Falling off

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Luckylocalian

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Does anyone fall off as regularly as me? I went jumping the other day for a schooling thing albeit my horse is very green in terms of going out to play and was a little excited but he dumped me twice - the second time in particular was really nasty and I vaguely recall 999 being dialled before I managed to pull myself together - get some air in my lungs and calm everyone down! I wouldn't consider myself a bad rider - I have ridden all my life a wide variety of horses and have lessons on my boy every week but there have been many falls and even more near misses. Any advice for me?!?!?
 
Fortunately my falling off has got less over the years - it used to be a regular occurence! In the 2 1/2 years I've had my horse, I've only hit the deck once but there have been hundreds of close shaves!
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Are you nervous, at all? As when you tense up your seat isn't nearly as secure. A good thing to try to improve your balance would be to have some lunge lessons, either on your own horse or at a RS on one of their horses - it makes no difference which, really. That will really improve your seat and you'll stick like glue....
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I used to fall off Badger a lot. I think he's got a bit better behaved and I've got more used to sticking with him!
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don't worry, I'm sure you won't fall off lots forever!
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Have some lessons. I am a big scaredywhen it comes to jumping, but I have been having gridwork sessions and lessons and forcing myself to do it and we have got better.

After numerous times of falling off my old horse, I have develped a self preservation technique and a super glue bottom, so rarely fall off now.

Advice though. when approaching the jump, look past the jump, sit up tall keep your leg on and fold at the last minute. Almost letting the horse fold you, not you preemting the jump. Just remember to sit up sit up sit up.

Good luck
 
This might sound daft but I was falling off regulary until my friend was watching me and as I was about to get dumped she screamed 'SHOULDERS BACK' so loud I think the whole of the county had their shoulders back! Anyway this has really worked for me everytime I get 'that feeling that he's going to ping or even if I get wobbly I think 'shoulders back' and I stay on...I did say it might sound daft but it has def worked for me and I wouldn't say I was a bad rider before so you never know!!
Sods law I'll fall off and break my neck tonight after saying that now!
 
I wouldn't consider myself as a nervous rider - I got back on and jumped the whole course twice after those falls to make sure that the nerves wouldn't set in and get the better of me - I think Dawn F has got a point and I probably do need to really try and get my shoulders back a bit more!! My youngster is just really sharp and quite angular and has a nasty habit of rodeoing every so often (particularly when landing over something he might have found a bit spooky - almost like a celebration of survival!) and I just can not stay on half the time - it is not fun and it is a long way down from a 17'2!

Good to hear that other people have had spates of the same bad lunk tho - I don't feel quite so much like the world's worst rider now!

Anyone recommend any sticky bum jods?
 
I have phases, I have been riding for 31 years, but 30 of those at riding schools and when I was a kid I used to fall off very regularly, then it was barely once a year. Although in one lesson about 2yrs ago I got bucked off 3 times in one lesson!! Think I may be having a bad phase at the moment, fell off in April and again yesterday, if something goes a bit wrong I'm not wonderfully secure so definately going to have some lunge lessons.
 
I was pondering this the other day, as I had that moment (buck, spin 180 degrees, bolt) where I thought "I could fall now, or I could choose to stay on" and I stayed on. In the past, apart from the odd occasion as a small child, I've been lucky enough to fall off very infrequently (and the falls I did have were usually due to me throwing myself over jumps before the horse/pony - who remained calmly on the other side of the jump).

It made me wonder whether people who fall off more often perhaps "bail out" mentally too soon when they could actually salvage it. Has this ever occurred to anyone else? I thought it was a weird thought to have.

I know that's not going to be the case for the majority of riders as when a horse wants to put you on the floor, it will do one way or the other no matter how hard to try to sit tight!! I think for experienced riders the latter is true, as very good riders fall off plenty. But maybe less experienced people haven't yet learnt that they can save themselves, and so bail out. I think I did as a kid - I thought that if I lost my balance then I would fall so I might as well just give up!
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As for you falling off plenty, sounds more like a tricky horse than anything you're doing wrong!!

