'Horsey people are bizzare'

I fell off about 11 years ago now, hurt my back, got taken by ambulance to hospital, to be told I was badly bruised.
Worked for 3 weeks, then went back to a different hospital as my walking was getting worse. Turns out I had fractured my pelvis in 7 places, and broken my pubic bone in 2 places!!!!!
 
Some bonkers stories! I am a complete wuss... I reckon I would be the equivalent to a footballer riding.

Get flicked in the eye by the reins: "aaaaarrrggghhhhhhhh me eyeballs bust!!"

Nothing there but a slight red blush on eyeBROW!

The shame.
 
I think the problem is broken bones don't hurt that much and IME you can still wiggle your fingers and toes! I have broken my arm twice, my collar bone and my ankle riding and got back on after all of them before realising there was something wrong a bit later.

Worst was cross country training when my pony at the time landed badly coming into the water and he fell over ending up on his side - I stayed on so ended up trapped half under water so somewhat hard to breathe. Pony and I were helped back up, I vomitted/coughed up some muddy water and my arm hurt a bit but didn't think much of it. Horse walked and trotted up fine and seemed okay so RI told me to have another go - did it again successfully and carried on for about half an hour. When I dismounted I was hot so took my jacket off to discover my forearm was bent at a somewhat alarming angle - turned out to be broken in three places and had to have surgery to put it back together :D Being a typical teenager I still hacked out one armed the whole time I was in plaster :o
 
Back in the dark ages when I was being taught to ride there were 2 basic points drilled into you if you came off; 1) you caught your horse and 2) you got straight back on. 45 years later that's the way my brain's still wired - I came off a couple of years ago, got knocked out (my husband seeing the fall actually thought he'd seen me killed) but as soon as I came round and I could talk was apparently just asking where the horse was then fought people off to get back on again :o Didn't find it was that good an idea once the horse started walking and ended up in A&E but stiff upper lip and all that! :D
 
I think we are certainly less namby pamby than other people. Hardcore - defintiely the right way to describe it.

About 3 years ago Mini TX broke her collar bone at an eventer trial. Couldnt get back on obviuosly due to the pain. However, she untacked her horse and loaded her onto the trailer, we drove home,unloaded horse, got other horse ready for the night, fed both of them, drove to hospital and got it x-rayed.

Was told not to go near horses for 6 weeks at least, and the following day was riding my cob back from the field, bareback, with a a headcollar, but thankfully had the sling on and was wearing a riding hat. Rode my horse most days, as he is not given to bucking and messing around - its far too much trouble for him. Even jumped him with the the sling on. Got the go ahead to compete and went out and did a BE90 the week after she got the all clear from the doctor.

I have lost count of the times I have fallen off out hacking (not due to bucking, more due to being tanked off with), have got back on and hacked home. The last time it happened I had a mouthful of blood where I had bitten my tongue, and it all dripped down my t shirt. Must have looked delightful to passers by in cars.

I think we are all a breed apart - a hard breed apart.
 
I reckon it boils down to the fact we are used to putting up with stuff cos whatever level you're at there really isn't time to be ill or injured with horses. Going to a&e is inconvenient, who'll do the horses while i'm there lol? And no time to be managing with casts etc ergo I always just see how it goes. If you can bear weight on it a week later its ok in my book. Not saying I'd use that theory for daughter tho!
 
Ollie's Mum said:
Back in the dark ages when I was being taught to ride there were 2 basic points drilled into you if you came off; 1) you caught your horse and 2) you got straight back on.
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Yes, this ^^^ I knocked myself out last year falling off a youngster at an event. When I came round (after some time apparently) I demanded to know where the horse was as I felt it to be essential that I got back on to show her there was nothing to be scared of. I was told "I knew you were going to say that so I loaded her, untacked her and locked your tack locker and I'm not giving you the key". The ambulance men looked quite relieved.

