Falling off whilst out hacking.

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kateandluelue

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Evening all :)

So last week i had my first proper fall off newish horse. She Spooked and fell on me. Im not overly surprised as ive always known hacking she has a tendency to spook and usually manage to stay on and pull her up. Anyway after a trip to A&E luckily i was found to have soft tissue damage, no brake, and i have to wear a really attractive leg brace for a while.
Anyway im not too worried about getting back BUT what i am really worried about now is falling off again and her getting home safely. When i had my fall luckily we were 200 yard from field and she left me and ran home as the loyal horse she is :). Seeing her make it back to the yard was an instant relief and i was fine after that. But now i keep thinking in my head what if this happened away from the yard and she ran into the road and caused an accident or was hit or got lost. This is really worrying me; if she had stayed with me when i fell i wouldn't be quite so worried but she was off. Dont really know how to get my head around this? :(
 
One thing you can do is teaching her stop and wait if the rider is falling/has fallen off. It's generally not too hard and can be very convenient.
 
Right, an elderly lady who rode all over Dartmoor, often alone gave me a great tip. Always give your horse a treat when you get off. Now I don't like treating too much but my old horse always went home if I came off so I thought I'd give this a go with my youngster, treat every time, whether it's the end of a hack or getting off to dos gate etc... I've even jumped off in walk and laid straight down in front of him (very quiet roads where we are!) and he just dropped his head, looked at me quizzically and waited for the treat. I haven't had to test this yet, but the signs are good with the training! Good luck OP.
 
Sleipnir said:
One thing you can do is teaching her stop and wait if the rider is falling/has fallen off. It's generally not too hard and can be very convenient.
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This is a good idea. I have also taught my horse that the command 'off' means I am about to get off. On this command he come to an instant halt - from whatever pace - until I dismount and the horse gets a treat so it tends to stick with me.

If it is a worry to you, practice and train for the response you want then there is a better chance of it going OK. So in your situation, you had probably never got off a horse in the middle of a hack, so it probably disorientated him, especially if he was slightly panicked.. If you practice getting off in all sorts of situations - well and clumsily, in the school and then out on a hack - and expect the horse to wait, then it probably has a better chance of happening when things start to go wrong! Last thought, having got off, also practise getting on in random places and expecting the horse to stand still - again practice makes perfect when you need it!
 
As you were so close to home it is not surprising that she ran home. She spooked, you both fell, it frightened her. If it happened much further from home she would probably stay with you.

I have a little bag attached to my saddle which contains all the horse id and contact numbers, should I fall off and horse disappears, you can get these off ebay.
 
Make sure you have a tag attached to you too, in case you are knocked out. You could attach one to your hat harness. Also your horses one should be attached to the saddle, not bridle in case you pull that off with you when you come off. I use brightly coloured key tags but I gather you can get ones designed for purpose. You may find though that if you fell off further from home she may not leave you, or at least not run all the way home on her own.
 
I have similar worries based on where my boy would go if I did come off (see my "homing instinct" thread). As you say she is still new-ish, going with another rider/walker might be wise and would give her more confidence so less risk of spooks. And if the worst happens then having some id and Hi viz on her will reduce the risk of harm to her if she decides to leg it. Insurance "just in case" is sensible, as you would be liable if she caused an incident involving someone else. We can never guarantee a "quiet hack" will go smoothly and safely, we just have to judge how best to reduce risks whilst still having fun (after all we do this horsey thing for enjoyment!), so try not to overthink the what-ifs..., I hope your leg heals quickly so you can get back in the saddle, :). I'd be interested to know how you train them not to run off after you part company, sounds a good idea!
 
kateandluelue said:
equi: No she hasnt but thats a good idea thankyou!

Sleipnir: How do i teach her that?
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You will either have to brave practising falling off or doing emergency dismounts, have a long rope attached to her bridle (don't let go). And a large quantity of her favourite treats.

Fall off/dismount, bring her close to you and reward. Repeat, repeat, repeat at faster speeds until you can let go and she returns to you.

Evidently the dessert Arabs teach their horses this way so they don't get left lying in the desert.

Glad you not too hurt.
 
