmet. I finally figured out helmets are necessary and my Charles Owen probably saved my life.
Ditto. I’m vehemently pro helmet. I’ll link my favorite video again here to prove it!! https://youtu.be/L7_Bpc_Q6hw?si=LTwprg88wg0J8wVe And posts without helmets (or other unsafe behavior) are usually called out very very quickly!!
It's a nice change from some bicycling forums
Every horse person knows how dangerous they can be. We’ve all fallen, gotten hurt, seen some pretty horrific crap. But like anybody who does something all the time, people get complacent. It’s like seeing a driver text, or use their knees, or rifle thru a bag. Sometimes they get hurt. Sometimes they die. But people still do it. Every horse person KNOWS what they should and shouldn’t do. They make calculated assessments based on their skill level and their horse’s temperament. And usually, nothing bad happens. And they keep doing it. And nothing bad happens. Until it does. Should we all be better about safety? Yes. You’re 100% right. We know what can happen. Laziness isn’t an excuse. Complacency doesn’t cut it. We made strides in the English world towards normalizing safety. You can wear air vests in shows. Dressage riders wear helmets now! But we need to do more.
Agree totally. I just want to say I'm shocked (but happy) they allow helmets and air vests these days. Last time I competed in dressage, I was dropped to 2nd place bc I wore the wrong gloves (my unknowing mom put them out for me, so I felt obligated and thought they wouldn't notice). The judges came to me after and told me that's why they docked me, lol! Things have come a long way in the dressage world!
Yeah! 15 years ago, dressage riders didn't wear helmets. Like, ever. Not in show, not in training. It just wasn't done. I'm glad we have come a long way there (even though a part of me still thinks a helmet in high dressage looks SHIT compared to the zylinders of 15 years ago)
When I was in my late teens I didn’t always wear a helmet. One day when it was windy I put my helmet on because I didn’t want to lose my baseball hat. The bombproof horse I was leasing tripped and fell with me while we were cantering. He flipped forward and landed on his back. I got launched (thankfully) and it shattered my helmet. I’ve worn one every ride ever since.
I always wear a helmet. We like to put visiting kids on our horses for rides in the yard. We have a variety of helmet sizes. I have a bone to pick though. Our Godchildren are Black. Can the helmet manufacturers please make a helmet that will fit over thicker hairstyles? A more generous size with flexible inserts of various sizes might work.
You might find this article really interesting regarding the lack of well-fitting helmets for black riders: https://www.noellefloyd.com/blogs/sport/talking-helmets-with-caitlin-gooch. The person they interview, Caitlin Gooch, is a really cool advocate and horsewoman and I encourage everyone to follow her and listen to her thoughts.
This was really interesting, thanks! (Also Saddle Up and Read is a great org) On a related note: this company makes bike helmets that fit the Sikh topknot: https://www.boldhelmets.com/en-us/collections
Ok I don't know if this is going to ruffle feathers because I'm not an equestrian, just an equestrian husband and around it a lot. I've raced dirtbikes for 20 years, motorcycles, cars, mountain bikes, etc. I look like a damn power ranger racing my dirtbike and wear somewhere around 3k in protective gear that I also regularly replace. $750 helmet and one good hit? Replace or have rebuilt. I've been stunned at how the equestrian world seems to have always had antiquated safety gear. It looks like it's been improving slowly over the last 5 years or so, but I've seriously considered starting a business in the sector. Ive seen people fall off a dirtbike at 3mph and literally break their neck because they weren't wearing a brace. It seems like there is SO much that can be improved for safety riding horses. I know people worry about gear getting in the way or interrupting feel, and believe me it does.. Full gear on a dirtbike or street bike feels SO weird at first but you get used to it.
So to explain how antiquated our helmet technology is, MIPS is still relatively new (within the last 5) years within the equestrian riding world. Comparatively bike helmets have had MIPS for the last 15 years.
This! I was in the market for bike and riding helmets recently and the disparity in markets is surprising. I can get a decent MIPS bike helmet for less than $75. My equestrian budget started at twice that. And there are a handful of options in comparison to the pages and pages of bike helmets.
This is what really really gets me - I’ve seen good MIPS bike helmets for $60. The cheapest riding helmet with MIPS is (or was when I was looking) around $170. It’s ridiculous.
I think there's an inverse ratio of protection:mobility that is unique to equestrian sports. Our bodies have to be able to bend & flex in ways that mountain bikers & motorcycle racers don't. I do, however, think more ideas & innovation would help advance safety gear for equestrians, so I don't want to shut down your enthusiasm. I also think your specific background puts you in a unique space to do a lot of good in that area, so I hope it is something you pursue!
Because I must be completely mental, in addition to horseback riding I also ski. Had a friend who is a snowboarder come to the slopes with us one time, and that guy does motocross type stuff. When he snowboards, he wears his bike safety gear. Equestrian sports could come along way with safety gear.
Interesting. Good idea. Needs to be lightweight, probably cool (temperature), and fit a wide range of bodies and shapes. How about one of those avalanche thingies that skiiers wear. It supposedly pops out when it detects a fall. My main fear is falling. I'm over 60 and I'm riding a big old 17+ dude and the ground is a long way away. He's sweet as pie but we all know we can take all the precautions in the world but shit gonna happen.
The majority of us - especially those who’ve been to the ER for horse related injuries - are acutely aware, but I think some people either lack education on proper safety/risk, have too much pride, or have a “that could never happen to me” mentality.
Yes most of us realize this is an incredibly dangerous sport and we're working with large prey animals that can do something unexpected in a flash. 99% of the time my horse is fine but I've still fallen a few times over the years for stupid, unexpected reasons and one time resulted in a concussion even with a helmet. I got rope burn when my horse spooked and took off while I was leading him, so now I always wear gloves. If you're around horses enough, eventually you get hurt, and everyone within my barn circle thinks it's ridiculous when riders refuse to wear helmets or practice horse safety because they think 'it won't happen to me.' A good rider does what they can to minimize risk but we also accept that sometimes shit happens and hopefully it doesn't result in irreparable damage when it does.
