Happy gentle falling off stories please!

canteron

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 October 2008
Messages
3,772
Location
Cloud Cockoo Land
Visit site
We always hear about the horrific falling off stories (my last 2 were not fun), but I want to convince my brain that most falls only involve a small bruise, if that! So if you have any sweet, not very dramatic or interesting falling off stories, please share ?
 

asmp

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 March 2010
Messages
4,123
Visit site
My horse did a splat at something in the hedge while we were trotting - I found myself standing next to his neck with my air jacket still attached!

Daughter once came off 5 times in one lesson. She had a naughty pony who learnt to drop his shoulder after a jump to send her out the side door.
 
Joined
28 February 2011
Messages
16,451
Visit site
Too many to count!

Out on Big Bucketheed trotting on a loose rein down the gallop 10yards away from pulling up and heading in a dear jumped out of the hedge and across the gallop in front of us. Cargo spun and his front feet went up and over the other side of the banking, I came off v. Slowly - the ones where you are going so slowly down its embarrassing but your too far gone to get back in the plate - so I went down his shoulder and landed on my knees on top of the banking. With how his body was it was like falling from a shetland as I was mostly to the floor from having his feet wither side of the banking. He was a good 17.2hh worth of horse too!
 

dixie

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 August 2005
Messages
4,870
Location
Devon
Visit site
Mmmm, I’m thinking very hard. There must be some ?

ah ! A few years ago my horse stopped at a small log in the XC warmup and I slid down over his neck in slow motion. I did actually laugh at I got up !
 

Maddie Moo

Well-Known Member
Joined
23 February 2021
Messages
974
Location
At a racecourse🏇🏻
Visit site
I did a forward roll down a pony’s neck when I was very young. We were trotting along, she slammed the brakes on and put her head down at the same time, I promptly did the forward roll down her neck and landed sat down in front of her ?
 

Wheresthehoofpick

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 October 2018
Messages
430
Visit site
Last week. My dog somehow fell out of the undergrowth upside down amd wrapped round horse's legs. Horse ejected said dog and me in the process.
From my point of view. Collected walk in a super outline ended in sitting in a puddle. Air vest inflated. Feeling rather foolish.
Hopped back on trotted off and over a jump.
Proving that 50 year old women can bounce - in an air vest at least.
 

Midlifecrisis

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 August 2014
Messages
4,216
Visit site
Trotting poles to a small cross..when my mare was learning where to put her feet and jump. She went onto her knees right after the cross pole and I slowly and gently tipped over her right shoulder onto the floor next to her.
 

Orangehorse

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 November 2005
Messages
13,204
Visit site
I've related this one before.

Had had a group lesson with 3 other riders and we were sitting on our horses standing in line in front of the instructor, who was summing up.

One second I was sitting on my horse's back, the next I was on my back on the arena looking up at the sky. I wondered "how did that happen?" Everyone else asked that question too. I was unhurt.
Turned out that one of the other riders had brought her small daughter along, who was given strict instructions to stay out of sight until the lesson ended. Which she had obeyed completely. As the lesson had ended, she stepped out from behind a jump wing, and I suppose my horse saw this apparition in pink appear from nowhere.

So I tell everyone that I have fallen off at the halt.
 
Joined
28 February 2011
Messages
16,451
Visit site
Got on a bit too over enthusiastically and went flying over the other side!

That reminds me of a really funny one at work ????

Lass walks up the mounting block (6 pallets stacked on top of each other) holding the horse by the buckle end of the rein. She climbs up as horse walks along the side of it, horse just keeps walking and so did she - straight off the end and into a heap on the floor ???? she got up and thought no one saw her, then she spotted me just about falling off of my own horse laughing ????? then, in her haste to make it right, grabbed the horse, went back to the start, climbed up the block, asked the horse to stop this time and as she hopped on the horse turned in a wee tight circle to the left as she had hold of that rein and she promptly went plunging back down to the ground the other side of the horse ???? at this point everyone saw what had happened and I really don't know how any of us managed to stay on our horses throughout our laughter! One of the ground crew came over and held the horse for her to get on it ??? horse was a total dude, she was just a fanny ???
 

crazyandme

Well-Known Member
Joined
23 July 2017
Messages
498
Location
Germany
Visit site
Horse suddenly spotted a treehouse he had been past many times and decided this was the time he was going to suddenly spin at it. I was just flung out of the side door with nothing worse than a wrenched thumb that I had caught on the reins as I fell!
Or as other posters, pony slammed the brakes on just before a jump and I very very slowly slid down her neck!
 

vmac66

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 April 2015
Messages
1,206
Location
north wales
Visit site
Came of my gelding a few years ago. No idea how it happened, one minute I was sitting on him the next minute I was sitting on the ground looking up at him still holding his reins. Never worked out what happened x
 

