How best to land when you fall off?

asommerville

asommerville

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Just out of interest, is there an ideal position to try and land in when you fall off? Or is it just your luck whether you hurt yourself or not?
 
Tuck and roll but not sure anyone thinks about that when falling... One thing would imo not be ideal would be to land on feet when travelling at speed or from a large horse as know 2 people that had terrible hip/pelvis injuries from landing like that. Have been told some who wear air vests are less likely to come off due to not wanting to spend money on replacement canistors lol.
 
Depends on the fall! I've landed on my feet, but only ever from slow motion falls where landing upright isn't an issue because you're not really coming at the ground with much force. Generally, tuck and roll with impact on the back of your shoulder rolling across your back to spread the energy transfer as much as possible. Some falls happen so fast you can't do much about it, but others you really can think it through - I had one the other day which looked nasty but I felt every second of it, and my brain kicked in with "arm in front to protect face, shoulder into ground and roll away".

There's a video on youtube of pro riders being chucked off a simulator to learn how to roll. It's interesting viewing. It's a H&H one from a few years back...
 
I can't say I've ever had the presence of mind to do anything other than reflex actions when I've fallen off. Its over in seconds, I can't see how I could decide how to fall as its never the same thing twice. I try to avoid it to be honest ;)
 
The times I've had an "unplanned dismount " I've never had chance to think about it! As long as I've got up and got back on I must have done it right ( bruises havnt been pretty though...) I assume tuck and roll is the best option but I've always been in the lap of the Gods..The horse has always come out of it unscathed:/
 
I was thinking about it the other day! I used to go with the tuck and roll idea, but since having had three shoulder ops and loads of pins in my shoulder I don't think that's a plan anymore!

Thankfully I am a chicken and don't fall off too often, but tend to adopt the flat on back and winded position when I do! Not elegant at all!
 
I think falling onto a curved back is usually ok, I have done so on tarmac and was ok (exceptionally winded!) the worst falls are when you are not expecting it, don't have time to even try to think about it and you're fallen on whatever body parts hit the ground first, unfortunately I had one of those it was very painful, elbow was first and badly injured!

I have also fallen onto my side superman style with no ill effects. So although probably not ideal is at least spreading out the impact!
 
Lets narrow it down ,what is the absolute worst way to land? In my opinion it is straight down on your head. The present design of hats is as much use as a chocolate teaspoon in these circumstances. You might as well have no hat on . The older design of race crash hats had energy absorbing webbing and an air gap (the same as a military helmet) The polystyrene lining of the modern hat has negligible energy absorption . Where does the energy go ? straight into your spine compressing it and crushing the nerves where they exit. Phrenic nerves and Brachial nerves are commonly damaged and they are two sets of nerves you definitely don't want to loose.
 
Try and twist- whilst screwing up a shoulder is bad if you hit very hard, I'd rather that than a compressive spinal injury. I pretty much always go head first over the shoulder, and can honestly say the fall where I landed on my back and then was properly trampled hurt less than when I've landed at much slower speeds head first. I also recovered much more rapidly despite more abundant injuries.
 
I know in my heart that the true reason I got absolutely banjaxed by my last fall,was that I was too fat, My riding ability had compensated for this in all normal circumstances ,and BIG horses carried the weight , but when that million to one fall happend ,I wasnt quick enough to get back in the saddle, and the top heavy physique, simply threw me between his ears as he somersaulted. RH phrenic nerve stuffed , RH Brachial nerve stuffed.Edited to add ,have lost 2 1/2 stone since. Better late than never.
 
I also agree with tuck and roll. If you watch the jockeys in racing and how they fall they often tuck and roll and they're taught how to fall properly!
 
I was thinking about this recently as I am a rider who has children and a husband that do judo. Although I haven't fallen off recently (touch wood), I have fallen over and I definitely fell in a better way - more like a judo break fall due to watching lots of people falling effectively at judo. I think it would benefit all riders to have some break fall lessons. Perhaps try a judo club for a while to learn this skill! It is more relax and roll. Oh and go with it rather than try and stop it once you are past the point of no return!
 