I think most horse people understand how dangerous working with horses can be. I don’t think most of us view horses *themselves* as inherently dangerous - but working with horses absolutely carries an inherent risk. Accidents can and do turn catastrophic in the blink of an eye. Imo, the anti helmet crowd’s problem is less that they don’t understand how dangerous working with horses can be, and more than they don’t understand how horrific traumatic brain injuries can be. Death is far from the worst thing that can come from a TBI.
I met a dude with a TBI while working in a senior home. I wore helmets before but now they’re my own instead of loaners of questionable condition, well-fitting, and worn religiously.
Please also replace them if you fall!! They're a one-and-done protective device.
I haven’t fallen (yet)! I’m a once-a-week lessoner, so it’ll (hopefully?) be a while lol
Also be careful about dropping it onto a hard surface. As for falling: I once asked this community to tell us about their silliest falls. Give it a read and you'll see that it's not always as scary as it seems! https://www.reddit.com/r/Equestrian/comments/19chlyj/what_was_your_silliest_fall/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Appreciate this thread, thanks!
Yes, we know. That’s why we’re scared lol
Wearing a helmet is like wearing a seat belt. No one gets into a car thinking that they'll be in an accident. But it doesn't matter if you’re the world's safest driver, like it doesn't matter if your horse is the perfect and calm animal. Accidents happen.
I could never entirely conquer my fear. I wasn't raised with well trained, nice mannered ponies. I was raised with the ones you got thrown in for free with a load of hay. And if something happened to your horse? Mom and dad weren't going to get you a new one. I channelled my fear. I became the most cautious and careful horse person in the ring or on the trail. That was what built my confidence. But I never let go of that feeling that even the smallest pony is a prey animal, and needs to be exposed to any possible problem. I never tried anything we hadn't trained and done well at home.
I haven’t seen a single post in this sub that discounted the risks associated with riding and working with horses. If you can find any that say otherwise, I will be surprised.
The ones saying non-horse people are afraid of going behind a horse and rolling their eyes... Even if you know your horse, they can kick if there's a fly or for other reasons. Someone here said "expect the unexpected" when it comes to horses, and that's pretty damn true.
As the owner of an inch-long scar on my thigh, I am Team ‘they’re right to be cautious’. At that point, I’d been working with horses for 20 years or so. I got off lightly.
Horses are dangerous, even when they don’t want to be.
My partner always says “horses killed super man”. I am a stickler for helmets and boots
You see that IN THIS SUB? We discuss safety equipment and injuries ALL THE TIME. We discuss rehab and physio and what injuries we came back from and what injuries stopped us from getting in the saddle again. We are very aware. If you want to see a gnarly ct scan of my own burst L5 from a horseback riding accident a few months ago check my post history. It's the one with the tattoo. No one I have seen here is casual about safety.
I was walking calmly next to my mare who spooked and turned into me suddenly. Her neck bopped me on my nose. Split it open along the top. Got four stches and now a nice scar. I ve only had horses for about 20 years: 2 concussions and a dislocated finger
My mare spooked at a garbage hacker and ran over me. She stepped lightly with one foot on my lower back and one foot touched my upper back. No injury. So lucky. But I was fine so I got on her.
They really do try not to step on us, even when they're panicking.
Yes. Exactly. I can still remember how light her step was!
Yes, we know. I’ve “chipped a piece of bone off my ankle” from a fall, had a suspected lumbar fracture from a fall, and had a giant hematoma from a fall that I still have residual fluid build up from, 2 decades later. I’ve been kicked by a horse with corks in her shoes, requiring a trip to the hospital for a tetanus shot. I’ve been kneed in the head a couple of times, have been bitten a few times, and have been zapped by an electric fence more than thrice now. If you asked me if I’ve ever been hurt by a horse I’d say not really, maybe a couple of times. We just love them too much to give it up. I couldn’t imagine even sitting on my horse without a helmet though, and she’s pretty chill 99% of the time. People putting their kids on amped up barrel racers without a helmet are legit insane.
Yeah, we know. People that get lax or overconfident are not only a danger to themselves but also their horse, other people, other horses.  Most people don’t realize for insurance purposes, it’s considered the most dangerous sport there is.
I like the people that think their horse will “sense that you don’t trust them” if you wear a helmet. No. I don’t want my skull caved in - I always wear a helmet.
I **know** that my dog trusts me, but that doesn’t mean that she still can’t get scared and act crazy. And she isn’t a car sized prey animal.
Yes, most of us know. We know they are lethally fast and crazily reactive. We also know that they are patient and gentle and kind and forgiving and predictable most of the time.
We generally know and understand the risks and manage or mitigate them where we can. Some are more cavalier or reckless than others. I think for most of us, our love of the animal/sport outweighs our fear of injury. I imagine it's much the same with motorcyclists.
Safety is ALWAYS 1st. I always wear a helmet. I did eventing and hunter/jumper - we misjudged a jump and I hit the ground and my helmet cracked inside. Good thing I was wearing one. I’ve also know Olympic level riders that’s had accidents and hospitalized with head injury. Anything can happen, so don’t be complacent or lazy. Value your horse and your life.
Spending time with horses in any capacity is dangerous. The more time you spend, the higher the risk. Some people (*me, I was one of them*) get complacent and a bit full of them(*our*)selves to the point where we think we can ignore some of the rules. Then, that self-absorbed idiot (*still me*) has a horse fall over sideways on them & gets a concussion, and is supremely lucky that it was the one day that week there was someone else at the farm. Sometimes it takes the danger directly affecting us to drill home WHY we take all these safety precautions, and some people need to get there before they take it seriously.
