Bailing out

[Shantara]

Forgot who said it, but is this what you mean by leg over the neck?
(first clip) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6odQhIQx1Ws

...also, he has his shirt off sometimes...

 

[Polo*Pony]

I agree with this ..... way I was taught too .......and to push away using the horses shoulder so not to roll under the horse

I find it really interesting that some people have been taught how to fall, and wish I had too! I think it would get rid of my fear of dismounting at speed - I'm so afraid of the pain! Like others have said, I can imagine broken ankles etc.! I'm lucky in that where I ride the horses will eventually have to stop and generally somewhere safe, so it really is a case of just waiting it out.

I was always taught to "ride it out" - one of mine used to be a real bronco when I was only young, but getting off was never an option. I think my instructor was concerned that it would teach him to continue broncing in order to get out of work. He only bolted a few times... But again, I was told to sit it out - relax as much as I could and wait for him to regain enough sense for steering etc. to return. I don't know how I'd react if we were heading for certain danger though (e.g. main road) - only ever happened in fields.


Have chosen to jump off only once, and I'm not sure that counts really as we were actually stationary! Horse got in a tangle by stopping before the second part of a double, I felt him deliberate and then make his mind up to 'go' anyway - I had no doubt that he would cat leap it from a standstill and I would have come off as it was too high and wide for me to go with him when I was already behind the movement. Didn't want to fall off and make the fence even more scary! So got off and was then able to praise him loudly and calmly when he jumped.


ETS: having thought about this a bit further... Staying on a broncing horse when you do it every day is one thing. Now that they are all nicely trained (bronco turned into the best horse I've ever known - taught lots of young children to ride! ) and real broncos are a distant memory, I don't think I would stay on a horse that bucks. Now I'm older and a bit wiser about the risks I think I would just get off! (Also, I'm very fond of my own horse... More inclined to want to stay with him!)

 

[JFTDWS]

Er,You start rolling and eventualy you stop.I would be worried if my head was facing back and my feet forwardIncidentaly a lot of stunt riders use this method. Think about westrerns ,Indian gets shot , lies back and falls off side of horse.

Sorry didn't explain that well. What I mean is, you're rolling away from the horse, yes? (not in the direction or against the direction the horse is travelling - unless I misunderstand!) So your head is pointing either in the direction the horse has come from, or in hte direction the horse is going.

So my method, you roll off and your head is pointing to where the horse is going and your feet the direction they've come.

However, if you mean the "lean right back and roll off" method - like the indian getting shot - you can ignore everything I'm rambling on about as I've actually done that method too (playing around in my youth) and it's quite easy. I had understood your method was more like a jockey "leap" off a horse - swinging the leg over the pommel whilst remaining reasonably upright...

 

[JFTDWS]

Forgot who said it, but is this what you mean by leg over the neck?
(first clip) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6odQhIQx1Ws

...also, he has his shirt off sometimes...

I've done that method, both intentionally and unintentionally - works well

 

[Mike007]

Forgot who said it, but is this what you mean by leg over the neck?
(first clip) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6odQhIQx1Ws

...also, he has his shirt off sometimes...

Not quite, it starts the same but since he is wearing a metal dustbin on his head,the last thing he wants to do is tuck and roll so he just slides on his back.

 

[Mike007]

However, if you mean the "lean right back and roll off" method - like the indian getting shot - you can ignore everything I'm rambling on about as I've actually done that method too (playing around in my youth) and it's quite easy. IQU had understood your method was more like a jockey "leap" off a horse - swinging the leg over the pommel whilst remaining reasonably upright...[/OTE]

OMG leap off the horse uprightNo way hosey. Definately "no 3 shot indian ,me"

 

[JFTDWS]

OMG leap off the horse uprightNo way hosey. Definately "no 3 shot indian ,me"

In which case, I completely understand the logic of your method and renounce my previous belief that you were mad as a hatter and proposing we jump off upright

I will also say though, the last time I used your method, I bloody well hurt my shoulder It was completely unintentional though, so what do you expect

 

[Foxhunter49]

This is one of the disadvantages of people not playing gymkhana games anymore!

I was taught to stay on but through playing games we also learnt to jump off at a gallop. The art is to throw your leg clear, twist as you go down so you are facing the same direction as the horse and land running. Often the shock of the rider leaving the saddle and then being pulled in the mouth from on the ground is enough to shock the horse into slowing enough to be able to gain control from on the ground.

Watch the kids doing Prince Phillip Cup on Youtube and you will see what I mean!

I would never throw my leg over the horses neck to get off, if he raises his head there is only one way to go and that is backwards.

As for learning to fall, that is really a load of rubbish! Think about it, by leaning forward and trying to put your arms around a horse's neck, especially if it is bucking, is nigh impossible and doing so when a horse is hooking off with you is not going to allow you to twist and land running.