ETS: I posted that too soon, hadn't finished!

 
I know what you mean - I have a friend that is a gymnast and as soon as she feels herself unsettled she throws herself off and 9 times out of 10 lands lovely and dainty on her feet. Me on the other hand - I grip with everything I have got cause I know how much it hurts to fall that far off of him but he still manages to projectile throw me on a semi-regular basis and one time even threw me so hard he broke my stirrup leather in half which was BRAND NEW ON THAT MORNING!! No word of a lie - I am the human catapolt!
 
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I wouldn't consider myself as a nervous rider - I got back on and jumped the whole course twice after those falls to make sure that the nerves wouldn't set in and get the better of me - I think Dawn F has got a point and I probably do need to really try and get my shoulders back a bit more!! My youngster is just really sharp and quite angular and has a nasty habit of rodeoing every so often (particularly when landing over something he might have found a bit spooky - almost like a celebration of survival!) and I just can not stay on half the time - it is not fun and it is a long way down from a 17'2!

Good to hear that other people have had spates of the same bad lunk tho - I don't feel quite so much like the world's worst rider now!

Anyone recommend any sticky bum jods?

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It doesn't sound like you are nervous then! 17.2 is a long way down - I used to have a 17.3 who liked to drop his shoulder...
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I'd really recommend lunge lessons to improve your seat and help you stay on - it's amazing how much difference they can make. Other than that, leather seat breeches are pretty good
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Flipping heck! Incredible that he broke a new stirrup leather, his attempts to get you on the floor must be pretty violent!

Maybe your gymnast friend can show you how to bail daintily and then you can land on your feet looking calm and collected and thus avoid getting muddy when you hit the deck??!
 
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Flipping heck! Incredible that he broke a new stirrup leather, his attempts to get you on the floor must be pretty violent!

Maybe your gymnast friend can show you how to bail daintily and then you can land on your feet looking calm and collected and thus avoid getting muddy when you hit the deck??!

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Yes - maybe she could show you how to throw yourself off into a triple backwards somersault and land on your feet - you could use it as a party-piece at shows, then
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My aunt used to fall off a lot and she was a good rider - turned out she had a slight inner ear problem so her balance wasn't as good as it should be. It was so slight it wasn't noticed until she went to see a specialist after speaking to someone in A&E after an event who had the same prob (they'd both come off at the same fence too)!!!
 
I agree with BeckyD that some people cling on when they are going to fall off, and others just let go. Sometimes people that cling on get hurt more as they use every muscle in their body just trying to stay on.

If I think I'm going to fall off I just let myself fall (but don't let go of the reins), but my pony is only 14.1 and she only ever chucks me off in fields (very considerate of her). If I was riding on the roads I would probably cling on for longer but madam is an angel on the roads so that never happens - touch wood.
 
Um, have you given much thought to why you're falling off? I know that sounds like a really stupid question but there are so many answers . . .

Does your saddle fit you? Is your position correct? Is your horse managed/prepared/schooled properly for what he's doing? (It's not "normal" to be falling off a horse just because it's green.) Are YOU managed/prepared/schooled properly for what you're doing? Do you know how to spot the signs a problem is coming and what to do about it? Are you equipped to ride the horse the way it needs to be ridden in those moments?

I'm really not okay with people (or at least the people I'm responsible for) falling off regularly. It's not "okay" or "part of the process" especially for adults who have to get up and go to work the next day. It's not "fine" since you've not been seriously hurt yet - if you come off enough eventually your number will come up. It's not good for your horse to have it happening regularly - it's bad for his training and his confidence. And it's certainly not necessary! Usually a combination of a little more education and a slight change in approach/management/training is enough to put things back on a safe footing.

I'd get a good instructor to assess you, preferably in the situation where you're most likely to get in trouble. I'm sure whatever's going on is fixable - why take a risk you don't have to?
 
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