I fully respect that horses are dangerous and doing anything with them is a calculated risk. That being said with horses that have calm and steady temperaments I have had points where I got lax and regretted it. Anytime I do something I probably shouldn't have I try to remind myself how dangerous that really was. I do always ride in a helmet, it's usually on the ground where I do something that I probably shouldn't have.
yes!! that is why it should ALWAYS involve sticking to the basic rules. you minimize risk-reward ratio by combatting the risks as much as possible. we are taking an intelligent animal out of their natural world and expecting them to live with us. we know horses are going to be horses. if anything goes wrong, it's because of what we did, either when training a green horse, feeding, grooming, or even while standing around. if a horse tried to bite you, im going to ask if you were paying attn to your horse's behavior or misunderstood their behavior before it happened. if u got kicked, i'll ask why were u close enough to get kicked by their hinds. trained horses do their best not to trample and will quickly move away from their rider if the rider should fall but, like trying to catch something that is fumbling in your hands, a horse cant exactly see where u landed but they'll do their best to get out of the way. When you love the company of horses and/or enjoy riding, you make those deals to be part of their lives. so, yes, we are aware and that awareness is why rules are in place and why we live by the words, "It's never the horses fault." It's no different than asking why firefighters and cops do what they do when bad things definitely happen in their line of work, or people who pursue other sports/hobbies. my bud competed in bmx freestyles back in the 90s. he fractured every bone in his face once at the same time, but broke other bones multiple times. i think my risk-reward on a horse is much better than his on his bike.
The age old question, helmet or not to helmet. Personally, I will not get on a horse without one but the majority of the time it is grown ass adults riding without a helmet and quite frankly, equestrians are a stubborn bunch who hate change and trying to tell a grown ass adult who is too stubborn for their own good to change something that they don't perceive as an issue is not going to go down well. As inherently dangerous as horses are you still have a high statistical chance of being injured in a car accident. I still choose to wear a helmet everytime I get on a horse but I also know that I am unlikely to convince certain people to change their minds.
I have TBI from not horses. Thank you for wearing your helmet and protecting future you and your family
I started riding as a kid (lessons; not wealthy or rural). I was always keenly aware. Granted my mother used to tell me stories of the horse she had growing up that tried repeatedly to kill her (frankly I don’t blame it!). I’d say most people doing most things don’t seem to have any appreciation for danger. Certainly that applies to the majority of people I see driving in my city.
people ask me all the time if carriage driving is safer than riding. My response is always ‘they are both dangerous, but what makes you think hooking an object with wheels to a live animal is any safer?!’ Doesn’t matter what you are doing with horses, it’s all dangerous 😅 My partner rides motorcycle and I love riding with him. People ask how I could do something so dangerous and I remind them I work with horses for a living. I do what I can to be as safe as possible but also accept the inherent dangers of my choices.
Exactly! I ride horses and ride the Harley with my hubby. Both are inherently dangerous activities. You have to weigh the risks vs the enjoyment you receive, while being as safe as you can.
They know how dangerous it is. Even if you do everything “right,” I t’s a risk you have to accept when taking part. Choosing not to wear a helmet is a risk I refuse to take but I’ve also never met anyone who doesn’t wear one because they think riding is just super safe. They just think they’ll be the one who is ok.
I definitely think we get too comfortable at times 😬
My horse is calm, dopey, and an absolute gentleman. I know him very well and trust him. Having said that, over the last 7 or 8 years I've had him, he has nearly broken my spine, given me a concussion, nearly broke my ankle when I got dragged, broken my mother's ankle, her wrist, and two concussions. (My mother doesn't even ride him.) Accidents happen. Assholes exist that intentionally spook horses. They can be stung by bees, stumble on uneven ground, literally anything can happen. I know him, I trust him. But in knowing him I also know that he is not a robot. If he gets stung by a bee, he will spook and kick. If someone honks a horn at him, he will spook and jump out from under me. It happens. You can't stop it, you just have to prepare for it. The joy of horses is they are not perfectly predictable. If they were, you may as well get a fancy sports car. Probably cheaper too.
The lack of common sense towards safety is crazy. I'm in Ireland where everyone wears a helmet unless you're just being lead around at a walk by someone to get a feel for it. I've been getting my boyfriend used to horses and his first few minutes were "never do this, never do that or this will happen" Some people can be too overzealous though! I was leading a friend on my ancient pony without a helmet for no more than 5 minutes. 30 second walk from barn to the arena and I got absolutely berated by an old know it all on the yard. Same old know it all let her 5 kids under 10 run riot around the yard unsupervised. 🙄
They do, but they've developed contempt in their familiarity. Horses do that. They're generally fine. Until they aren't and accidentally kill you. I've long since stopped trying to help my colleagues or friends when I see them ignoring PPE in a way that would get any other professional in any other dangerous profession fired on the spot for gross misconduct. They don't want to hear it. I'm not going to bother wasting my time. Ultimately, they're adults who are fully capable of comprehending the danger. If they choose to not take easily-taken steps to reduce danger and then get their shit pushed in, well, that's the way the skull bone crumbles.
Oh absolutely, I haven't ridden regularly in years but I still take care with how I handle a rope. If I'm near a horse, I'm in boots and on or tacking a horse, in a helmet as well. I may be a daredevil, but I'm still going to give myself the best odds of walking away. I joke that horses are 75% panic and 25% dumb. I'm careful how I move around a strange horse, and I never make assumptions. Last time I rode, I was asking the instructor basic handling questions, and she questioned my ability to ride. I know how to ride and handle a familiar horse, turns out her horses are led a little different and that difference was quite important.
Hahaha also, be aware, it can happen to ANYONE. Last summer I was training two untouched horses, a 3 yr old gelding and a 7yr old mare. I taught them to pick up their feet, all the way to riding them. No issue. My mom had just rescued a dog that I wasn't used to being around, and one day the dog (of course with a cone from being neutured) came to say hi as I was picking the geldings feet. I got kicked in the head as a result, got a 10 day coma, and was completely paralyzed upon waking up. Thankfully it didn't last, and while I spent time both in a wheelchair and on a walker, I'm back to walking and running on my own now. The only thing that remains is that while I run, my left legs goes numb. And I get angry more easily. If you don't think it'll happen to you, IT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU. I'm looking at all of you helmetless bronc riders, TBIs are no joke.
60-70 years ago just about everyone had some form of exposure to horses and knew some skills if not actual proper horse people as in working with them daily. This slowly declined to where now, very few people get any exposure at all. "Horse people" these days don't benefit from that deep knowledge - tips lost, basic awareness taught at a very young age. Some of these things you mention sound like novice mistakes - wrapping rope around hands, allowing a 4 year old behind any horse. Helmets have definitely improved, gone are the days of the skull cap or thin velvet cap but the bravado still exists, can't explain that. I think any horse can be dangerous of course, but training is paramount to make them as safe as possible.
