all this talk of accidents/injuries :(

NeverSayNever

NeverSayNever

Well-Known Member
Joined
7 July 2008
Messages
4,437
Location
uk
Visit site
every thread i seem to read at the moment contains numerous posts from people telling of injuries sustained from falls, moreover a large number of people talking about breaking their backs:eek: As someone who had my first injury from a fall last year - just ligaments in my ankle, nothing serious - Im now much more aware of my mortality. So many people who have have fairly serious injuries seem to say nothing would stop them riding again.... but actually,the more I read, the more I wonder if I want to carry on!!!
 
I don't think riding will ever be the same for me after my accident, just because I am in so much pain constantly :(
 
Accidents just happen so easily, whether you're bombing round a cross country course or hunting or simply getting on or schooling, you can never say you're completely safe. Horses are unpredictable big animals, you have to expect that things do not always go right.
But i have to agree, i get terrible nerves (even started shaking today) before getting on a horse, and 99% it all goes fine and dandy.
I've never had a serious accident but seen plenty, most recently my dad snapping his ankle jumping off my horse. Due to my own confidence problems, have had to put the horse on loan till he is ready to sell, as i couldn't force myself to ride him.
I'd love to have more confidence around horses, but you can't just magic confidence out of nowhere.
 
I broke my back at the end of July last year.

Having had a bleed on the brain the year before (the only two times I've fallen off in the last four years!), I thought that if I had broken it, then I would give up riding.

However, when I was in hospital, I heard of a lady who was paralysed from the neck down - having gone out for a jog, she tripped.... :(. A friend who works on a neurology ward says this is not uncommon, people trip and bang their heads even when just walking down the street.

I decided not to give up riding. I take the best precautions I can, despite which I know there is a chance that I will get hurt again, but such is life and love and horses :D
 
accidents happen in every walk of life whether literally walking down the road, driving your car or riding your horse.

You just have to weigh up the risks and take sensible precautions to protect yourself according to your activity. ie seat belts when driving, hat when riding! You can't protect yourself from every eventuality so you just have to occasionally take sensible risks otherwise you will never have any fun, or a life full stop!
 
Santa_Claus said:
accidents happen in every walk of life whether literally walking down the road, driving your car or riding your horse.

You just have to weigh up the risks and take sensible precautions to protect yourself according to your activity. ie seat belts when driving, hat when riding! You can't protect yourself from every eventuality so you just have to occasionally take sensible risks otherwise you will never have any fun, or a life full stop!
Click to expand...

see, i used to think like this. Now i think im kidding myself, yes ok you can get injured walking along the street... but lets face it, you are somewhat increasing the risk by getting on a horse.
 
as said above accidents can happen regardless of what you are doing.

i'm a very nervy rider now after a few big accidents (big for me) and few near misses (back scraping down the side of a bus job) but i still love my horses and i think that if i'm gonna be paralysed or killed at least it will by doing something that actually made me happy.
 
NeverSayNever said:
see, i used to think like this. Now i think im kidding myself, yes ok you can get injured walking along the street... but lets face it, you are somewhat increasing the risk by getting on a horse.
Click to expand...

Does this make you feel any better

horse related injuries;
knee ligaments snapped and repaired, dislocated shoulder, haematoma removed from base of neck in a tiny little day surgery

non horse injuries;
2 broken arms (on separate occasions), a broken foot and three broken toes, severe concussion which left me in hospital for two days, minor whiplash (not dangerous but not comfy either)

My horse ones are probably outweighed 2 to 1 by my everyday ones.

Ride with confidence, watch out for door frames!! :D:D
 
I agree - accidents can happen doing anything. My friend was minding her own business the other day, walking down the street on holiday in Thailand and someone came off a moped and whacked into her and b*uggered her ankle.

I reckon I'm just as likely to have a freak accident like that, or a car accident, as I am to come off and hurt myself.

I don't think the risk of injury puts me off. What's the point in living if you worry about 'what ifs' all the time?

I came off last year (sept) and broke my shoulder and I haven't been put off. My life is too dull not to have riding!

Just go for it I say.
 
statistically I bet you find that riding isn't 'that' dangerous. I know there is a higer risk of incident than in most sports but the risk of serious injury is normally pretty tiny as long as you are being sensible. i.e. you wear corrective protective clothing, you don't put yourself in stupid situations and you don't try and push you and your horse to far out of your comfort zone. You are never going to be 100% safe but that is life. I have been riding for the vast majority of my life and have had some cracking falls but thankfully so far *hugs loads of wood* my worst injuries have been some severe bruising, a large black eye a potential broken toe and a split lip. I have been potentially lucky considering the amount I have done but i would like to think I am fairly sensible and look in advance at what may cause an issue. This doesn't stop me doing anything though, we compete BE, I regulary school bareback and we hack out including galloping across the moor. all are dangerous activities but when done in certain circumstances you can greatly reduce the risk.

I think if you get yourself too wound up with the ifs and buts you will actually become more likely to have an accident as you will be tense which will feed through to the horse who will tense up.Relax enjoy yourself (whilst being sensible) as I bet its just as likely if not more so that you will have an accident driving then you will on a horse!
 
My 12/13 year old daughter broke her collar bone then the year after she broke her back in two places. I didn't want her to ride again, but a year later she asked for riding lessons for her birthday and she's still riding & jumping now.
 
I normally choose not to read such threads! When I talk to people about riding they always mention how dangerous it is..I always reply that there's no more risk riding than there is riding a motorbike (in my eyes anyway). As above, all you can do is take precautions.
 
I have to say from being around horses from a very young age and not having a break and from having very 'get back on the horse' parents, injuries even fairly serious ones like my back a few years ago don't really seem to phase me.

I had a lot of pain from a car accident last year and all I did was have bad whiplash.

Accidents happen and some people don't get in a car or ride a bus/train due to the what ifs but I don't think it should rule your life however caution is healthy :D
 
After my fall where I ruptured my spleen I contemplated whether I was being irresponsible riding as I have a 3 year old son and whether I ought to give up. I mentioned it to my very unhorsey, protective Mum thinking she'd probably agree and she totally shocked me by saying 'if we thought that way we wouldn't get in the car in the morning'! I now wear my protective clothing and don't take unnecessary risks but I know I'd be miserable if I wasn't riding :)
 
I smashed up my ankle so bad I had to have a replacement joint a few months ago. But I won't ever stop riding.

It is what I love and knowing me if I gave up I would trip over my shadow and break my neck
 
all my falls off have never put me off even when i was 10 and one of my good friends gets killed by a horse you think that would be enough to make you stop
 
If I thought about things too much, I'd never leave the house.

Best not to think about things that might happen, and control the things you can make happen. :)

Having said that, I can be a right nancy when it comes to riding a bike or snowboarding, tarmac and ice hurt! :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top