Falling off the right way?

Kat_Bath

Kat_Bath

Well-Known Member
Joined
7 December 2008
Messages
1,570
Visit site
Afternoon all,

The other day, I fell off, not too bad an injury at all but once I'd fallen I lay stock still and opened my eyes very slowly.

The person I was riding withs friend said 'were you taught not to roll? Because that's how I fall off, I don't roll.' I asked her why and she said that 'kids these days are taught not to roll in case of damage to spinal bits or snapping something'.

But now I read that at Badminton there will be a fall simulator; 'The latter should be of interest to many riders and trainers, as its objective is to teach riders how to fall off safely, rolling on landing as a gymnast might.' (2nd paragraph down here: http://www.badminton-horse.co.uk/latest_news/badminton_diary1.aspx).

So, is there a right way to fall off? Should you roll or should you just land?

To be honest, I don't think I could roll as when it happens, it happens so quickly that you don't think 'quick, roll'...

Any thoughts?

(Apologies if there's been a thread about this before but I don't have time to search as I have to go and tidy the books before I leave work in half an hour but thought I'd post this before I forgot! Crikey, what a long sentence! I work in a library by the way)!
 
not good falling on your feet lol you can break your leg
blush.gif
 
Not onto concrete as I did on Friday.

My problem is - I don't do it very often but when I do, my girl is only 13.1h so there isn't time to change anything.
 
well i fell of twice today and it hurt each time, felt very embaressed and i now have a swollen and painful foot!

first i landed on my bum. . . htne i landed on my back i couldnt roll, but never do if i could, i have never been taught that. . .hmmm
 
never land on your feet! i saw a girl do it once and heard her leg break.. ouch!! i emr just tend to fall off... im quite good at it now
grin.gif
 
The right way to land is on something soft!!

Have broken my hip hitting hard ground and my jaw previously hitting the horses hoof on the way down.

Always find that it happens too fast to do anything about it.

Helps if you've got a horse that saves you. My ponio fell in woods yesterday but managed to recover her feet before we both hit the ground. Good girl !!
 
[ QUOTE ]
I fall off so often I've become rather good at landing on my feet

[/ QUOTE ]

You should actually avoid doing that at all costs - as everyone else has said you can break your leg, but it is also seriously dangerous for your back
crazy.gif

I know of someone that landed on their feet when they fell, and the impact of the fall set shots up her spine. She couldn't ride for ages and the doctors have said riding now is a huge risk - if she falls of awkwardly again there's a huge chance she will be completely paralised.
crazy.gif
 
Many moons ago when I point-to-pointed the boy jockeys clubbed together at the end of the season and got me a prize for being the best girl faller offer
grin.gif
blush.gif
cos I was good at landing and rolling. Most girlies stick their arms out to save themselves and break their wrists and/or collar bones.

Have to say though, it is far easier to roll when you get fired off at speed than, say, if the horse trips or slips for example.

Nowadays I just seem to hit the floor with a loud thud.
blush.gif
and a lot of cussing.
wink.gif
 
Most of the time it all happens very quickly and I doubt I can plan it at all, but I know what people mean by rolling. If you fall off just right, it's better to stay relaxed and tucked in because then you do a somersault and roll over. The alternative would be to land heavy and take all the impact on the point of landing. Someone remind me all of this next time I am on the way out!
 
i was taught to fall, and it has stood me in good stead. however, there's always a huge amount of luck involved. i've been sent into orbit and landed on my feet a few times, most of the time totally unhurt, but once i blew my right knee to pieces as i landed - no idea how or why. i think it is better to roll if you can because it gets rid of some of the energy, rather than going splat. also, as said above, if you tuck rather than sticking your arms out to try to save yourself, you are less likely to break collarbones etc.
maybe we need mechanical bucking broncos with gym mats all round, to practise falling off!
 