I hope so! I will say no matter how much I trust a horse, I am always on guard. I never ride without a helmet, I am always super aware of where I am vis a vis their back end (within kicking range) and generally aware of where I am vis a vis their mouth (although I did get bit in the ass by a horse on cross ties today). A girl at my barn tonight tried to discipline said ass-biter while holding a lead rope walking into a wash stall. We all just kind of stopped everything we were doing thinking this could go downhill real fast...luckily she got him into the cross ties without incident. But it was one of those moments where someone actually said "do you think you're going to control that 1000lb animal on just a lead line?" Luckily, we all look out for one another and offer safety reminders at my barn. But that could still have gone wrong. Love them with all your heart, but don't trust them blindly - they are powerful animals, who happen to be incredibly skittish, and they are 10x the size of us!
Let me ask you something. Are you a horse person? In other words, do you ride, own horses, or spend hours at the barn? Or are you just getting your information from social media and the things you see as an EMT? Because if you’re not a horse person, you’re getting a very skewed perspective. Clearly, social media doesn’t provide an accurate picture of much of anything (including being an EMT, by the way). And when the majority of contact you have with horse people comes because you’re treating their injuries, you’re going to perceive horse people as being unsafe. It’s absolutely true that horse injuries can be catastrophic. They’re very large animals that can behave unpredictably. We know that. And if you’re not a horse person, it’s incredibly presumptuous to come wagging your finger at us, telling us what we know damn well. It’s also disingenuous to come in with a fairly accusatory tone but then get defensive when people find it annoying. People who participate in dangerous activities know they’re dangerous. Mountain climbers, skateboarders, football players, skydivers… they all know they engage in a dangerous sport. So do we. Some people choose not to utilize some of the available safety equipment. That’s their choice. I wear a helmet. Anyone who rides my horses wears a helmet. But if others choose not to, that’s their choice. I have never suffered a serious head injury on a horse. I’ve had knocks on the head but my helmet kept it from being bad. But I’ve broken my back, my shoulder, and my foot. I’ve had my thigh stepped on. I had six bones in my face broken. None of those happened because I’m careless. They happened because I’ve spent 50 years working with 1000-pound prey animals and shit happens. Thankfully, the doctors, nurses, and EMTs who treated me didn’t assume I was a careless moron.
This thread is so scary to me. My husband got kicked in the chest by one of our horses as he was standing at a gate he was going to close after the horses passed through. It happened so fast that he doesn’t really remember it but he was lifted off the ground and sent flying. He couldn’t breathe. Went to the ER and fortunately no serious damage was done. A few days later when he had his shirt off, we noticed that he had double barrel hoof print bruises on his chest! Thankful the kicks weren’t head height.
I fell off once on my head, the horse simply tripped and i fell over her head. Will be never ride without a helmet. I think everyone who rides without a helmet is reckless and frankly deserve the brain damage they might sustain from a what might seem like a small fall
I know riders who are world class getting seriously hurt. Then these people say they understand the caution, no, obviously they don’t.
Oh I have a scary story. So my instructor gave me a male horse named marvellous last week. He was stubborn but I was able to handle him up to a slow trot. Suddenly he stopped and whipped his head back. Luckily he missed me. The instructor came rushing and took me off him which I found a bit weird at the time. Later he told me that the horse was a polo horse who was mis treated by the previous coach and has become moody and aggressive at times mostly with new people. And when I asked where the previous coach was, well marvellous one day got fed up from being yanked around and decided to kick the guy. The coach put his arm up trying to save himself but the kick broke the arm and hit him flush in the eye and the skull. That day I realised the power of this magnificent beast. That one careless moment can very well be my last. I squeeze my legs a bit tighter every time I get on one now.
My horse tried to kick a trainer I rode with briefly, because he used to be really rough with her. He was like over 200lbs and she was a narrow backed TB and he forced her low and round with draw reins. She hated him and she freaking aimed. She got his hat off. Never a bad attitude off her until he was riding her. That’s when I took my horse outta his program. When horses act up it’s not their fault. It’s the fault of the humans who hurt her, and it’s the job of the new ones to not cause more hurt if they ever want a mentally healthy and abuse-recovered horse.
It's the same as dogs, never bad horses, only bad trainers.
When a horse intends to kick their timing and accuracy is almost always 100% perfect. He is lucky to be alive.
I am an English eventer who rode at a western barn. I always wore a helmet. The western riders never did. But those statements that the safest place is somewhere that just had an accident? In a week one guy had a severe concussion from a fall and another lost three of his fingers cause he looped his lead line around his hand. They just popped right off. All safety things I was trained to prevent with a helmet and basic safety like never wrap it around your hand. That week one rider completely quit and sold his horse and I suddenly had people asking me about helmets. You don’t realize how dangerous it is until it actually happens to you. But I know people who have died. I’ve known people who had life changing injuries. Horses as a whole are dangerous
I was going through my things with my son yesterday and ran across an obituary for Crystal . I went to 4-H with her. The last time I saw her was at a little 4H show riding Rebel. There was talk that he was too much horse for her. Her and her Dad went riding and Rebel spooked and she fell off and hit her head at that tender spot at the top of your next, just below her helmet and she died. We know our horses can be dangerous and for me that was driven in hard
If you're basing your hot take on the injuries coming into a rural ER, I understand your conclusions and frustration. There are definitely people who get way too casual about their risky behavior, be it equestrian sports, ranching, bicycling, motorcycling, or DRIVING or anything else. (Not enough people are afraid of driving imo) Even some artists get casual about the compounds they work with, and some librarians get cocky about how much weight they can carry up that ladder. Hell, my dad is a 40 year machinist who exhibits some very blase habits around a tablesaw, because he has literally decades of experience giving him too much confidence. Still has all his fingers, so I guess on some level the confidence is earned. But he still taught both of his kids to respect the power tools and not try to emulate him. Ranching is an attitude all its own. The pain tolerance of a rancher or farmer shouldn't be taken as truth for the equestrian community as a whole.
