Near Death Experience today!!!

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pollypock1211

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Well had my first fall off my horse today and it was very scary at that!!
Today we went on a new route which involved crossing the motorway bridge. Obviously i thought he would be fine as he was with his best friend who was leading the way.

He was fine until we got halfway there and he started to panic. I took one hand off the reins to pat his neck (which he usually responds well to) and he just started bucking! I went flying ! as i looked up from the floor i just saw him gallopping off in the distance. It happend so quick!

I finally caught him and we were both ok apart from a few cuts and bruises. It could have been alot worse and i keep replying the senario over and over again in my head and what i should have done differently. Should i have taken my hands off the reins to pat him or just ridden him forward? Hes never ever bucked and i wasnt ready for it. I can only think that he wanted to get me off for a reason. He was scared but usually rears if anything when scared. It was werid!

I landed quite near to the side of the bridge and the barriers were quite low - a few inches to the left and i would have fallen on the motorway.

Ill never be going on that route again!!!
 
OMG, glad you are OK! I should imagine he was just really scared. Cars whizzing underneath you is a big deal if you're a horse. Personally I would have got off and lead him over the first time. Maybe try this and desensitize him to a bit rather than avoiding it altogether :)
 
That sounds horrendous :eek: Hope you and your horse are ok .....

On one of our hacks we cross over the railway on a low sided bridge. We always check to make sure the coast is clear before heading over - even though the horses are fine with trains, it doesn't bear thinking of if one of them had a wobbly on the bridge with a train passing underneath!
 
Poor you!! I'm not suprised you were shaken up. I've only ever ridden over one motorway bridge and did not enjoy it one bit.

At least you are both ok apart from a few minor injuries. Perhaps good to go for a nice short hack tomorrow with company and perhaps someone to walk with you just to get your confidence back xx
 
Thank you were both fine thanks. Think ill be aching like mad tomorrow!

Yes I should have got off - i did think about it, but hes really head strong and was worried about not being able to hold him if he did panic.. the sides are so low on that bridge.. mind you its probably not made for horses to cross.. think id rather not take the risk n go over it again..lol..x
 
What a horrible experience! We too sometimes cross a motorway bridge and although my mare is fine I do not enjoy the exoperience over much. The last time a group of us crossed, one of the geldings lost the plot a bit and reared :eek: The road we were on is a fast and busy road, so even on a sunday afternoon there is quite a lot of traffic, fortunately we did all get across safely, but didn't try the next one on the route!
 
Very frightening, I don't think I could ride over a motorway bridge but I am a coward in that respect. Look at it in a positive way, you were both unharmed! Hope you are feeling okay now.
 
Ooof, a first fall is always horrid, never mind over the motorway bridge! Glad you're okay.
I had to ride naughty fit eventers over one and it makes me feel a bit sick even now. We always rode down the middle and with feet out off stirrups in case of whoopsies.

Don't rule that ride out, but lead him over it if you like. I doubt there is anything you would have /could have done , its best not to dwell on it too much
 
I think it's the sound of the cars switching by underneath and they cann't see where it comes from, so can understand why he paniced but glad only your nerves are shredded and not both of you. But I would take him back and let him stand and hear the noise with out taking him over the bridge just yet and slowly take it from there for both of you.
 
wilsha said:
sounds scary !! but i wouldnt exactly call it near death(no offence)
Click to expand...

Perhaps you would have prefered her to go over the edge???:confused:
Personally I won't ride over motorway bridges having seen my friend almost get catapaulted after a lorry found it funny to give a nice big blast of the horn as he went under the bridge. Horse had always been ok before, but they all have their limits.
Glad you are both ok, that must have been scarey knowing the outcome could have been very different.
 
we ride over the m6 every other day:eek:
even though both horses are very good mine does seem to arch when a lorry goes underneath the bridge.
i always think when we are half way across WHAT IF...........:o
and its a single track lane that we use.
no room for mistakes on both horse and rider part.
 
If its a bridleway bridge then I think the BHS have a minimum height limit BUT might be talking dung tho, I know we had ours changed because they were low.