I was forced to leave it until the following day, perhaps it's true that cracked ribs are best rested for a few hours ;)
 
This is very true in mounted games...

as a child if i fell off and the first aiders would be on there way in to check you over my trainer would yell body snatchers and we used to get up and run away from them!!!

i remember vaulting over the top of my pony and being trampled by another rider... i tried to crawl away but got taken by first aiders by dad came charging over and picked my up by the back of my jodpurs put me back on the pony and off i went( he had to sign a form)

rode for the rest of the show came 2nd went home complaining that my shoulder hurt!! dad brushed it off said hot bath and a few pain killers woudl sort me out!!

my stepmom tool me to the hospiatl after my dad had gone to work and i had broke my collar bone and took a nice chunk out of the socket of my shoulder joint!

i do oftern wonder how long i would of walked round like that lol!!
 
Ha that's ironic. I had a disagreement with my cob last night, hit my head, got back on and beasted him over the jumps. Or rather, I have photos to prove that I did just that, but no recollection of it whatsoever. I spent the next half hour asking who I'd been riding / whether the horses were back in the field and ok. Unsurprisingly, popped down to A&E...

A&E doctor seemed amused when he asked if my hat was cracked and I said god I hope not it's my favourite (obviously it will be replaced as it will be damaged, but I was concussed when I said that :p). He then asked if I'd hurt anything else. He was doubly bemused when I mentioned that I had damaged my finger - earlier in the day while riding the other horse but had neither sought medical attention nor thought it unwise to ride the hairy one :p

Then of course there was the reaction to the whole "no contact sports for 3 weeks"... riding isn't a contact sport unless you fall off, so that means no falling off - I can live with that :p Mother asks what about horseball next week - oh that's not a contact sport either, honest :D
 
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Another one who got back on with a cracked pelvis!.... did have a dislocated finger too, but kind of looked at that and kinked it back.....finger looks a bit crooked now. carried on regardless with a broken toe and sprained pelvis, as you do.

alledgedly fell off yesterday xc schooling, however I maintain that it was a controlled tumble out of the side door. Got back on using offending jump as a mounting block and went and jumped a nice log instead
 
I got clipped on my ankle bone bring my 2 horses in together one summer. It hurt like hell so I stuck my foot in a bucket of cold water for 10 seconds then carried on sorting them out. Went to work, did everything as normal for nearly a week. The bruising didn't seem to be fading so I went to the hospital it was fractured. So I was in plaster for 4 weeks, was mortified and told them I would have to have a walking plaster as I was moving yards that weekend.
 
I agree entirely with that statement. What other people voluntarily get up horrendously early to go outside, often in the pouring rain, to feed/muck out/turn out etc? Injuries are brushed under the carpet (not horse's injuries of course, those we are paranoid about) and we forego human comfort just to look after them and that's before we've even got on the horse. Then we turn into adrenaline junkies who either chuck ourselves over fences at speed or spend hours and hours trying to improve a tiny aspect of the horse's going, often without success. We voluntarily bankrupt ourselves and would go without food just so our horses didn't have to. We are a bizarre breed indeed!
 
tbh i have thought of this latley! mainly yesterday, im very much a typical "horsy person" you fall off/over you get back up again and just get on with it, not create, or stomp off in a huff.

My nephew is very different i must admit his attitude stinks, he thinks hes a failure before he even gets good at something, and melodrematics based on that one failure are crazy! throwing things, stomping, crying, swearing as i found out yesterday (this is an 8 year old!!!! swiftly got a telling off i have to admit!) but as soon as i walked up to him grabbed his arm and said get up do it agian. the shock on his face was a picture!

apparently my sister just leaves him to get on with it, if he wants to quit thats fine! pah! if ide quit at everything i failed to do i wouldnt be where i am today! (call it stubborn but it works!)
 
Oooh thought of another one - bit more gory though.

Years ago I was cutting one of the riding school pony's tails - using a pair of those orange wilkinson sword scissors - anyway, hand round teh end of the tail, chopped the end off - when one of the working pupils came in and said "where's all the blood from"? turned out I had also snipped my finger at my knuckle as it was holding the tail. It was almost to the bone - didn't feel a thing as the scissors were so sharp!!

We stuck it back down with a bit of vetwrap and I carried on working - when I got home and showed my Mum (who promptly fainted), then showed my Dad, after he'd picked Mum off the floor, I had to go to A&E who said it was too late to stitch, so stuck the flap down with a steri-strip - I have a lovely "v" shaped scar just by my knuckle and that's 20 years later!!!
 