It is easy enough to learn, try it at the walk, then trot and then canter though it is much more fun when you are doing it playing gymkhana games!

 

[Keimanp]

I've never bailed out and all those that I know who have came away with injuries. Being taught the 'best' way to bail is possibly a good idea.

I was always taught to kick on and encourage for a while and then try and ask for a turn/reduction in speed as it was more likely to happen. I've only been bolted with the once (about 11 years ago) and the initial reaction was to pull up/turn straight away and go stiff rather than ride the horse. As soon as I started to ride forwards he came back to me and I got him to slow down (it either worked or he wasn't fit enough to keep going!). We were lucky it was on the farmland of the farm we were livery at, at the time and it is just open fields for miles, no ditches or hedges just unploughed devides.

If I was faced with a cliff/busy road/ reservoir and had abosolutely no chance of stopping or turning I would probably bail out at the very last minute. (heroic style, sliding accross the floor and over the cliff edge, managing to grab the only tuft of loose grass preventing me plumetting into the sand dunes some 4 feet below )

 

[Mike007]

In which case, I completely understand the logic of your method and renounce my previous belief that you were mad as a hatter and proposing we jump off upright

I will also say though, the last time I used your method, I bloody well hurt my shoulder It was completely unintentional though, so what do you expect

Dont expect sympathy, The last time I used it at full speed, I was doing fine untill the 25 horses behind me ,galloped over me. Bloody ouch.....

 

[JFTDWS]

Dont expect sympathy, The last time I used it at full speed, I was doing fine untill the 25 horses behind me ,galloped over me. Bloody ouch.....

I concede - ow! Hunting or racing? Was bad enough being bucked over a pony's head and galloped over when I was a kid - and that was just one of the devils!

 

[Mike007]

I concede - ow! Hunting or racing? Was bad enough being bucked over a pony's head and galloped over when I was a kid - and that was just one of the devils!

Racing, dont think I would have survived 25 clod hopping ID hunters.

 

[JFTDWS]

Racing, dont think I would have survived 25 clod hopping ID hunters.

haha maybe not

 

[LaurenM]

My bailing attempts have all been unsuccessful so prefer to stay on now! One attempt involved bailing near the muck heap & the other in the manege which resulted in a spinal compression fracture :/

I'd love to learn how to fall off correctly. My mare's best/most balanced gait is her gallop so she's a lot easier to stay on than the other two horses I fell off!

 

[Mike007]

My bailing attempts have all been unsuccessful so prefer to stay on now! One attempt involved bailing near the muck heap & the other in the manege which resulted in a spinal compression fracture :/

I'd love to learn how to fall off correctly. My mare's best/most balanced gait is her gallop so she's a lot easier to stay on than the other two horses I fell off!

Did anyone say you didnt get hurt? Spinal compression ,that puts you in good company with anyone who has had to use an ejector seat from a fast jet.

 

[Wagtail]

The thread about the kids on bolting ponies got me thinking about bailing out.

Is this something you were taught? I've been around horses for a very long time and have always been taught/taught others to hang on for grim death. I was bolted with, bareback at age 10 and screamed my head off but did manage to stop. Lesson learned it was not a good tactic and that being a mere passenger was not a good idea.

From then the army taught me to ride, on ponies that grown men struggled to control but bailing was never an option. (nor screaming for that matter) You stayed on and learnt to stop the little buggers and to recognise the signs that you were gonna be carted and did something about it before it happened.

I know that sometimes thing happen quickly and have potentially dangerous consequences but surely you are safer on top?

I nearly started a thread on exactly this. I could never bail out as my instincts just make me cling on for dear life. I know I could never throw myself from a bolting horse. It always amazes me when people say they have bailed out.

 

[Toffee44]

Ive bailed twice both on rearers that went over one was Samba, I kept hold of the reins, she crashed down on one shoulder on me, thankfully she learnt her lesson and hasnt reared since.

 

[LaurenM]

Don't know if I used the correct terminology - all I know is that it hurt & that I broke my L1! I'll never land on my bum again!

 

[SophieLouBee]

Until grim death is what I was taught.

We were taught how to fall and what to do when you landed, curl up in a ball and cry, I mean curl up in a ball and then get back up when the horse was away from you...but we were always encouraged to stay on. I have an amazing seat & sticky bum because of this, I hardly ever fall off, which is a miracle considering my job lol!

 

[CorvusCorax]

I've bailed out, the mare was heading for a sharp/steep drop and the saddle was slipping.
I just kind of jumped/slid out the side door but I had a split second to make the decision.
She ran most of the way home across two main roads before being caught, saddle underneath her and a bit lame.
Still feel bad about it but I am an only child and have a keen sense of self preservation and she was not badly hurt. Flame away

 

[tazzle]

yes it does not always go according to plan does it , the bucking towards the trees episode did not fit in well with anything other than let go and saill *cough * gracefully to the side ...... making every effort to relax / try and curl / roll rather than try to stick limbs out. ( I remembered the time I did that and ended up with broken digits ).


