9yo girl dies after opening fizzy drink on horse!

Very sad for all concerned.

However a bit of a silly think to do IMO as it takes 2 hands to open a can and it's not rocket science to work out that it's not going to open quietly after being jigged around on a horse.....
 
I'm certainly not saying she deserved it in any way, I feel very sorry for all concerned, but what a stupid thing to do. Let's hope people learn some horse sense from this tragedy
frown.gif
 
easy to judge but how many times have we all done something a bit thoughtless on a horse? I know I have grabbed pieces of paper or sat drinking a coffee......such a tragic waste...hope she was wearing a hat...
 
Well two points on this one:

1) She probably wasn't wearing a hat
2) Probably had oversized western stirrups that allowed her to get dragged.

I actually find it quite frustrating that parents won't pay for correct sized stirrups (whether english or western). Its like shoes for the kids, yes they will grown out of them, but too big or too small is going to cause a problem!
 
Heartfelt sympathy to this little girl and her family. Her poor father must be absolutely traumatised to have been with her when this happened and not be able to stop it..To actually witness such a tragic accident..what a tragic waste of such a young life..
 
[ QUOTE ]
Heartfelt sympathy to this little girl and her family. Her poor father must be absolutely traumatised to have been with her when this happened and not be able to stop it..To actually witness such a tragic accident..what a tragic waste of such a young life..

[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto. Such a shocking tragedy. RIP poor little girl.
 
Agree genie.

I've opened countless cans of juice whilst on horseback...this is just a tragic freaky accident. I'd say if she was dragged for over a mile then I doubt wearing a hat would have made the slightest difference....

Poor man, what a horror to have witnessed......
 
[ QUOTE ]
.hope she was wearing a hat...

[/ QUOTE ]

Not that it matters now, if she was wearing a hat it made no difference. It's stories like this that make us all sit up and count the amount of times we've been less than responsible on horseback. How tragic!!
frown.gif
 
How awful- really really awful.

I'm not going to criticize her for having opened the drink. I've done it, and we all drink at the meet etc. on horseback. How many of you open their sarnies half way on board?

Just a really horrific accident I think.
 
What a horrific way to die....being dragged like that. Truly awful.
I hate to be the person going on about wearing hats, but it sounds to me like she wasn't wearing one. If she had been her death would probably have been preventable. Very sad.
 
how sad. My heart goes out to her family.
but i do have to agree how silly to open the can whilst on the horse.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I'd say if she was dragged for over a mile then I doubt wearing a hat would have made the slightest difference....



[/ QUOTE ]

Glad someone has some common sense here! Although wearing a hat is better than not, I highly doubt it would have saved this little girl if she had been wearing one.

As for someone saying that oversized western stirrups would make it easier to be dragged....no way! I would think they would be far easier to get a foot out of than most English stirrups I have seen. If I were on a bolting horse I would way rather be in a Western saddle as all around it would be easier to stay on and get your feet out.

This was a sad freak accident and I feel so sick at all the finger pointing going on in here about a young girl who died in such a tragic way.
 
Desperately sorry to read about this ... poor little girl and poor family.

We're normally very safety conscious, but it would not necessarily occur to me that it was not safe to open a can of fizzy drink while on horseback. My daughter (older) has done it a number of times (although often, come to think of it, in reasonably contained situations such as shows and in the manege). And we know our pony is not startled by it.

It's so hard to comment without knowing more details ... such as stirrups and hat.
 
My kids' instructor found out a little more info. about what happened (our riding school is nearby Benbrook, TX where the accident was). Apparently she was on a trail ride with her dad, it was dark, she wasn't wearing a helmet (not sure it would have helped), riding western, opened the soda can on horseback, she shrieked (assumed she was sprayed) startled the horse, it bucked her off, she was hung up and the horse galloped a mile and a half with the poor little mite. So tragic, she was only 9.

 
Poor girl. I will not point any fingers because I think it was just one of those accidents. Even the most bombproof of horses can suddenly decide that a can opened above it even though it might of happened before many times, is the scariest thing in the world. Unfortunately I don't think a hat would of helped if she was dragged for a mile..
My thoughts are with the family, especially the father who witnessed this.
Rip..
 
[ QUOTE ]
Poor girl. I will not point any fingers because I think it was just one of those accidents. Even the most bombproof of horses can suddenly decide that a can opened above it even though it might of happened before many times, is the scariest thing in the world. Unfortunately I don't think a hat would of helped if she was dragged for a mile..
My thoughts are with the family, especially the father who witnessed this.
Rip..

[/ QUOTE ]

I was not pointing a finger at anyone, and I hope it didn't come over like that
blush.gif
I just think it's sad that something like this happened when it could have been avoided. Enough accidents happen without tempting fate by allowing a young child to ride in the dark with no hat, no safety stirrups, and opeing a can of fizzy drink.

I feel desperately sorry for the father and can't imagine what he must be going through.
 
Bless her, and my sympathy goes out to her father, whose memory will probably be etched with the sights and sounds of the terrible tragedy.
 
What a beautiful little girl Juliette was - such a tragic accident. My heartfelt sympathy goes to her family who must be devastated at this very sad time
frown.gif
.

Sleep well little Juliette. x
 
[ QUOTE ]
Bless her, and my sympathy goes out to her father, whose memory will probably be etched with the sights and sounds of the terrible tragedy.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well said, as I parent I know that I would never get over it.

From the sound of things, a hat would not have saved her, and I am sure that the poor parents will be racked with real or imagined guilt over what they could have done to 'save' her and filled with 'if onlys' poor people. For those who said it was stupid to open a can on a horse - have done this myself, many many times.

It was an accident, pure and simple, a young girl's life has been cut short in a truly tragic way, my heart goes out to her parents.

RIP Juliette - sleep tight.
xx
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top