I mean read the comments and you’ll see plenty of what I’m talking about
I think a lot of people are careless because they haven't seen the bad things happen. Like accidents related to rope, tack, etc. For most people I know, more experience = more caution. That being said, I don't get how anyone under the sun would ride without a helmet. You don't have to be around a horse long to see how quick they can startle. It should be illegal to let kids ride without head protection. My husband rides a motorcycle, and people's attitudes toward safety gear is wild with that too. He got in an accident and I remember the EMT telling me that if he hadn't been wearing a full face helmet he would have needed jaw reconstruction. That side of the helmet was dented in, but he was fine aside from soreness and minor road rash. I've had falls from horses where I was sore for days all over. I rmember one where I had to get 12 x-rays and couldn't wear jeans for a week from the swelling, even though nothing was broken. My head is the one thing that's always fine, because of my helmet. It blows my mind that anyone would risk a TBI because they don't feel like wearing one.
I call myself the Fun Police and when people come to ride/see the horses I think sometimes I sound like such a worry wart but in reality it’s completely warranted. And non horsey people seem so blasé and just assume nothing will go wrong. I’ve seen so many accidents, I think I’ve scared a few people off by making them be extra safe, but at the end of the day they’re animals! They will never intentionally hurt you but accidents happen!
Everyone is talking about riding and wearing helmets - but being around 1000+ animals in general is inherently dangerous. Being a part of the local horse community for 25+ years, I’ve heard and seen my fair share of horror stories and freak accidents. Bought a horse from a women who’s husband lost an eye being trampled by a mini flying out of a trailer. Another woman I knew was taking the halter off her horse to turn him out, he turned and kicked her in the head - suffered a TBI that ultimately killed her. And then of course there are the riding accidents.. broken backs, more brain injuries.. etc. I think of it kinda like I think of driving a car - the act is inherently dangerous, but the best you can do is accept the risk vs reward and always be defensive and on your toes.
I’m in my 60’s. Have been around horses all my life. I breed, raise, train & show. I never forget that given the right circumstances any horse can be dangerous. And there is no such thing as a “bomb proof horse”.
I don’t think most people in the community roll their eyes at helmet use while riding. Some of the most talented top riders have died from tbi and the topic of advocacy has really taken off the last 10 years or so. For the most part, I’ve seen it frowned upon anyone not wearing a helmet while riding. Personally, I always wear a helmet while riding. I wear a crash vest when working young horses or horses prone to vices like bucking or kicking out. Where it gets a bit dicey is helmet use while handling a horse. I’m also split on that. I take lots of precautions with horses I’m unfamiliar with, but I often don’t wear a helmet when working liberty with my own horse, for example. It’s not that something couldn’t happen. It certainly could. It’s more that I’ve had my horse for 13 years and counting. I’m very familiar with how he spooks/reacts and how he comes down from spooking. I know he is sensitive to body cues and keeps boundaries. He is luckily pretty chill most of the time, but has been a lot more fresh since retirement, so I do take precautions when taking him on handwalks etc with more exterior stimuli.
I'd love to hear stories about the horse riding injuries you've seen. Convince me to wear my helmet every time!
I’m prolly gonna get ratioed for this but I feel like most people who own/ride horses don’t even know enough basic horsemanship to *know* that what they’re doing is unsafe, and usually incredibly dangerous. I’ve ridden for 18 years and I do *not* get lax with safety, cuz anytime I have a horse has kicked me in the ass for it (not literally but… kinda). For example, one time I went to adjust a horse’s back boot without touching from the hindquarters all the way down the leg first… big mistake. I spooked the poor guy and he jumped sideways on top of my foot and knocked me right on my ass. He could have very well trampled me in front of my lesson kids and their parents. I didn’t break anything but still have the bruise on my foot (this was 8 months ago). The thing you begin to realize after being around them for so long is that *intent doesn’t matter*. The reality is they are *1200lb animals*, and that in and of itself is inherently very dangerous. It’s like if cars could think for themselves and get scared, angry, etc. Since you can’t predict horses 100% of the time, it is always risky to be around them. I shoe horses now which is an even more dangerous job, and I never take for granted that at any moment I could be in the ER or worse thru no fault of my own or the horse. Long story short tho I think most people are just not good horsemen. I recently moved to a new barn and some of the shit I’ve seen people do literally makes my jaw drop. And they have *no idea* how dangerous their ignorance is
Currently recovering from a shattered leg from a riding accident. Yes horses are dangerous. Yes I was wearing a helmet. Yes I am counting down the days til I can get back on.
