Horse riders-a breed unto themselves?

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WoopsiiD

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Lots of posts on here lately coupled with a week off and plenty of Rav on Helicopter Heroes
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has got me thinking. I watched an episode of HH where one of the para's said he was happy to see his young son hooning round a race track but would hate to see him on a horse.
My sister is a para and has scooped up many an injured rider. It is, lets face it a sport/hobby with a high injury/death rate. By getting on a horse we are potentially putting our lives at risk.
So why do we do it?
Have horse riders got a 'strange' sense of danger?
Why do we get back on?
Why don't we wrap ourselves in bubble wrap?
Or are other people just over reacting?
Discuss............
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It isn't that dangerous, yes people break things but I don't know anyone personally that has ever had a permanent injury from riding. Most painful injury I've ever had was falling down the stairs at home so my principle is that you might as well ride.
 
You could live life saying what if...
What if next time I drive my car I get in a fatal accident.
Next time I cross a road I get hit by a bus.
Next time I eat out, I get food poisoning and die.

Yes horse riding is a risk, but it's a calculated risk. Take precautions to limit the risks where possible (riding a horse within your capabilities, hard hat, safety wear, reflective gear out on the roads etc) Yes, horses are horses and accidents happen, but if you limit the chances of this where possible, the fun and positives outweigh to me the risk that I may one day fall off and hurt myself/get killed. (Tho I do try not to think about the last thought too hard it has to be said!
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I think what I'm trying to get at is if we thought too much about everything we do, we'd never leave the house!
 
Agree Divasmum.
I think I personally would take the risk just for the buzz and the pleasure of a gallop across a field/beach then to sit safely on my sofa!
I'm sure someone on here has something in their signature about it being the closest thing to flying without wings.
 
I once offered Michael Rutter a ride on my coloured plod cob he said "no way its too dangerous" This from a man who goes round corners at over 100mph with his knee on the tarmac
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The vast majority of accidents ive seen is because people have been riding horses they arent experienced enough to ride. They have come out of a riding school and bought big flashy warmbloods fed them up to the hilt and then they wonder they get thrown off.
I know there can be silly accidents like a spook at something unforeseen but if your sensible about your abilities i think it is reasonably safe.
 
One of our friends who is an AI and competes BSJA and quite a high level, was out hunting last November, when her horse tripped on the moor. She went out the front door and had to be air lifted to hospital. She dislocated her shoulder, broke her arm, several ribs and, worse, her back. She has had several operations and recently had a clot on her lungs which was related to the injuries she sustained. She struggles with breathing and is not very mobile... BUT she can't wait to get back on a horse. She's been told she'll probably never ride again.

I don't really know how to answer your OP besides that, to be honest. I'm quite a nervous rider as I think too deeply about the dangers involved (and was involved in a road accident with my horse about 5 years ago).
 
My mother fractured her neck when I was child coming off a horse (the whole family watched it happen and no-one could do anything about it). She was very lucky that she was neither killed or paralysed. I stopped riding shortly afterwards as my parents thought it too dangerous and didn't take it up again until my late 20s but it was the best thing I have ever done.

It is a calculated risk, I have seen the repercussions of a serious accident first hand but I am prepared to take that risk for everything else I get back from it. It is my escape from reality, it balances me, my horses give back far more than I can ever repay them for plus I get my regular adrenaline rush which is a must!
 
There are so many things that could injure you in life. Sure, some more than others, but what's the point if you're going to back away from the things that make life interesting and exciting. You only live once, make the most of it and do the things you love hehe!
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I feel well qualified to comment on this, as I've lost a relative in a sporting accident.

Horse riding is the most dangerous sport, skiing is second and motor-racing third, above rugby, boxing, martial arts, rock climbing, white water rafting etc.

BUT risk sports are enjoyable, largely because of the element of risk. You could live a sheltered closeted life avoid all risks but the biggest cause of A&E attendances is slippers! So you could still break your neck if you never left the house!

I know how much pleasure riding gives me, and how much pleasure mountaineering gave my relative (and on a much smaller scale of mountain me too). I know with hindsight that it was incredibly painful to lose someone close at a young age BUT they had a full and enjoyable life and died doing something that they loved. Better that than of some slow disease having been careful all your life but not enjoyed yourself.

I read an interview a few years ago with the husband of the climber Alison Hargreaves who was killed on K2 and he was philosophical about the risks his wife took for the love of her sport and was not bitter despite being left a single dad.
 
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The vast majority of accidents ive seen is because people have been riding horses they arent experienced enough to ride. They have come out of a riding school and bought big flashy warmbloods fed them up to the hilt and then they wonder they get thrown off.

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Yes but then I have fallen off after getting caught on a tree
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I do agree with you to some extent but then people also think that a cob will be safe as their first horse. D has a rather impressive buck and my previous horse Spot had a knack of dropping his shoulder like an evil pony.
 