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Hexx - I did something similar with fetlock scissors. Didnt feel it but lots of blood. Bandaged my finger up with a couple of baby wipes and got on with trimming Hippo's bridle path...

Today I stabbed myself in the the knuckle with the hoof pick - yet more blood!

After my scary encounter with the fence, I wanted to get back on right away but wasn't able. By the time I'd stopped aching the nerves had hit...much better to get back on board ASAP!

I probably should have gone to A&E, as for several days I couldn't bend or lift anything, and my ribs/sternum ached if I coughed or took a deep breath. I'm still using pillows to support my lower back in bed, but it doesn't hurt to walk/ride/drive anymore...
 
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Apercrumbie said:
I agree entirely with that statement. What other people voluntarily get up horrendously early to go outside, often in the pouring rain,
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lol, yeah, I remember hacking one day in horrible driving snow, really nasty weather, and seeing someone out running and thinking,'haha, crazy person, why would you even be out...in...this...weath...oh :o.'
 
Capriole, lol. In our teens my friend & I would always comment on all the nutters out walking & jogging at 6 am. Us on our bikes peddling a few miles in the freezing cold to do our ponies before school tho was completely different.
 
Rugby people aren't too bad - they still attempt to play with injuries (at least amateurs do - not sure about pros?). I just don't understand how other sports can be so pathetic tbh. If you're not actually properly hurt, stop moaning and get on with it! I do find it meladromatic when non-horsey people trip/fall and make such a big thing out of it - try being launched off a moving, 500kg animal!
 
Capriole said:
lol, yeah, I remember hacking one day in horrible driving snow, really nasty weather, and seeing someone out running and thinking,'haha, crazy person, why would you even be out...in...this...weath...oh :o.'
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I've done this before! It's mainly when im on way to yard and i see a lunatic running in -5 and think wtf? Then i remember im on my way to de-ice taps and muck out....
 
According to the doctor I saw at A&E after I came off us horsey folk and the bikers are known for being concerned that the hospital may cut off our expensive boots and jackets to start treating us and that's mainly what we complain about!
 
I remember when I was turning out the boy I ride after a comp in the summer and in his eagerness to roll he trod on my foot! No big deal except he didn't realise he was standing on it for AGES. No amount of shouting and elbowing him in the ribs could catch his attention but when he did realise he jumped about 6 feet away from me, bless him!
Apart from the fact that my foot was completely numb I didn't worry about it, as being trod on by the biggest horse in the yard is something that has happened to be roughly every few months since I got my first pony! After a week when I still couldn't walk very well I thought I might as well get it X-Rayed just to be on the safe side :rolleyes: the doctor in A&E thought I was absolutely barmy and could not understand why I didn't come straight away. It happens so often I said that I don't really think about it!

The look on his face! I'd be surprised if he didn't write something extra in my notes!
 
lol, this is all too true...

like the time I involountary dismounted a 17.2hh in the soft deep sand school got back up dusted myself down got back on, DROVE home, had a glass of wine (well 2 sips of it then I said I didn;t feel quite right) oh took me to hospital - severe concusion had a look at my hat the next day - a brand new hat almost top of the range - totally cracked, bent out of shape....

However, i've discovered that I am less brave, when it can get me out of work/dishes/housework etc........ even a scratch renders me completely useless. :)
 
My boss has given up telling me not to come to work! I have been sent home on various occasions over the last 18 months - when I got fired off a 12.2 welsh B and broke my collar bone (walked around for a week before getting x-rayed :o) and was in a sling. When I slipped my disc and came in on crutches (there was a stool behind the bar to sit on!). When I was seeing double and feeling very queasy with concussion after the pony I was riding bareback tripped in the school and threw me head first into the floor. The most memorable was when I twisted my pelvis and just carried on mucking out anyway - 5 boxes later I admitted defeat when I actually couldn't stand up straight, my horsey osteo was gobsmacked that I had mucked out and re-bedded 5 boxes before coming to see her!
 