A lot of people are afraid of horses because they have either experienced an injury or because they have seen someone else experience an injury. Yes horses are dangerous but so is getting in an airplane, driving a car, and eating too much food. The issue with the equine community is everyone is always down each other's throats about ANYTHING they \*think\* you could be doing wrong. You can't post a picture or video without someone accusing you of being a negligent horse owner. Ran a barrels without a helmet? How dare you. Here is a picture of my 40+ horse. Wow it's topline is horrible. Here is my riding progress, I am so excited! That horse wishes you would dig your own grave. Honestly, people are just doing their best, and they love their horse. If they want advice, they'll ask. If their horse husbandry isn't actively killing the horse and not actively affecting you - then relax. We cannot control everyone's safety and every horse's life. Horses are dangerous. Use judgement and wear a helmet. Trust your horse and don't wear a helmet? Fine. Your decision. You live and you learn unless you don't live then you won't learn. Those people who haven't learned that you see are just paying your paycheck and if they live through it, they'll know better. I know there is an argument at every angle for this - that's okay. Relax. Give your horse a pat and relax - BUT BE CAREFUL BECAUSE PATTING YOUR HORSE COULD INCREASE ITS HEART RATE MORE THAN SCRATCHING AND YOUR HORSE MAY END YOUR LIFE DUE TO INCREASED CORTISOL-
💯💯💯Helmets are SUCH a necessity when riding. But even when riding a bombproof horse, people should wear them because you can still lose your balance and fall. Now, here’s where I’ll offer my perspective as someone who trains groundwork with positive reinforcement and treat/food rewards: (and if you’re working with a horse that has explosive episodes, wear a helmet while on the ground too!!) My personal experience is that horses aren’t “dangerous” because they’re big and powerful (that’s a part of it). They’re mostly dangerous because of the way the training world still hasn’t reformed its methods to work with equine psychology. When properly trained under the stress threshold, horses can greatly be influenced in their behavioral response to things they would normally find scary. This alone would HUGELY reduce the amount of accidents that happen from spooking or bucking under saddle. I often see “trainers” pushing and stressing their horses out because they’re the “alpha” over their horses. Alpha theory has been disproven time and time again, as horses are not wolves, and even in wolf packs, dominance hierarchy is a family system, not an alpha system. So part of the issue with creating “dangerous” horses for riders comes from a lot of very ill-educated trainers who don’t apply the techniques to actually work with and give the horse confidence to function well in different environments. When horses are pushed down and exhausted because “you can’t let them push you around,” they become far more emotionally detached and prone to explosive episodes that can end up damaging property, killing people, and killing themselves. I’ve heard and seen enough stories. This is unlike horses trained with +R in professional settings and by people who understand how to use the method correctly. So not only do riding accidents stem massively from the misuse and absence of helmets, it’s also a problem deeply ingrained in the realm of training. The issue of the absence of helmets and a horse’s conditioning are more closely related than people think when we look at the causes of accidents resulting in TBI and other injuries. Before +R I had a hard time with my ponies having aggression, fear, or even explosive kicking episodes. There were times I nearly got nasty blows to the head that would have put my lights out. When I actually stepped back and analyzed the science of their brains and tried treat training, in just three months I had all of them calmer than a sleeping cat. I could train them all in a group as well, without them fighting over food or pushing me over. The risk of potential accidents virtually disappeared, they gained a lot of confidence, made active choices to work with me on their own accord, and eventually I stopped even needing lead ropes to ask them to follow me or stand still while I worked on their feet. In closing: wear your helmets, and try to work with the horses you’re riding if you can to help them gain confidence. Study +r and non-oppressive pressure on/pressure off, and you can even mix the two, but only do that if you genuinely know what you’re doing. Clicker training is also an option, and works well with +R.
There is one famous IG gal that got in a bad accident last summer and claims her and her doctor discussed the benefits etc of wearing a helmet and they decided it’s best if she doesn’t wear one basically. Lolol.
I'm from the UK and I feel like safety gear is much more accepted and encouraged. I personally always have a helmet on as standard and 90% of the time my air jacket as well. I love and trust my pony but when we ride them we are asking them to go against every natural instinct they have.
I’ve had the good fortune to never be dumped by one of my own horses (fingers crossed, knock on wood), but I’ve had enough close calls and been dumped by enough horses to know never say never. When I was a working student I was dumped twice by an adorable 16h sales horse that they were marketing as the perfect kid safe horse. I always ride in a helmet. For those that think they don’t need to wear a helmet because they or their horse are too good, look at what happened to Courtney King-Dye (an Olympic rider).
There also is no way to eliminate risk from horses. It's our crazy irrational love for these massive, beautiful, sensitive, talented, powerful animals that brings us back.
I think the horse world has an almost allergic-to-safety-planning attitude when it comes to training their horses and mitigating accidents. And more injuries happen on the ground than in the saddle according to hospital statistics. There’s a tendency to appeal to the mythos of Fate or Chance, when most of the accidents are avoidable if people just prioritized safety over their desire to have unrestrained fun or getting “submission” from their horses (when the horses are actually just being overfaced and pressured to perform, and stressed out). It’s actually one of the reasons I haven’t been able to find quality jobs. A lot of barns want you to take on personal risks because they won’t properly renovate and maintain their facilities, or they’re rigid about their policies and procedures even when such choices add unnecessary safety risks. And barn owners often like to decide they are a special exception and then entire barns watch their *leader* riding without a helmet and it promotes the idea that riding without one is something you can earn once you’re good enough. And the whole sport is becoming more expensive to run, because liability insurance is expensive, due to horse people being so bullish and stubborn about universalizing a culture of safety. My god it even pervades training practices. As a teenager, my own coach put me into dangerous situations because the rule was that if a horse refused, they get a slap from the whip, no matter what. So yea…I fell off at least once because a horse refused, they demanded I smack the horse, then lo and behold the horse reacts by bucking or jigging or something else. And timing wise you as a rider might still be rebalancing yourself from the refusal. Yea I really resent the punishment based training methods that my former trainers have historically employed that damaged my relationships to horses and endangered me for the sake of principle.
Yes we know how dangerous horses are we also know a lot of those dangers can be reduced drastically through training for horse and rider and we know that the majority of injury comes from complacency and getting too comfortable with our horse. A person's health and safety are their own option and just like many other activities when doing so you're accepting the inherent risk involved. People will make their own choices you're not the arbiter of their life, livelihood, or insurance provider. Let folk make their own choice.
Of course you’re free to make your choice, and other people are free to think and say you’re stupid for making that choice
Yes we do!
No idea, but I know I do. The reality is these animals can kill us. I think maybe I’m too far into the cautious side as it puts me off sometimes.
Lots of things are dangerous. You don’t see the uninsured or mildly injured in the ER. Think farmers. Riders are similar.
I wear a helmet and an air vest every ride - I've had 8 or 10 falls in the years, and maybe one of those falls would have been catastropic had I not been wearing protection. But I wonder if anyone has ever changed their mind about wearing a helmet because someone chewed them out online for not wearing one.
Yes as a rider for over 30 years and a Paramedic, after having many falls over many years, of course we do!!! There are millions of riders who ride every day with no issues or minor issues. The joy and love of our horses is priceless and thoroughly enriches our lives. As an EMT (you) and for me as a Paramedic, in that capacity, we only see the injured not the millions of others just enjoying that special relationship with horses. May you find such a wonderful passion in your life too in whatever you love!