Cowpony

Well-Known Member
Joined
17 May 2013
Messages
2,953
Visit site
When I was 10 we were riding in parkland and always jumped the ditches around the pond. I was going in to jump when the pony stopped dead. I saw the trees upside down, then felt a jar under my feet and found that I had done a somersault and landed on my feet on the other side of the ditch, still holding the reins.
 

fiwen30

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 May 2014
Messages
2,990
Visit site
Hadn’t ridden for years, and got plopped up on the back of a friend’s 17hh dope on a rope for a sedate hack nannying one of her youngsters. Got back to the yard an hour later, and I was so out of practice that my thighs and knees were jelly. It’s a long way to the ground when you’re only 5’3, I lost my grip on the saddle on dismount, and then my jelly legs buckled upon finding the floor and I landed on my arse under the poor saintly horse.
 

crazyandme

Well-Known Member
Joined
23 July 2017
Messages
498
Location
Germany
Visit site
Got bucked off in the sea once in front of a party of school children on a nature study trip. At least it was a soft landing. I can still hear the laughter from the kids so embarassing!

Oooo you just reminded me of the time I fell off in the sea! I was just trotting along through the waves when suddenly the pony's head/neck disappeared under water and I got a dunking as well. She found a hole and tripped. Nothing worse aside from a very soggy ride back to the trailer
 

Pippity

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 February 2013
Messages
3,320
Location
Warrington
Visit site
On a beach ride/horseback swimming in Antigua, on a recently OTTB. I turned her towards the sea, gave a little squeeze, and she rapidly accelerated. I managed to stay on, even with her jumping the waves, until the water got between my arse and her back, at which point I was gently swept off. The most annoying thing is that I'd left my hatcam on the beach!

With the current horse, a pheasant erupted from between her front legs. She spun; I didn't! I landed with a lovely soft bump on a thick patch of grass. Horse was grazing a few yards away and came back to me as soon as I called her.
 

fiwen30

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 May 2014
Messages
2,990
Visit site
Just remembered when I was a teenager on a pony week at a riding school - the ride was lined up along the centre line waiting our turns to use the outside track, and all the ponies were chilled out, stretching down, resting a back hoof etc. My pony suddenly dips it’s head and neck to the floor, and the front half starts to lower down like a camel.

I panic, having heard stories about riders getting caught up in stirrups and crushed under rolling horses; and so instead of giving the pony a nudge, I down reins and throw myself out of the side door in a hugely dramatic act of self preservation, convinced that my lovely pony is trying to murder me. When I look back, the daft bugger has both front legs out in front of it, elbows practically on the floor, as it stretches and then shakes off like a dog, looking really confused as to where I’d got to.
 

Carrottom

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 February 2018
Messages
1,917
Visit site
Too many to mention: I'm really to old (late 50s) to keep falling off but twice in the last year I've hit the deck. Both times just doing pole work, horse has thrown a bit of a wobbler after hitting a pole and ended up cantering towards the arena fence with a very unbalanced rider, horse one way, rider in the sand ?
 

Keith_Beef

Novice equestrian, accomplished equichetrian
Joined
8 December 2017
Messages
11,376
Location
Seine et Oise, France
Visit site
As a childe out hacking, went into a small wood, down a banking to cross a v small stream pony stopped at stream but put his head down and I just slid off 0ver his head ??
I also once fell off when pony shook while stood still

A similar thing happened to me.

This must have been my first ever falI, pony trekking on holidays at about 11 years old. We'd been going at a slow walk and for some reason had come to a stop. The pony decided it was a good moment to get a snack so stuck it's front hooves under the bottom row of a wire fence, which was supposed to stop anybody from falling down the bank to the stream. Then it stuck its head under the fence too, making the whole front end of the animal lower than the saddle and tipping me off over it's shoulder. I ended up sitting on the ground down the bank, still holding the reins.
 
Last edited:

Griffin

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 September 2012
Messages
1,641
Visit site
The majority of times I have fallen off have been very gentle, usually sliding off the side because if I try to go without stirrups in sitting trot, things literally go sideways!

My favourite gentle fall was when I was 15 and was walking along a byway with huge ruts. For some reason, I slid off the side but the ruts were so deep, I landed on the edge of one and had only 'fallen' about six inches! I will never forget the withering look my riding instructor gave me as I climbed back on.
 

irishdraft

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 November 2009
Messages
1,724
Visit site
Too many to remember but most of my falls involve me rolling down the shoulder and sitting on the floor all very embarrassing but not serious x although I was tipped off headfirst into a hedge out hunting with only my boots sticking out everyone was too busy laughing & taking photos to help me out x
 

Skib

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 March 2011
Messages
2,055
Location
London
sites.google.com
On one of my early hacks we were going down a steepish hill. The true track wound from right to left but I didnt have complete control of my horse following the teacher and the mare I was riding walked head first straight down the hill. I had not yet been taught how to ride in mountains nor up and down slopes and I slid gently forward off the horse and landed on my feet by her head.
 
Top