I taught it by improvising - first, at a walk, then at faster gaits starting to fiddle and to "lose balance" in the saddle, and asking for a stop (topped with a special vocal cue I came up with for emergencies) at the same time. And, when off, I gave him a favorite treat. My gelding caught up to it very fast and now comes to a dead stop whenever I test it, starting to act as if losing balance or just jumping off while riding, and the vocal cue has worked perfectly on several occasions when he had major spooks whilst out hacking (a race car attacked us out of nowhere and he had a true bolt - not fun!!)
 
Apart from training her to wait for a treat and having ID attached to sale and bridle, please make sure you have Third party Insurance incase any accident does occur.
 
I have done this and someone very wise taught me to teach the horse to stop and wait..
Everytime you practise an emergency dismount or pretend fall then reward your horse. As Tnavas says above...it's how the Arabs do. Also dog tags on your saddle and bridle.
 
For future, I definitely am one with the ID idea - even a tag on her bridle with your mobile number and mobile number for the yard/emergency contact however please make sure that it's not one that would run if it got wet! I'm thinking of the little plastic tags with paper inserts that when wet can occasionally cause the ink to run.

If you carry a phone, make your contact details/emergency numbers your wallpaper/lock screen wallpaper - with iPhones they require a passcode to get into and if you are unable to give the passcode to someone or use your phone, someone who is able to even be able to get your name, address etc. without having to unlock it will find it a lot easier even if all they do is phone an ambulance.
 
sasquatch said:
For future, I definitely am one with the ID idea - even a tag on her bridle with your mobile number and mobile number for the yard/emergency contact however please make sure that it's not one that would run if it got wet! I'm thinking of the little plastic tags with paper inserts that when wet can occasionally cause the ink to run.

If you carry a phone, make your contact details/emergency numbers your wallpaper/lock screen wallpaper - with iPhones they require a passcode to get into and if you are unable to give the passcode to someone or use your phone, someone who is able to even be able to get your name, address etc. without having to unlock it will find it a lot easier even if all they do is phone an ambulance.
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I have dog ID tags engraved with name phone numbers on saddle & bridle
 
Spot_the_Risk said:
Right, an elderly lady who rode all over Dartmoor, often alone gave me a great tip. Always give your horse a treat when you get off. Now I don't like treating too much but my old horse always went home if I came off so I thought I'd give this a go with my youngster, treat every time, whether it's the end of a hack or getting off to dos gate etc... I've even jumped off in walk and laid straight down in front of him (very quiet roads where we are!) and he just dropped his head, looked at me quizzically and waited for the treat. I haven't had to test this yet, but the signs are good with the training! Good luck OP.
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With my youngsters I always played falling off :) So when I actually did fall off they simply look at me and wait for the piece of carrot :)
 
dalesponydiva said:
I have done this and someone very wise taught me to teach the horse to stop and wait..
Everytime you practise an emergency dismount or pretend fall then reward your horse. As Tnavas says above...it's how the Arabs do. Also dog tags on your saddle and bridle.
Click to expand...

^^^^ Like :)
 
Tnavas said:
You will either have to brave practising falling off or doing emergency dismounts, have a long rope attached to her bridle (don't let go). And a large quantity of her favourite treats.

Fall off/dismount, bring her close to you and reward. Repeat, repeat, repeat at faster speeds until you can let go and she returns to you.

Evidently the dessert Arabs teach their horses this way so they don't get left lying in the desert.

Glad you not too hurt.
Click to expand...

I train mine from a halt, hands around neck.....s l i d e....off slowly and 'fall' to the ground...lie there and offer treat :) Progress to a walk and you will find the pony (especially Arabs who are so intelligent :) ) stops before you are even half way out of the saddle :)
 
You can teach your horse to wait by jumping off mid walk (in a safe enclosed area) and giving your horse a treat. Repeat till your horse doesn't look alarmed and looks for a treat. Then move onto jumping off mid trot. Soon your horse will be stopping as soon as he feels you become unseated. Practice at a walk out hacking to reinforce your training.
 
Thankyou for all the fab replies i will definately get ID tags and i will practice falling off, i thinks this will give me much more confidence if i can crack it so i know she wouldnt run off :)
 
Mine legged it having ditched me at the gallop. Luckily I had come out the track way rather than road way so that's where he headed. Amazingly I saw him stop at a ditch (was pretty sure he'd gallop straight into it!) so I dragged my battered self to within 200m of him and called to him and he came cantering over. So teaching them to come to call/whistle is pretty handy! (Or it may have been comete coincidence that he came back to me, but it's made me reinforce the come to whistle training).
 
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