"Horses are dangerous". Support please!

V

Velvet82

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 September 2010
Messages
117
Location
Wales
Visit site
I've been riding off and on for around 20 years. Yesterday I had a freak accident and was injured to the point of needing stitches. I'm embarrassed and in pain. But I keep getting people telling me that "horses are dangerous". And I'm finding it difficult to keep explaining to non-horsey people that it was a one in a million accident. Please could anyone give me some pointers/ support? Thank you so much in advance. Feeling a bit sorry for myself!
 
I had a temp job once, computerising records for a spinal injuries department. 30 years of records, every broken neck and back in Yorkshire during that time. Plenty of RTA's, mostly motorbike. Routine rugby injuries (don't let your sons play contact rugby, please) Lots of 'drunk on stairs', and the occasional 'dove into shallow water'. Not one horse-related, that I remember.
 
I think un-horsey people consider horses to be dangerous because they are large and - to lay people - entirely unpredictable. With training (both on the riders side and the horse's), their behaviour becomes more predictable, but as with any living creature there always remains an unpredictable element. But to my mind, the same argument about size and unpredictability applies as well to e.g. humans driving cars. Despite all the rules of the road, accidents happen. We take a calculated risk every time we participate in traffic, relying on other people to act in a predictable manner. We do the same when riding horses, and occasionally accidents happen. But I wouldn't consider interaction with horses to be inherently more dangerous than interaction with other people, particularly if they are wielding heavy machinery!
I think I would argue along those lines.
 
Well yes, horses are dangerous - there's no doubt about it, I don't know a single horsey person without some sort of current or past injury (me included). But, I've done far worse damage to myself, I think, sitting at a keyboard in the office everyday. Yes, H landed me in A&E with concussion, and I've been knocked out on other occasions too; but RSI from typing too much too fast has seen me in hospital more times than I care to mention for tests and eventual treatment.
 
They are dangerous. You can get injured from them, as you can driving a car,crossing the road,walking down the street. Accidents and injuries happen in all walks of life. I'd say the only way to prevent them is to stay at home, but I've probably injured myself more at home than I ever have with the horses!
 
supsup said:
I think un-horsey people consider horses to be dangerous because they are large and - to lay people - entirely unpredictable. With training (both on the riders side and the horse's), their behaviour becomes more predictable, but as with any living creature there always remains an unpredictable element. But to my mind, the same argument about size and unpredictability applies as well to e.g. humans driving cars. Despite all the rules of the road, accidents happen. We take a calculated risk every time we participate in traffic, relying on other people to act in a predictable manner. We do the same when riding horses, and occasionally accidents happen. But I wouldn't consider interaction with horses to be inherently more dangerous than interaction with other people, particularly if they are wielding heavy machinery!
I think I would argue along those lines.
Click to expand...

3OldPonies said:
Well yes, horses are dangerous - there's no doubt about it, I don't know a single horsey person without some sort of current or past injury (me included). But, I've done far worse damage to myself, I think, sitting at a keyboard in the office everyday. Yes, H landed me in A&E with concussion, and I've been knocked out on other occasions too; but RSI from typing too much too fast has seen me in hospital more times than I care to mention for tests and eventual treatment.
Click to expand...
These are both valid points. Thank you so much. This is exactly why I like this forum.
 
Sorry to rain on Penny Turners spinal injury stats but I crushed L1 and partially damaged my spinal cord in a horse riding accident.

Horses are dangerous, but they aren't the only thing that we do that is dangerous. My surgeon encouraged me to ride again post accident (I started back with the RDA and their very well trained, quiet horses) as he put it 'you could get run over in Sainsbury's car park, you can't stay inside frightened of all the dangerous things out there.'
 
As everyone else has said, they are dangerous and if you don't think that then you have to be a little bit stupid.

Intentional or not, they cause a lot of accidents and there's no point trying to convince yourself or anyone else that they're not.
 
IME it's mainly non-horsey people who don't realise just how dangerous horses can be. Yes, they are aware that horses can bite and kick, but they seem to think that if you don't stand behind a horse you will be fine. They see horses calmly eating grass in the field and have no idea they ever behave any differently.
 
We do ride in our old age, addicted to it and it is a health benefit - but we are still non-horsey people and we regard it as dangerous.
When we married I promised OH I wouldnt ride horses - exactly because of the danger. Before I left school I already knew of two people killed due to horses. And there have been a couple more since.
Sure there are other risky things we do, like driving cars but mostly from necessity. I still tell people who ask me about our riding that it isnt something you should do unless you really really want to. Horses bite and they kick.
I think the dangers should be accepted and discussed. I worry particularly about the young people obliged to ride across fixed obstacles cross country to get their BHS qualifications. As I type this, a favourite RI of mine is lying in hospital after a fall from a horse.
OP you are right that people's reaction will depend on whether they themselves ride or not. When my OH fell off a couple of months ago, it was a blessing that the nurse at the minor injuries clinic was a rider herself. She made him feel it was all so normal both to ride horses and to get hurt sometimes.
 
Skib said:
I still tell people who ask me about our riding that it isnt something you should do unless you really really want to.
Click to expand...

This is completely true and such a good point for so many reasons. When I want a break I take one and I don't give myself a hard time about it - I plough so much time, money, energy, sweat and sometimes blood into horses and I'm not going to beat myself up for taking a breather.

It's too consuming all round to do it properly if you don't live and breathe it. Having a couple of project horses a year keeps me happy and fulfilled and gives me time to do 'me' as well as the horses.
 