I was always told to get up and get back on and I tell you what, it was the best way to prevent yourself from getting scared! The questions usually put to us by our instructor were "are you bleeding? Can you feel your fingers and toes?" if we answered yes to both we got back on and sometimes if we answered no we still got back on.
Having said that, i know a girl at my yard who has fallen off (albeit quite spectacularly at times) and twice been taken to hospital, only to be discharged with minor injuries, most of the kids i see now fall off and have fussing parents run up to them "are you alright, no of course you don't have to get back on, yes he was a naughty pony" etc etc really makes you want to slap them! :mad:
oh dear gone off on a rant................ :p:o
 
I fell off on the road once, as my horse threw a big spook as I was mounting. Picked myself up (thought I'd just bumped my head a bit, in hindsight my hat saved me a lot worse) and wobbled as fast as I could after him....caught him up the lane and led back to the yard a few hundred yards away.
It wasn't until I had him in his stable to untack that I realised my left arm wasn't working, as I tried to remove the saddle. Wobbled back down the road to the YO's house and said I was feeling a bit funny. I was offered paracetamol.
Turned out I'd broken my collarbone. Didn't hurt til after I was sat down with the paracetamol in my hand!
 
Lmao, love it!

Having a good laugh thinking about it from a non horsey person point of view, my OH lives and breaths football, next time we watch a game and a player takes a dive I will be sure to have a go at him "horse riders don't need to sit and cry when they fall off"...
 
Some of these are hilarious :D and others are making me grimace!

Ive never actually broken a bone *frantically touches wood* Im not entirely sure how, nasty ligament injury has been my worst. I think most riders instinctively look to re-secure the horse check its okay and get back on immediately after falls ime though I have noticed (not something to look forward to) that my older friends seem to spend a little longer on the ground! I hope this isn't changing as a couple of previous posters have mentioned because as a whole its a pretty good ethic imo :) much preferred to namby-pambying!

However experience of paramedic avoidance I do have! Years ago out eventing I had a bit of a fail at the second to last fence after mare clipped it and I tumbled off and went underneath her hooves (total stupid rider inexplicable moment). Typically this was one of the fences paramedics were in sight of. So I hopped up to see mare spot mum at the finish and start meandering off towards her, and hear the paramedics door slam and a shout.... According to the spectators at the finish it looked like a comedy sketch with me chasing horse across the field feigning deafness with paramedic in pursuit! :o. Paramedic did give up once he saw I'd caught mare, quickly checked her over, hopped on and was heading back towards the finish to jump the last to complete.

Nothing particularly *hard* about it just a bit of bruising after, was one of those falls that looks an awful lot worse than it is. But I do find it amusing when paramedics/ non-horsey people try to make you stay on the ground and have a check up! I hazarded a guess it was this particular paramedic's first time working a horse event as anyone stuck with horsey people for long enough knows theres no point trying to chase down a horse-pursuing jogging rider for an injury check! :D.
 
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soulfull said:
A quote from a fellow medic, but non horsey person 'you horsey lot are bizzare'

We were covering a mounted games today and she can't believe that any of us never mind children not only 'do' get straight up after a fall, but are encouraged to do so by shouts from friends and family, even when they show signs of being hurt (no one proved to need more than an ice pack)
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She is absolutely right! Most falls ARE harmless - but how many of the people who encourage kids to get straight back up and on after a fall are actually in the slightest bit qualified to know if the child is injured??

I was teaching a kid's jumping class many moons ago when an 13 year old had a simple fall (she lost balance over the fence and pony was walking by the time she toppled off!) A Mum - not her's - leapt into action to encourage her to get back on - but I spotted the fact that though there was NO crying or moaning or anything else, her face looked like she'd been dipped in whitewash! So immediately stopped her getting back on! On questioning, 'my elbow hurts'! I managed to get her jacket off VERY carefully and it was immediately obvious that she had a VERY bad dislocation of the elbow - a VERY painful injury - and chances are that if she HAD got back on she would have passed out with the pain and fallen again!

I HAVE found with kids that screaming is a good sign - it's the ones who are very quiet that are often hurt!
 
I broke my toe and pulled the tendon in the arch of my foot tripping upstairs .. A&e
Broke several toes and twisted my ankle being stepped on and carried on leading the pony in the lesson and worked the rest of the day! Didn't realise until I pulled my muckers off later and they started hurting to the point were I thought I was going to faint :o still didn't go to a&e just strapped them up :p
 
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