Urgh, I saw my aunt break her leg landing on her feet. She was yelling at my uncle to call an ambulance his response "you look fine, I can see you standing..." The bone was sticking out through her jods, it was awful, she was in hospital for weeks
blush.gif


Anywhooo, I roll sometimes, if I think I'm going to get trampled, otherwise I lie there planning revenge
grin.gif
 
When I fell off the other day I landed on my hip and just fell flat onto my face. My lovely "friends" couldnt stop laughing as they both knew it was the patch in which the ponies did their poos...fortunately I landed perfectly and although there was one on either side of my face my entire body was clean! I wasn't hurt either so I'm sure that will be a tale retold to the entire horse community I know.
 
i'm so glad this post was made because i was only lying in bed the other night thinking of how to fall (i'm weird i know) And i was thinknig back to the times when i have fallen off and i think i do tend to stick my arms and hands out to help me break my fall but then i was thinking that if i do that i'm probably gonna break my wrist etc.

But i'm confused as to how you fall with arms tucked in? Would you not break your shoulder? Or fall splat on your face lol. Arghh i think we do all need gym mats and a bucking bronco what someone else said lol.
 
I have only ever fallen...successfully?...as in not too painfully. But although I have been told to fall correctly when falling I have found there isn't very much time to get yourself into the "corrrect" position. It would be great to know that every time you fell you could follow a practiced formula and not get hurt, but I don't think it would work.
 
When ever I have fallen off I have exhaled, relaxed my body and rolled - with my hands against my chest. Never sticking a limb out - as I saw my wee sis snap her wrist doing that, and also had a riding instructor who landed on her feet, only to badly break both her ankles.

I was told to breathe out so that when you hit the ground the shock brings air into your lungs, and that if you fall with a huge breathe in you your more likely to be winded, and then you cant breathe out - and this did happen to me once and it was terrifying.
 
My children also do judo and they spend a large proportion of every lesson learning how to break fall (ie roll). It isn't as easy as just doing a 'roll' - they are taught not to roll over their heads as that could injure the spine and how to distribute energy by slapping the mat as they land etc. The problem is that you can damage yourself by rolling in the wrong way.

Whenever I fall off I don't have time to think about what to do and it becomes instinctive. Having said that the only time I hurt myself was when the horse fell on me and smashed my foot.
 
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/sh...rue#Post4182786

And yes I was taught to fall off at a very young age, I do roll if I fall off at speed. If it's more of a tumble I just make myself into a little ball and try not to tense. Wearing a body protector all the time when I ride has given me lots of confidence just to enjoy the fall and not worry about hurting! if I didn't have body armour on i reckon I would end up with sore ribs or a sore back
smirk.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
Ive learnt to fall on my back over the years..got quite good at it, and its the safest way, nice a flat so you dont break any bones

[/ QUOTE ]

Doesn't that increase risk of back damage? Having broken my back I would rather have a broken arm or wrist any day! (I am fully recovered now, except for the titanium rods...)
 
I generally land on my feet or on my arse, and never hurt myself worse than a few bruises. I don't know if it makes a difference but I did gymnastics for 5 years when I was younger and when I do land on my feet I always bend my knees which absorbs the impact.
 
I learned to ride by the falling off method !! The little pony I learned on chucked me off about every 15 minutes. As soon as I learned to stay on his bucks, he dropped a shoulder and so on. I can honestly say I never had more than a bruise and some stiff muscles though. Even when I got knocked off my bike on the road I just rolled up and rolled away. The secret is to stay relaxed, keep arms and legs tucked in loosely and try to land on the area between your shoulder and elbow, and side of the upper leg. Most people instinctively stick an arm out which leads to broken collar bones and wrists. A friend landed on his feet in a sand school from a walking horse - shattered his ankle so badly he nearly had to have his foot amputated.
 
I never have time to ponder "do I roll?", "do I not roll?" "do I land with a thwack like a bag of wet washing?"

I always think after you reach a certain level of riding you are 'thrown' rather than 'fall off'. Although if you come off at walk (as I have done
blush.gif
) it is a little hard to pass it off as 'thrown'.
grin.gif
laugh.gif
cool.gif
 
All I know is last time i fell off i landed on my ar*e and fractured my coccyx so that's definitely no the right way... but then the time before that I (stupidly) put my hands out to break my fall and fractured my little finger..... I'm hoping next time I get it right!
grin.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
I always think after you reach a certain level of riding you are 'thrown' rather than 'fall off'.

[/ QUOTE ]

I like this theory!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top