Yes they can be for the body, but that's life as a whole isn't it?

They also fulfill a great need and they lift depression. They make us happy and they feed the soul. I know which I'd prefer to be healthiest.

It's life,...live it!!
 
It is dangerous, no getting away from it, but dangerous things happen every day, and non riders get injured too. I had a bad knee injury last year, (rogue tree branch attacked me when hacking), my colleague had an identical knee injury a few months earlier from skiing. I also had a colleague who had his ankle broken by a tackle playing football - really bad break too! All sorts of things are dangerous, crossing the road is dangerous, unless you wrap yourself in bubble wrap and do nothing (which in itself is no good for you!) then you'll be doing something dangerous. Tell them to shhhhhhhhhhhh :) (can you tell this has been said to me and I find it really irritating!)
 
Having just spent 14 hours in A&E after being catapulted over my horse's head, yes they are dangerous, but then again so is a vacuum cleaner. I am a bit battered & bruised on crutches but my friend died whilst vacuuming out the car. I know what I would rather do. Will be back on board as soon as I can. It's your choice tell everyone else to bog off.
 
Yes they are dangerous. I used to know someone who broke her shoulder falling over in an egg and spoon race but she tells people she did it falling of a horse as she gets sympathy rather than laughter.
 
You don't need to explain yourself surely? Its none of anyone else's business unless you are pregnant and your OH objects
 
Thanks for everyone's comments. Obviously I know riding can be dangerous, its just been difficult when you're passionate about something and you have people telling you it's dangerous. It hasn't put me off, and I think the next time someone says it's dangerous I'll just nod along :D
 
I suspect that many serious riding injuries go unreported due to old-fashioned riding attitudes. I'm sitting here nursing a bad shoulder / neck. Whilst the immediate cause is sleeping across the atlantic in economy (cheapskate client!), it's a direct result of a nasty tumble I took 20 years go. I probably broke my neck at the time, but did I see a doctor...nah. I got back on. Obviously.
OH says I should go now, but seriously, it does seem a bit late. :D
 
pennyturner said:
I suspect that many serious riding injuries go unreported due to old-fashioned riding attitudes. I'm sitting here nursing a bad shoulder / neck. Whilst the immediate cause is sleeping across the atlantic in economy (cheapskate client!), it's a direct result of a nasty tumble I took 20 years go. I probably broke my neck at the time, but did I see a doctor...nah. I got back on. Obviously.
OH says I should go now, but seriously, it does seem a bit late. :D
Click to expand...
Brilliant! That's well funny :D
 
But horses ARE dangerous. Anything that weighs half a ton and reacts rather than thinks is going to be dangerous to a little pipsqueak like us humans. I always say "it's not if, it's when" when discussing the relative likelihood of an accident. Just shows how brave we all are............:-)
 
The most dangerous thing most of us will do is get in a car each day and trust everyone else on the road to stay their side of a line painted on the Tarmac and not drive like a weapon.

I figure after 800miles a week in a car I can do what I want with the rest of my danger mouse attitude. (Sat here recovering from an asthma attack - because when you haven't fallen off for a while your body finds some other way to punish you for riding, and so my allergy continues. )
 
Yep - definitely dangerous but then so is any "adrenalin" sport... I went sailing with my brother at the weekend for the first time in 25 years and am covered in bruises. We capsized once in the middle of a deep, cold Yorkshire reservoir on a very windy day. I could have drowned, been decapitated by the boom etc but I wasn't. I'm doing a 5k on Sunday and it is possible I could have a heart attack. I went open water swimming in a lake last week and could have drowned then too, especially as I didn't have a wetsuit.

Am I fitter and happier for all the effort - definitely. Would I do it all again? Hell, yes!

Riding and handling horses is always a risk and we should be sensible and mitigate that risk where possible - I always wear a hat when mounted in the same way that I wore a buoyancy aid when sailing - but to stop doing anything remotely dangerous would be a slow death for me. What would I do? Take up knitting instead and run the risk of falling on a knitting needle?

You don't need to justify yourself to anyone - although, let them carry on thinking they are very dangerous and they may well slow down when driving past one ;)
 
Illusion100 said:
moleskinsmum said:
What would I do? Take up knitting instead and run the risk of falling on a knitting needle?QUOTE]

Knitting is a risky hobby indeed, my Mum was knitting, gathered it up then tripped on the wool, fell face first onto a glass and required a lot of work by a Plastic Surgeon, you have been warned! ;)
Click to expand...

Oo dear - I hope she's fully recovered. That really does illustrate that everything we do carries some risk, however "safe" it may seem to others.
Click to expand...
 
moleskinsmum said:
Illusion100 said:
Oo dear - I hope she's fully recovered. That really does illustrate that everything we do carries some risk, however "safe" it may seem to others.
Click to expand...

The scar runs from the middle of her cheek, to corner of mouth then stops halfway under her bottom lip! You can obviously notice it if talking directly to her but the PS did a great job and you wouldn't notice if you were passing her in the street. So, yes thanks, plus it can only fade even more with time!

Yes exactly, sometimes the 'safe' things to do aren't quite as low risk as they seem
Click to expand...
 
Theres a flip-side too. Handling and riding horses does make you better able to balance / duck / jump fences when necessary. I foolishly went into the paddock barefoot a couple of days ago, only to nearly get mown down by an exhuberant pony (he wasn't looking where he was going). From the speed of my reaction you'd think I was a ballet dancer or boxer, rather than a middle aged mum - an adrenaline charged mix of panic (bare feet!!) and experience. A non-horsey person would be in A&E.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top