How many times have you ever fell off a horse?

[Fluffy]

BUT........there is something worse than falling off. That is NOT falling off when you should.

She [reared], I wasn't ready, and instead of falling off or jumping off, I was off balance and both the horse and I went over backwards. I hit the ground first and she hit me.

\

Yikes! I guess that's why saddles don't have seat belts! I'm glad you were ok!

 

[wbruder]

Growing up, my horse liked to take off on me, then swerve abruptly and leave me in the dust as he galloped for the barn. I'm not sure how many times I walked home, MILES, muttering what I would do to him when I got back.

One time, he took off in the ring, straight for the fence. I could have sworn he would swerve, and braced myself, but instead, he jumped the fence, throwing me headfirst into the barn, my head barely missing a large nail. As a kid, I always bounced back from my falls, sustaining now major injuries...

My mom fell off 2 years ago and sustained a double brain hematoma that almost killed her. She is (mostly) ok now, and still does the whole horse shebang. What a trooper.

 

[MaggieMay]

eeks I cringe reading all these stories, when I was young, I would fall off usually from fooling around and not paying attention, didnt have any bad horses, for example one time my friend and I were bored, so we rode her horse double bareback, I was in the back and FACING BACKWARDS to see if I could do it. We were cantering along a dirt road laughing when she had enough or something stung her, but she pitched a bucking fit, we both hit the dirt, she with a scraped elbow with bone showing and me with a fractured wrist, shattered the bones and took years to heal...I fell off 2 yrs ago off my sons haflinger pony when we didnt tighten the girth enough and I just tipped off. Many falls training horses in between, and just this year started riding my haflinger filly, so keeping my fingers crossed I dont have any unplanned dismounts! Kids Be Careful Out There!!! Helmets are a good idea.....

 

[Toshi]

I wouldn't say fallen off, i'd say ''Forcefully removed''

I only been forcefully removed about 4 times in the 5 years i had my horse, all those times i held on to the reins though.

 

[Watch Your Step]

Well I'm just learning so only about 2 or 3. Once I was riding the laziest horse in the stable, We were trotting, and all of a sudden he cantered (Wish he'd do it when I ask.) I fell, cut my knee and hurt my wrist. It wasn't that bad. The other time I was riding without stirrups, and someone came up the rail, I had to go left. Since I was off balance, I landed on my stomach and bruised my hip. The other time a lost my balance when trotting without stirrups (The horse had the choppiest stride ever). All the rest were just sliding off.

 

[yankee'n'moxie]

I have fallen probably 5-6 times in the time that I have been riding (like 3 years).

On time when I first started riding(I had been riding for about 6 months, I think) I was riding a paint gelding for the first time and he was being very stubborn. The arena that I was riding in had a "bridge" in it (for training trail horses to walk on and over stuff). Well, it was position so that you could go around it either direction. I asked him to go around it on the outside (at a fast trot) and he wanted to go inside. Well we were getting closer and closer to it, fighting each other, headed right for the middle of it. I finally released the rein tension (because I didn't want to TROT over that thing)! And even though I let him have his way, he decide at the last second that he was going MY way, after all, and I went the opposite direction (his way)... Ahh!

Another time I was riding with a friend and the horse that I was riding exploded (for no apparent reason) into a bucking, rearing, and bolting fit, where he slid to a stop. My friend said that it literally looked like she was watching a rodeo on TV. Anyways, I flew off and landed on my back, with myhead about 6 inches from a giant rock!

Another time, I more like emergency dismounted. The same friend and I were going to ride her Arab mare double, bareback. I was on the back. Well I had no sooner gotten on and asked her to "walk on" (with a leg cue) and she spun around and I (sort of) emergency dismounted while she was spinning (definitely a ride)! Turned out that she a a bite from one of the other horses, right where I had nudged her.

Lot's more times to tell about, but I supposed I should leave room for someone else...

Oh wait! I have to tell about the time that I was riding my friend's Arab mare (the same one) and we decided to go for a nice long trail ride. Well we were cantering along on a deserted back road and along came a dirt bike, just as fast and as loud as he could. My horse took of like a lighting strike! She used to be an endurance horse, so she could move fast for a long time! Anyways, my friend saw that she wasn't being controllable and galloped her horse (an appendix jumper) out in front of us and turned sideways in the trail. My horse came to a sliding stop and I flew off over her head! What a ride!!

Ok, I'm done! LOL

 

[ChristyMarie82]

I've fallen more times than I care to think about in the ten or so years I've been riding. I had an Arab/Appy mare once who liked to rear and flip over backwards with me - put me in the hospital once. Otherwise, I've never been too badly injured. Two and a half years ago, when I was still healing from the C-section I'd had four weeks previous, I was thrown from a "completely broke" horse I was looking at to buy...I landed face first, almost broke my neck, and DID break my nose...

I'm now a very nervous rider.... :/

 

[Karma]

I have been riding for almost 20 years now so honestly more times than I can even remember though many occured when I was young, daring, and stupid. I think the worst was when a pony I was riding came to a sliding stop at the barn gate after bolting back to the barn, I flew off and smashed my head into the steel rails of the gate. Luckily my mom has always been a stickler for safety and putting on a helmet before going near a horse was ingrained in me, my head was fine once I woke up minus the minor concussion the helmet however was not and had a nice inch deep imprint of the bar. We actually have a "wall of fall" in our tackroom with all the cracked helmets, broken pieces of tack, some of my & other family members xrays after falls on display to remind my family members each time they go near the horses of the importance of saftey. On a less serious note, my most mortifying "fall" happened with the same pony except he decided that laying down in the middle of the ring at a local show in front of 100s of people was a good idea. At least it gave them all a good laugh.

 

[ChristyMarie82]

Ooh, karma, ouch! The first time my arab/appy mare reared and went over with me, my head landed right on an extremely sharp rock. I was knocked out for a very short (I think) period of time. the damage to my riding hat scared the living heck out of me! I won't ride without one. now, I've been known to take it off for a picture or something, and I've put my daughter up on a horse with daddy with no helmet (BAD ME!!!)...but while actually riding...never!!

I kept that hat for a long time...and when I met DH and he didn't want to wear one, I showed it to him...

 

[gretchenann]

Too many to count !! But i am 50 and have had horses all my life
the question is, how many times have we gotten back on !!