With my dodgy knee dismounts even of the planned variety these days are a slow process ..... hence my enthusiasm for avoiding circumstances that might lead to such "leaving" by my horse

 

[muddygreymare]

I always try to hang on for dear life, but if I feel it is safer to bail, I will do so! Luckily only had to do it once though!

 

[tazzle]

It always amazes me when people say they have bailed out

I suppose if it looks like the lesser of two evils ....... thinking that where you are heading is sure death and baling out perhaps surviving, bit like jumping from a burning house ?

It is, as always, a judgement call that depends on individuals riding ability, what the horse is bolting towards and whether you think you stand any chance of stopping it.

 

[katastrophykat]

Ive thought about it... And tried once but I just can't do it!! The time I tried I was in a school on a bolter (owner didn't think to mention that when she put me up with it in a snaffle...) and it was heading towards a fence with an electric fence 6' past it... I knew we'd come down through the electric, still couldn't bloody bail!! We parted company last minute and I was chucked through the fence anyway.

I have once stepped off my old mare when she decided to be a prat- she was a napper and went up one day over a wire fence (partially intact) and came down through it. The more she went up and pulled back the tighter the wire got and I was increasingly aware that we were heading for a backflip, either with her strength or if the fence gave way. I stood clear, went to the front and got out of the way. Thankfully she stopped as the wire gave, worse injury to her was a bitten lip!

If I bailed from the current pony I wouldn't see him for dust, and the roads around here are far too busy to let him make his way home... He's worth far too much to me (took a year to find him!) and the bugger wont catch when he's worried!

 

[cob&onion]

Have only been bolted with once. Horrible experience. Worst thing is not being in control and knowing horse is not control either!

Have had horses running away and nothing to do with bolting, different experience entirely.

^^ true!!

 

[Lolo]

I've done both clinging on and bailing.

My clinging skills eventually gave out and I was flung into a signpost outside a pub after 4 miles of flat out gallop. I have never been more scared- I was 10 or so, and my horse was going blindly at full tilt and we had several near misses with cyclists/ pedestrians and also one lady on her horse. If we'd met a car, we would have been so screwed. When I came off, I was badly winded and terrified but equally it was such a relief not to have to hold on any more...

When I bailed, my horse spooked as I let go and I ended up underneath him and was quite bruised and battered- can't believe I got away with only bruising, as I was very badly winded and terrified the St. Johns man by lying very still trying to work out if I'd broken anything... It was the most painful fall I've ever had and yet I would bail again- my horse was going to have to go up a step and then down a double step to get to where he always went when he was scared (home, in this case the lorry) and I didn't want to unbalance him/ go down with him when he did it!

But I wouldn't bail again unless it was a similar circumstance. Always hang on for grim death!

 

[lula]

I wish it was commonplace to teach people the correct way to fall off. For better or worse I always hang on because I actually find the thought of bailing out more scary (irrational thinking that it will hurt more or something!)

ditto!

never bailed out and never seriously considered it for same reason..and mostly because i wanted to make sure the horse pulled up safely mostly because the ones i rode were never mine, although, In my chequered career riding some nuts bought straight from reading sales out of racing yards my old boss used to leg muggins here up on to 5 minutes after they'd come off the lorry -i sure as hell wanted to with a few of them!

as has been sensibly suggested, being taught how to make an emergency exit out the side door safely without breaking your silly head open would be an excellent idea. wish i had that skill.

i think as you get older, keeping your bones in one piece gets the better of youthful bravery. Certainly has for me!

 

[dreamcometrue]

I have always stuck on grimly, preferring to take my chances with the horse than to make a painful decision.

One thing though, reading all these replies has made me decide to dig out my BP from the back of the shed.

 

[WombatStew]

I've only ever bailed out once, but really glad I did. I was riding a friends ex racer when she took off and had a bucking fit I dismounted in the traditional way but at speed landed on my feet breaking both ankles, dislocating an ankle and breaking my leg which are now held together with lots of bits metal! So glad I bailed as I was told by doctors if I had been thrown and landed on my head/neck/back it would have been a very different story.

 

[SpruceRI]

Having said that, i also do mounted games so vaulting off at a very fast canter is pretty standard so if i did end up in a situation it was better to be off i wouldnt be worried about it.

I don't think I'm physically able to throw myself off! Usually, if something awful happens I'm either so busy fighting to gain control, or I'm hanging off and past the point of no return anyway!

But reading your post Overtherainbow - makes me wonder whether I should've done some mounted games in my youth, then I might be a bit more accustomed to 'getting my leg over' ;-) and landing feet first!!