I cross a by pass via bridge all the time and have to admit it does regulary cross my mine the what if (barrier looks lower the bigger horse I ride). However I do have to agree you had the better out come he went straight and not over. I knew a horse who got stuck on a railway bridge once!!!

Hope you and your neddy is ok and maybe lead him over it a few times and let him get his head round it again?
 
This first bit will sound a bit odd in response to a horse incident, but bear with me. Yonks ago, I had a young kitten who I had allowed out into the garden on an early familiarisation session. She had found a VERY INTERESTING SMELL on the grass (I think of another cat) and ignored all calls from me. I had to get off to work so I simply walked up to her softly telling her she was a pain in the bum and reached down to pick her up. She spun round in an instant and sunk her needle sharp teeth into my thumb - they went right through the nail and met in the middle. A&E, humiliation, tetanus jab.

I think she was so completely wrapped up in what was probably a very scary smell of a strange cat that she hadn't heard me coming and when she suddenly felt my hand on her she probably thought it was the owner of the scary smell come to kill her. I think your horse would have been so wrapped up in the strangeness of being up in the air where I bet everything sounds and feels different, that when you suddenly scratched him on the neck he thought a pterodactyl had landed on him and was going to carry him off and eat him. Maybe just anticipate his worry and talk quietly to him and start rubbing his neck (while still holding the reins!) BEFORE his nerves get to jangling pitch. Glad it all turned out ok x
 
Lordy, one of mine is pathetic enough going over an old bridge with a little river underneath it! Glad we dont have motorways up here.........

Mounting blocks at each end is a good idea.
 
I used to have to ride over the M25 all the time and once someone came up behind us on his bike ringing his bell which made Nadia shoot forward.
The new yard I'll be moving to I'll have to go over the motorway bridge to get some where.
 
ooohh poor you, I would have been terrified and can't imagine what must have been replaying through your mind when you went to bed that night!!!

We have to cross the A3 to get to some of our hacking (not a neccesity, just if we want to go further than normal hacking) and it always frightens me, I used to ride over but my horse did spook once at a lorry beneath her and shot forward - I've always got off and led her across since then, mounting blocks at either end do make this easier.

I probably would try to get him used to the bridge but definately wouldn't ride across it in future!
 
Many years ago i very nearly went over the bridge on the M1 :( we ride over all the time and there has never been a problem but this one day it had been raining and a white van flew past us into a massive puddle :( , horse i was on shot onto the path towards the railing luckly i pulled my other rein and grabbed his martingale strap as i was on the way out of the side door.
 
Poor you, wierd as yesterday I hacked my horse out who hasnt really been riden for 2 months with a friend who is looking after him for me. I've never hacked in this area before but we were nattering away, we went through a narrow track with low branches, as I got back up off his neck from ducking under the branches I realised we were on a bridge above a motorway, I told my friend to stop, but she said 'no you'll be fine', I hate hights I can't even go past the second step of a step ladder! The sides were low and they were bars so you could see all the cars and lorries below you.
I just went into panic mode, thankfully he was an angel and went straight over, everytime a lorry went underneath he felt a bit tense.
I was a bit annoyed with my friend as it was his first hack out in such a long time and he hadnt been hacked out with her horse before and she has never hacked her horse out in company before. She said the side were high, but 3-4 is not high when your on a panicked horse, if anything happened we could of ended up over the edge.
About 200yds after the bridge my friends horse out of no where bucked her off over the fence. I feel sick everytime I think about it, what if that's had happened on the bridge.
I led him back over and will never do it again even tho he was an angel.
 
Low railings on the sides of bridges used by horse riders are an accident waiting to happen.

This is why the British Horse Society has set up specifications for the railings on road bridges used by horse riders.

The bottom part of the railings are blanked off so that horses can not see the traffic passing underneath them and the railings are very much higher to prevent horses or riders going over them.

If horse riders regularly use these bridges then you need to ask the Highway Authority to make them compliant with the BHS specifications.
 
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