I am not athletic and watched the instructional vid a few years ago. When I tried to do as advised the result was the only time I have hurt myself falling off. My Rolling up probably involved stiffening my neck and shoulders. I guess it would be fine to practice in a gymn on a mat. But for an old inept rider like me it seemed best to revert to falling in a heap.
I dont know why I have never been hurt in a fall - I wear a body protector and tend to land on that - my hands are still raised to grab the mane or reins and my near side foot is raised to kick it free from the stirrup.
Replacing things is no deterrent - I replace my hat each time I fall and that costs far more than a cannister of air.
 
Mike007 said:
I know in my heart that the true reason I got absolutely banjaxed by my last fall,was that I was too fat, My riding ability had compensated for this in all normal circumstances ,and BIG horses carried the weight , but when that million to one fall happend - Edited to add ,have lost 2 1/2 stone since. Better late than never.
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Just to agree. I rode when overweight- riding was recuperation from an operation. I was well padded behind when I started riding and thought the extra fat protected me when I fell.
After losing a stone (not as much as you) last winter I found that made an improvement to falling - not just easier in the saddle for horse and me, but the impact as you hit the ground is less. An American rider once had a website explanation of how rider weight, speed and height from which you fell affected the impact. A jockey falling going over a fence in the Grand National is not in the same category as an o.a.p. falling when horses in walk take exception to a yellow excavator.

Edited to say, I fond her site http://lorienstable.com/articles/misc/buck/
 
i vaguely remember a lesson on falling way back when i was young, advice was tuck and roll and try not to tense, tucking means your limbs should not end up being forced in the wrong direction, rolling to get you away from horses feet and relax because tense things snap easier than relaxed things. for me it depends on how fast the fall happens as to whether i can do all 3 or whether i'm still at the 'oh eff' stage when i hit the floor lol. my worst was an over the head, superman stylee landing where i managed to dislocate my shoulder and put my thumbs at an angle they don't generally go!
 
I plan not to fall off LOL :D:D:D:D however if I did I do not normally think how I land it happens too quickly. Just know i will not bounce
 
I have been pondering this after falling off at the weekend and landing flat on my back. I ad my point 2 on thankfully and wasn't even winded or sore the next day. Just thinking as to whether I should have tried to roll into a ball etc.....

I wondered too whether the BP made me fall on my back as I was bounced out the saddle and he dropped his shoulder so god knows how I landed on my back....could the pressure of the lanyard pulling have spun me round?
 
As much as you can try and plan for a fall, usually it happens so quickly there is not time to think or save yourself.

The same can be said for me, when I have hit the deck, I haven't had a chance to even think about rescuing myself! Except in the case where horse jumped to the moon and back (which I was NOT prepared for as he had always been a fairly smooth ride- my fault for almost aiming for the wing and not the fence!), landed between saddle and neck (still sitting up!), carried on cantering for a good stride or two the other side and as I was thinking ' get your balance, use your hands to prop yourself back in the saddle- do NOT hit the deck', the ****** dropped his shoulder and I went out the side door!

I have seen worse injuries from people trying to save themselves during a fall (from tension, being halfway off and pushing themselves the rest of the way etc), than I have from someone that has fallen and has not had time to tense or think about it. Tuck and roll is usually advised, but that is hard to do when falls can happen in a split second!
 
I would have thought it would be very difficult to tuck with an air jacket as they will have inflated before you have time to tuck. When I landed on my fairly well padded bum I had the worst injury I've ever sustained - compressed and fractured vertebrae. I generally dont have time to think about much apart from ***** this is going to hurt.

I think the slight difference with jockey falls are that by and large theirs are very similar - forward going at speed and onto grass - not sideways onto tarmac, underneath a rearing horse etc. They then have the ability to learn how to react to those - look what happened to the guy who got carted through the rails at either Cheltenham or Aintree this year - no tuck and roll for him just a nasty injury.
 
Mike007 said:
Lets narrow it down ,what is the absolute worst way to land? In my opinion it is straight down on your head. The present design of hats is as much use as a chocolate teaspoon in these circumstances. You might as well have no hat on . The older design of race crash hats had energy absorbing webbing and an air gap (the same as a military helmet) The polystyrene lining of the modern hat has negligible energy absorption . Where does the energy go ? straight into your spine compressing it and crushing the nerves where they exit. Phrenic nerves and Brachial nerves are commonly damaged and they are two sets of nerves you definitely don't want to loose.
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In fairness, in the last 20 years I've come off twice and the first was at speed, straight onto my head, literally crown hitting the ground first. It happened so fast there was no time to do anything. Now maybe I was lucky, but that hat saved my life, no doubt about it, and it was indeed made of polystyrene.