Because horse riding is the most enjoyable thing in my life, they are amazing creatures and if I were to be injured badly touch wood or worse then Id like it to be doing something I love than something trivial having led a sheltered life.
I am a cautious rider and take precautions where necessary but nothing would stop me doing the thing I love most!
 
Oh and my hubby is very risk averse generally but loves to ride. Although he doesn't jump often, and is a little nervous on strange horses.
 
I totally understand your friend. Although on a much smaller scale I hurt my knee badly skiing, another dangerous sport. Through treatment my goal was to get back on my horse so that I could event, I even had the actual competition lined up. The physios knew the deadline and worked towards this. I was allowed to compete on set date but then had to stop for further treatment and promise to be on my best behaviour! Whilst I was behaving like a small child I was actually 40 so I don't think the years make you anymore sensible or risk adverse.
 
My Dad said "Do dangerous things, carefully" and on that basis I have only had one serious accident in 30 years of riding, but an awful lot of adrenaline Highs, for which I am very grateful!.
my Dad was still Caving, Hang gliding, Diving, and even Bungy jumping into his late 60s early 70`s but I never managed to get him on a horse. That, I think was a "Bridge too Far" even with his philosophical approach.
Horse riding is the most dangerous sport no doubt about it, just look at the number of deaths in eventing and RTAs, not including all the silly little mistakes people make with their horses, that end in an untimely death.
I knew of a girl who whilst riding her sensible 20 y.o mare in the S/school stopped to chat to a friend, and took off her hat 'cos it was hot. 5 mins later she was dead, old mare spooked and she fell off hitting her head on a telegraph pole, - was dead before she hit the ground.
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My friend broke her ankle out runnin the other day and is in a cast for 6 weeks. A girl at work broke her wrist from slipping on leaves when out walking. My own father died at 52 after being overweight, havin late onset diabetes, heart disease, etc - all matters which would probably have been improved had he done a sport such as riding to keep him healthy.

OTOH I fell off my new horse again after a violent spook 3 hours ago. I am fine. Although I don't believe in taking uncalculated risks, and I would sell a horse I kept having real problems with.
 
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LOL M_G I have had many a biking friend turn down my offer to have a sit on.
'You know where you are with a bike' is the usual comment.
Picolenicole-your dad has it spot on with that comment!

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Some asked me the other day do you like motor bikes and I said no theyre to dangerous and they said its funny that People who horse ride are nervous of bikes and visa versa. My brothers are the same
 
like many others it is a dangerous sport - we are just way too dedicated and obsessed that the danger part gets lost and the adrenaline takes over
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i agree though we must be mad. i was talking to my yo the other day that it is strange to be sitting on a more or less wild animal, however hard we train them they still have evolved instincts
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Yes you can fall off horse but i had a car accident and was so lucky not to have been killed so there is risk with any thing in life my saying now is what wil be will be
 
I have ridden for over 40 years and owned horses for almost as long. In all that time I have fallen off many times (sometimes spectacularly) and the most serious riding injury I have ever sustained was a torn back muscle, which stopped me walking properly for over a week. I didn't bother getting medical advice because I was on holiday from work and perhaps I should have because several years later I needed chiro and have a dodgy back almost permanently.
However crossing our yard to get a leadrope about 2 years ago I slipped and broke my ankle, no horse was actually involved and that was by far the worst injury I have ever sustained in all those years. Just shows that you don't have to fall off a horse to get injured.
I do agree that we probably are a breed apart. I know that the few of my friends who don't ride think we are all mad. I certainly think that in my case it's not just the riding which is addictive but keeping horses and the whole lifestyle.
 
Definately - we choose to spend huge amounts of money on our horses in the full knowledge that without warning we may get dumped uncremoniously! and most of the time we will just get up and brush ourselves down and get back on board (obviously after much swearing and name calling first!
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). Not just a breed apart but brave and tough with it!!
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Some asked me the other day do you like motor bikes and I said no theyre to dangerous and they said its funny that People who horse ride are nervous of bikes and visa versa. My brothers are the same

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Now isn't that strange! I rode ponies when I was at school, then gave up for a while, left school got a moped then a small motorbike when I started work, progressing to riding many miles daily in my inbetween-proper-jobs fill-in job of being a motorcycle courier. Got a company car with my next job, and took up riding (gentle hacking on friends old pony) in my early 20s for a year or so, then got another motorbike....kept that and used regularly for years till I had daughter.
Hadn't ridden my bike (still in garage) for 10 years but started riding horses again this summer.

There are some people won't get on horse or motorcycle.
 
I think if i'd the choice I'd rather die instantly being thrown from a horse than in an NHS hospital from e. coli or similar, lying in my own excrement, with senile dementia and no close relatives left to care - which sadly is the reality for a lot of people.
 
there are not many other ' hobbies' where you are never alone.

You always have your 4 legged friend to chat to
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, well worth any risks
 
Two T-shirt slogans that sum it up for me :-

Perhaps it is better to be irresponsible and right, than responsible and wrong.

and

I would rather be scared to death than die of boredom

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