Frangible pins on XC fences.. Burghley in particular!

[Foxfolly]

ALSO IN CR!

I saw a number of these on fences at burghley.

But watching the highlights on sun saw a horse crumple onto a fence at the waterloo rails and the pin didn't break, fortunately the horse didn't go over the fence and slipped back down it but the angle at which he crumpled I was very surpised that it didn't go!

Now to me they seeem to be positioned in the face of a fence with an upright behind the rail that is on the frangible pin.

Surely this means that if the horse hits the fence quite straight on the impact will not be downwards and therefore not break the pin. ... If the impact is straight when the horse has taken off and is in the air, then this is the type that can become a rotational....

This made me think about the falls I saw at the first mushroom which were mostly a rotational type falls caused by legs left on the fence at varying degrees of severity and although I know you couldn't use a pin on that type of fence IMO if they had been a frangible type fence I think the pin probably wouldn't have broken on those either due to the angle of impact!

Which also made me think about the fatal fall at Hartpury where the pin didn't break and the people who described the fall stated that the horse didn't hit the fence particularly hard!

My thoughts are that surely on a frangible pin it would be more effective if the supported rail didn't have an upright rail behind it? But then maybe there is a reason for this ie. it is because they would break too frequently??

Not sure I've explained it very well but what does everyone else think? Or does anyone know the official science behind it?

 

[Firewell]

sounds like you could be right.

I have this wild idea that accidents happen because fences are so more technical these days. Accidents dont happen as much team chasing or XC in the olden days, because I think fences were big (horredously scary to me!), more straightforward and required a bold galloping horse. It all used to be about huge drops, huge ditches and massive hedges, fences that require forward riding and forward thinking.

Nowadays its all about technicality and skinnys, fences that require a horse and ride IMO to back off a bit and the rider to showjump but intspersed with big 'flying fences' , which I think must interrupt the rythm?? Doing lots of skinnys, turning and jumping out of a canter to be accurate and then kicking onto a flying gallop for the next fence, it just doesnt sit right with me.

But then what do I know?? Im not keen on riding XC because its too risky now.

 

[Ziggy_]

I have no idea of the science, or how the pins work in general, just wanted to say that I have had a rotational fall at a show jump which didn't even fall down! The horse doesn't have to hit the fence hard at all to flip over.

 

[loopylucifer]

firewall i agree with you about being too technical maybe amove towards 'big and scary' would be better than samller and technical??