In an ideal world I guess it would be the tuck and roll but as many have said there often isn't time to think about it!
 
Try and not put an arm out. First time I fell off (aged 11), I made this mistake & landed myself in hospital for 5 weeks in traction with a multiply fractured elbow. Funny how I drop & roll now!
 
Mike007 said:
I know in my heart that the true reason I got absolutely banjaxed by my last fall,was that I was too fat, My riding ability had compensated for this in all normal circumstances ,and BIG horses carried the weight , but when that million to one fall happend ,I wasnt quick enough to get back in the saddle, and the top heavy physique, simply threw me between his ears as he somersaulted. RH phrenic nerve stuffed , RH Brachial nerve stuffed.Edited to add ,have lost 2 1/2 stone since. Better late than never.
Click to expand...

Hope the stuffed nerves recover!

Another thing to add to my 'reasons to lose weight' motivation list. It makes sense - however strong and athletic I am, the extra weight isn't doing me any favours :(
 
Camilla's Aunty Em said:
Try and not put an arm out. First time I fell off (aged 11), I made this mistake & landed myself in hospital for 5 weeks in traction with a multiply fractured elbow. Funny how I drop & roll now!
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It's all about judgement - I'd rather screw up an arm and protect my face / head, but it does depend on the mechanics of the fall - you don't want to land with your arms extended or onto an exposed point (e.g. elbow), but spreading some impact down your upper arm from your shoulder can be useful in some circs.
 
Generally tuck and roll has saved me many a time. However the only time it hasn't it hurt in a big way!
When we had a rotational fall last year it was so quick and by the time I knew that I was going to hit the ground I was far too close to it and so my tuck didn't happen soon enough and I landed point of shoulder into rock hard ground.
This resulted in a broken collarbone and whilst not that serious, was mind numbingly painful caused by the buckled bone caused by the way I landed, where I had subconsciously tried to roll.
My advice don't fall off :D

x x
 
The theory is Tuck and roll. Aim to rolling as you hit the ground rather than landing (on shoulder) and then rolling. Convert your downwards energy into rolling, forwards energy to dissipate the landing force.

For practise, if you can get to Hertfordshire, go on the one-day falling-off (rider confidence) course run by the Centre of Horseback Combat. It may seem expensive at £90 but it teaches you, on a gym horse first and then a real horse, how to train your brain to tuck-and-roll, tuck-and-roll, tuck-and-roll. Then when you get back home, practise, on the carpet, on the bed, on the settee, practice practise with a view to it becoming 2nd-nature with the neurological pathways established and then, in the heat of the moment, that second when it goes awol on horseback, hopefully these learned pathways will kick in and you'll find yourself tuck-and-rolling without thinking about it.

http://www.horsebackcombat.co.uk/Rider-Confidence-Courses.html

I went on the falling off/rider confidence course last year. It's proven useful since in falling off my bike once and my horse 3 times. ;-)
 
I usually land on my left knee if jumping or flat on my lower back :(. One thing I always remember tho is to breathe OUT as you fall, so that when you land the shock make sure you breathe in and then if your winded you dont feel like your going to die
 
JFTD said:
Depends on the fall! I've landed on my feet, but only ever from slow motion falls where landing upright isn't an issue because you're not really coming at the ground with much force. Generally, tuck and roll with impact on the back of your shoulder rolling across your back to spread the energy transfer as much as possible. Some falls happen so fast you can't do much about it, but others you really can think it through - I had one the other day which looked nasty but I felt every second of it, and my brain kicked in with "arm in front to protect face, shoulder into ground and roll away".

There's a video on youtube of pro riders being chucked off a simulator to learn how to roll. It's interesting viewing. It's a H&H one from a few years back...
Click to expand...

I don't think there is a safe way really, I cracked my shoulder blade doing this! lol
 
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