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Author: Bayard Fox
Article:
How can horseback riding accidents be minimized?
There is a great deal more to safety in horseback riding than
just wearing a hard hat though that is certainly basic. After 70
years of riding and 35 years of leading and organizing riding
trips I have formed some strong ideas about the leading causes
of riding accidents. They often aren't what people think. In my
experience it is rare that speed alone is the cause of an
accident. I have found that the following avoidable risks
account for the vast majority of serious accidents.
* Not wearing a hard hat * Failure to match horse and rider *
Going too fast on dangerous terrain * Failure to recheck cinches
a second time after a few minutes of riding * A hat or coat
falling from a horse in front and spooking the ones behind * A
kick from a horse * Being on foot in the corral * Riding when
overweight and out of shape * Lagging behind to catch up by
speeding forward * Prematurely "bailing out" to get off a
runaway * Unqualified ride leaders
Wearing a hard hat - If you are enjoying your life, it makes no
sense to ride without a hard hat. They are not that onerous to
wear and can often prevent or attenuate head injuries in falls.
A head injury is usually far worse than a broken bone and those
who have them often do not completely recover. About ten years
ago a lovely young woman signed a special release not to wear a
hard hat before riding with me. An hour later she fell, hitting
her head on a rock and went into seizures. She will never be the
same; nor will I ever forgive myself for allowing her to ride
without protection. I don't intend to make that mistake again.
Since making hard hats mandatory at our ranch ten years ago we
have had one or two hats a year damaged when people took falls
and I am convinced that we have avoided several concussions as a
result.
Matching horse and rider - I think proper matching of horse and
rider is the most important factor in avoiding accidents. A
spirited, athletic horse can scare the daylights out of a novice
and a tired old plug can bore an experienced rider. An actual
evaluation by a qualified instructor of a person's riding skills
is the best way to judge since many people do not really know
how well they ride according to the standards of the place where
they are riding. If it is a matter of a riding tour, it is vital
that riders should be experienced and fit enough to do the trip
as it was intended to be done and the difficulty should be
clearly spelled out. Riders with insufficient skills can ruin
the ride for riders who are qualified and be a danger to
themselves and the other riders.
Too fast on dangerous terrain - I must have taken over a hundred
falls in my time and rarely been hurt, but the accidents I think
most likely to cause injury are when the horse falls, especially
if you are under him. Three of the four accidents which caused
me trouble for more than a few days were when the horse went
down. Twice it was slippery mud and once it was an aardvark hole
in Kenya when we galloped too fast through grass tall enough to
disguise holes.
Failure to recheck cinches - Some horses definitely blow up when
a cinch is first tightened. It pays to check them again after
five minutes or so. I was an expert witness in a riding accident
case where this should have been done.
Falling object from horse in front - I have seen many falls as a
result of a horse making a sudden turn when the rider in front
lost a hat or a raincoat tied on the saddle came loose. I rate
this high as a cause of easily avoidable accidents.
Kicking - Any horse can kick and one should always be aware of
this. Many have broken legs as a result. Do not approach the
horse in front of you too closely whether it is a known kicker
or not. Take extra care with horses which do kick.
On foot in the corral - Some riding establishments keep guests
away from the corrals or saddling areas because many accidents
can occur there. A tied horse can spook and pull back, sometimes
breaking a lead rope or hitching pole which can cause
pandemonium. Horses can be more nervous around people on the
ground whom they do not know. When you move behind a horse, you
are safer either very close or out of range. Overweight and out
of shape - Riding is an athletic sport which demands good
muscles and a trim body for the best results. Those who feel
that it should be like sitting on a motor cycle should stick to
motor cycles. A rider who is overweight cannot perform as well
because he puts more stress on the same muscles if he is 20 lbs.
overweight. If he falls, an injury is more likely because the
greater weight puts more stress on the same bones. It goes
without saying that extra lbs. make a huge difference to the
horse. Look how jockeys struggle over a pound and what a little
extra weight does to the speed of a race horse. Lagging behind -
I have seen several serious accidents occur because someone in
the riding group felt the pace to be too slow and held a horse
back so they could gallop up to join the others. This often
makes the horse held back frantic so that it gallops up at speed
and crashes into the rest of the group, getting the other horses
very excited and out of control.
"Bailing out" - I have known people to throw themselves off a
runaway horse because they were terrified and wanted the terror
to end. I believe this is usually a big mistake. Horses are not
often suicidal and when they tire they will slow down. Usually
one can ride it out. I did correctly bail out once when a rock
gave way under my horse's leg on a narrow trail and he went over
a cliff, but those situations are rare. Another time when I was
leading a ride on a very spirited horse the metal bit broke near
the middle and I was left with no control as we were starting a
canter. The horse leapt forward like a rocket when he felt the
pressure on his mouth give way and I was badly scared. The
thought of bailing out did cross my mind, but fortunately I rode
it out and a mile or so later he came to a stop of his own
accord. The riders behind me thought I had gone crazy.
Unqualified ride leaders - Ride leaders need to be not only good
riders themselves, but they need to pay careful attention to the
others in the group. Great Britain and France require commercial
ride leaders to take courses and pass exams before they can be
licensed, but nothing of the kind exists in the United States
which means that totally unqualified people often lead rides and
ignore basic safety rules.
As in any sport, no matter what precautions are taken, accidents
can occur. It is therefore important to have plans in place to
get quick and effective help incase of need. When riding in
remote places a cell phone or radio can save critical time and
if someone in the group has first aid knowledge it can make a
great difference. In our experience horseback riding need not be
a dangerous activity when compared to a sport like down hill
skiing.
Copyright 2005 Bayard Fox and Equitours, Ltd. This work is
licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5
License. <A
HREF=http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.5/>http://creati
vecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.5/</A>
About the author:
Bayard Fox has been riding for 70 years on six continents and
has ridden enough miles to circle the globe several times. He is
owner and founder of Equitours Worldwide Horseback Riding
Vacations http://www.ridingtours.com. He and his wife also own
the Bitterroot Dude Ranch http://www.bitterrootranch.com where
they raise horses.
Disclaimer
Opinions expressed in articles on this website are those of the author(s)
of each story or article and not necessarily those of Shadow
Ridge. Shadow Ridge does not necessarily agree with, support, or
endorse any definitions, treatments, opinions or statistics stated by
these authors. They are entirely responsible for the content of their
respective story(s) or article(s).
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