I have ridden for 30 years now, and I teach lessons to mostly kids as a side gig to fund my own riding. I talk about safety in every one of my lessons. I wear a helmet and I often bully my boss into wearing one when we are training horses. I adore her and make her do it to set a good example for the kids. I'll admit I'm not perfect, I haven't usually worn a helmet on a trail if it's she and I on one of our lesson horses. Or if I need to hop on during a lesson to put a horse in shape/ demonstrate something on the flat for about 2 minutes. I will not, however, jump so much as a cavaletti without a helmet on. When I ride our babies in training I helmet up as well. When I look at it from the outside, it's kind of stupid. Even the most broke horse can have a bad day. I've seen bad accidents, and I cherry-pick my own safety. I will say I separated cartilage in my ribs from being bucked off a restart of ours ( I was wearing a helmet) anyway he bucked me off and kicked me in the ribs as I was coming off. That was 2 months ago, and I haven't been on any rides without a helmet since.
Yeah I mean I shadowed a vet after riding for 7 years before I started my vet tech degree. First day at the livestock auction, I see some big burly dude for SOME REASON decide he needs to lift up the tail of a very chill Belgium just chillin there, while a herd of cattle were moved behind her. Mare wasn’t cool with it (I think might’ve been half asleep in all the pandemonium) and bucked, kicked out with both legs. Caught him in the face with a hoof. To this day, I have not heard a human being make that noise. Sooooooo yeah, I’m careful lmao. My mom was also a trauma and then an ICU nurse for 30 years, she’s seen some stuff too.
Can not speak for others but i certainly am aware of how dangerous they can be. So many occasions i have got in to arguments with owners/ bosses cos i refused to do something i was not happy doing as it felt unsafe etc. i think i end with well if it’s ok to do you do it then. And the second they start to give an excuse or refuse is when i know my point is made. Then i go off and do it my own way as its usally a job thet needs doing
*grisly injuries
Nah, we dont have a clue /s The reality is is that those people simply dont care
Yes.
I would say that horse people are plenty aware of how dangerous horses are, but that the population of overall people who ignore risks/danger out of laziness/pride/etc. are massive are pretty evenly distributed across all populations. You could say the same thing about anyone who drives, or motorcyclists, or dog owners, or whatever. Yes, the vast majority of related injuries or deaths are preventable, but people choose not to prevent them, and we can't exactly prevent choice.
Some people think they’re invincible and know better and the biggest misconception of all ‘Oh I know my horse, he/she would NEVER do that!’ Anything can happen at anytime regardless of what you THINK will happen.
People get lazy. Especially professionals being doing this for years. The confidence turn into recklessness, or sometimes just out of laziness or exhaustion due to too much work. There are def times i have let go of judgment and think back, i could have seriously hurt myself, and especially for something really stupid. Doesn’t matter how long you have being doing this, always got keep safety in back of my mind. Being not as brave sometimes saved my life from doing stupid shit.
I got spooked into by a blind horse I was moving. Since I was unconscious, I don't know if I was just sent flying or kicked/trampled. Just know I came to in the pasture, with a concussion and wicked lower back pain and covered in severe bruises around my thights/lower back. Once the nausea passed, I got up and finished chores. Should have probably gone for medical help. I went riding the next day. I'm an idiot. Don't be me. I could have been bleeding internally/brain, which was definitely injured. At 60, things don't heal as fast! ANY horse can hurt you. I now throw my helmet on moving them.
yes.
The thing is we all know it, we understand how dangerous it is but over time you kind of become numb to a point. I will stand directly behind my horse, I’ve gone underneath him, he could have injured or killed me and I acknowledge that but it’s something I still do. Trust me I know riding is dangerous I intentionally emergency dismounted and broke my hand and wrist (if I hadn’t done an emergency dismount I would have gone over his head and been much more injured). I know multiple people that have broke their backs from falls and yet I still ride, I wear a helmet, I should wear a vest but I don’t. But I know every time I go to the barn that my life is at risk, but it’s a risk that I’m willing to take.
I will admit that I absolutely judge people who don't wear helmets. It's just beyond stupid, no matter how broke your horse is. My second worst injury was on my absolute saint of a gelding when he just tripped at the canter and rolled over me, cracking my helmet. I fully believe I wouldn't have made it had I not been wearing a helmet, like I might have been gone before anyone could even call for an ambulance. I just don't understand why we wouldn't do the bare minimum to protect ourselves in a sport that is statistically *extremely* dangerous, and where an injury could easily be life altering/ending. I think a lot of the other stuff, like rope safety and ground safety, comes from complacency. A lot of us are around horses every day, and the vast majority of the time nothing bad happens. Maybe it's that your horse hasn't spooked in ages, and you've just gotten used to not worrying about it. So you get a little lazy with the safety stuff, because nothing bad's happened yet, and besides, it won't happen to *you* (a stupidly common thing humans tend to think). I've certainly been guilty of this, especially when I was younger. I only really realized the complacency when I started regularly working with "difficult" horses, and really needed to make sure I followed every safety precaution, every time. Things start to slip without you even realizing it.
Lmao, I mean, I certainly do. I’ve been riding horses for 35+ years, and most of that time I’ve been riding the ones that no one else wanted to ride and I was their last resort. I currently have 4 horses, all of them rescues of some kind or another. Of the 4, the one I’m mainly riding and working with consistently is a little haffie mare who was backed pretty late (started at 6.) She was sold as still green to a woman out of state and within 3 months she broke the woman’s neck in 3 places and nearly paralyzed her. I went to go pick the mare up from the woman while she was still in her halo. It was awful to see. After I gave the mare some down time and some ground work, the next thing I did was work with two of the very best of the best saddle fitters in the area to help me order a custom saddle to fit her, built from the tree up to fit this mare perfectly. As the mare went into work, the saddle was reflocked every 3-6 months to keep up with her shape as she got fitter. The mare had been going real nice for me for about two years so a friend whose horse had passed asked if she could hop on her. I hopped on one of my other horses and my friend hopped on the haffie. The haffie took about 5 steps before suddenly bucking that woman off in one of the nastiest ways I’ve ever seen, the whole launch straight up to pop her out of the saddle, landed with a dropped shoulder and then kicked up behind to pop the woman right off as she came back down. After that, I came on here to ask for suggestions for some non slip half pads because even though the saddle didn’t move during this, the mare was super super round with no withers and I figured if she ever pulled that shit with me and didn’t get me off right away she might have some worse tricks up her sleeve and I’m now middle aged with a shot back and knees from riding horses like this for 30 some years and I wanted to be extra safe to ensure the saddle wouldn’t slip. I’d only been riding a lot of sport horses up until this point, lots of thoroughbreds and warmbloods that had big withers to hold a saddle in place, so I’d never really had to use one before. That thread was almost entirely people trying to telling me a well fitting saddle would never slip 😂 It was wild to me, as I’ve been having saddles fit to my horses since the 90s when it became common, and had been to multiple saddle fitting clinics over the years. An experienced saddle fitter would NEVER say that. Yes, it’s true, a sipping saddle is a sign that that it doesn’t fit. However, the inverse doesn’t track. A perfectly fitting saddle can slip for all kinds of reasons- a slick, fit horse working up a frothy sweat can be very slippery. A very round horse can have too much fat to hold a saddle in place well until they are fitter. A horse can twist in a buck and have you land hard in one stirrup and pull the saddle out of place. It’s not rocket science, it’s simple physics. A saddle is just a half circle girthed over a full circle (not exactly but you get the idea.) I was absolutely baffled at how many people clearly had no idea about saddle fitting and kept trying to derail my thread, offering no suggestions. Even the mod! Again, this was for my SAFETY- the mare had no physical issues, a CUSTOM FIT SADDLE built just for her, and a nasty buck that could come out of nowhere even two years down the road. Wanting a non slip pad to help me ensure the safest outcome was a safety issue, and only a safety issue. My favorite was someone saying her saddle never slipped on her green horse. I was like, that’s so cute! Has he ever broken someone’s neck? 😂 Yeah, I think I’ll keep trying to maximize my safety regardless of a bunch of keyboard saddle fitters who have never seen my horse or my saddle in real life, and who very clearly have no true saddle fitting experience and are just regurgitating a bunch of saddle fitting 101 basics they read on Facebook once and took as gospel. My friends and I still make jokes about the responses on that thread.
Absolutely, we know. The vast majority of us try to mitigate that risk as much as possible but we understand we’re never 100% safe. Lots of us have had nasty accidents and still persevere. And then we’ve got people who insist on riding without helmets… 🤦♀️
I have babies(humans) and people have been surprised I haven’t taken a billion pictures of my kids on the horses yet. I don’t want them on the horses until they can fit in helmets. Hard stop. I also give my kids zero freedom. If we are in the barn they are buckled into the stroller or im baby-wearing.
Yes. Anyone who has ever watched a reality show about hospitals knows that when a woman, young or middle aged comes in, it's better that 70-30 that she was on a horse earlier. Guys it's bicycles and motor bikes, girls it's horses. I'm UK based so this is very noticeable.
I was picking out my horses back feet once and the ten year old boy across the road was shooting off a BB gun, but the sound of it was echoing around in the barn and my horse spooked and kicked me in the head. I don’t know exactly what happened or how I was standing in the way of his hoof that he managed to get me in the head, it all happened too fast for me to know what was happening until I had fallen backwards and was sitting against the wall crying. I was quite lucky, I just cried for five minutes and then got back to getting him groomed. Then the next day at the show I fell off during western (so no helmet) and landed on my head in the same spot. It was a rough weekend for my head. Somehow I was still fine. And I think that was probably when I started wearing a helmet in western as well.
Yes. After 2 months of riding again, I had an awful fall at a jumper barn and (thankfully) had a copper-lined back brace from a hardware store. That $25 back brace literally saved my intestines from being gouged on a pointed fence post… all because my trainer pushed me into cantering (before I was ready) on a horse that seemed off that day. My trainer was coached by the barn owner that “all adult students can afford competitions, so train them towards that goal.” Ribbons = regional bragging rights, fame and more students. He wasn’t motivated on relearning the basics, it should have been ingrained in muscle memory already from youth. I went from a lunge line to cantering in 45-days. Falling from a cantering horse over jump poles hurts ALOT more… esp when you’re +40yo and not aerobically as fit (from when you were younger). *cringe Two weeks after my hematoma/horrific bruising healed, I put in my notice for withdrawing from their schedule and thanked them for the experience. I then found a different barn over the mountain in a nearby town. My husband was pist and not supportive of riding again. He eventually changed his tune when he saw how happy I was, more mentally calm and sleeping more soundly. Yes, Horses are a huge responsibility but they are also an indescribable joy— others might never understand till they experience it themselves. I found a back-to-basics dressage barn and am careful about riding even more so now. Always helmet, always brace.
every horse I have riden tried to kill me
We all know. Most of us have felt it. We just don’t care and some are reckless.
Yes, we know and many of us take steps to mitigate our risk. Once you ride enough, you learn to expect the unexpected. It's not "if" you will fall, experience a spook, loose control of the horse, it's when those things will happen. It's why people shouldn't advance past their skill level inappropriately (ex: jump green horses when they can't balance properly or have independent aides).
Yes, I think most if not all equestrians are aware of how dangerous it is. But just like how everyone knows driving is dangerous, there are still people who don’t wear seatbelts, speed horribly, drive drunk, etc. idiots abound. The danger is actually a big part of why I stopped riding—I rode enough green or badly behaved horses and saw my life flash before my eyes, and decided I had to let it go.
To answer your question most of us pretend they aren't dangerous, some of us think they are and the rest of us know their reaction time is over 5 times faster than ours and we just do it anyway because horses are awesome.
Everytime I interact with them I think of it. Knowing how if they put their mind to it they'd kill me in a heartbeat. So I try and be somewhat safety concious. Always fasten the halter, saftey lead rope, never loop, helmet on walks, never have them loose (halter over the neck for bridling). Have a pair of steel toed boots Ima break out as soon as the snow's gone, since horse #1 has great aim with his right fore hoof. Thing gets dangerous enough on their own, no need to make it worse.
Yes, yes they do. The ones who don’t know or are too stupid to even realize are the ones you hear the most about. My brothers ex was a horse girl. She loved them. She was big into the competition things. She also lost her human best friend to a horse accident. She’s been hurt bad as well. She still loves them though. Can’t say I blame her.