What would you do?

fidleyspromise

fidleyspromise

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Out hacking and can hear sirens (a main road isn't too far away and you often hear then on there) so think your safe. When you realise they are on your road (and horse is normally very sane and sensible) and there are no gateways etc anywhere near to turn into and turn horse so can see emergency vehicle.

Seconds later, horse starts fidgeting and bolts. NOTHING is stopping this horse (try one rein stop, half halts etc). Police can comes into view behind you - signal it to slow down and it switches siren off.

Further along road, said horse still going flat out - car then looks like it's going to overtake (can see it out side of eye coming up right hand side) and horse spooks in front of it.

Yard is not too far away BUT it is on other side of road which means potentially - if another car comes - it could end up REALLY badly.


Would you sit it out and see what you can do?
Would you try to jump off?
Would you do something else?

Basically, this happened to me on Monday and I keep wondering if I did the wrong thing. Horse has been out since and has been perfectly fine. There was no swelling/splints/heat etc in horse's legs (thank god).

ETA - I have to hack on road because the woods are a 20 minute walk away and horse hates to school so we keep this to a minimum for her.
 
Poor you! If you, the horse and everybody else are fine, then you did the right thing. Ultimately that is what counts, after all. That type of situation is an emergency and the priority is to see that everyone is safe. If there are going to be a few issues a bit later on as a result, that's a pity, but believe me, if you got everyone home safe and sound in a situation like that, you did really really well.
 
That has happened to me and I sat it out, whats the point in throwing yourself off on the road potentially injuring yourself and then leaving a loose horse to go and be really dangerous (we had a car beside and behind us though so I would have got run over - fortunatley he avoided them when he carrered into yard). Nothing else you can do IMO! It all happens too quickly and heinsight is an amazing thing!
 
I had similar happen to me once. Definately didn't even consider jumping off, going at that speed and landing on hard tarmac, potentially infront of a car and leaving the horse loose I don't think would have been a good idea. After realising my initial hauling on the reins was not going to work (and no chance of turning as no where to do so and couldn't risk horse slipping at that speed), I let the reins go slacker for a bit so horse might actually notice when I used them again, then searched desperately for somewhere to turn off the road (it was surrounded by hedges and closed gateways!) Thankfully I spotted a layby ahead and managed to steer horse into it and thankyfully this time he did actually listen to me and stop (hopefully he was alittle tired having just flat out galloped 2 miles along a main road!) Then I just had the nail-biting task of turning round and hacking him back home again along the same road (as our turn off was nearly two miles back the way we'd come!) fortunately he wasn't too bad on the way back and managed to walk/jog it. It's a horrible experience so I don't blame you whatever you did! (I also had a few idiots trying to overtake me at around 60mph whilst my horse is already terrified in flat out gallop which really didn't help the situation! You'd think they might realise you don't mean to be doing it and at least wait for you to slow down!)
 
stay on! There is only one time i have ever considered jumping off (really scared horse bolting blind round seriously tight corners) but even though i worked out how to do it safely, i couldnt bring myself to actually do it. I would far rather stay with my horse and at least try balancing oit on corners and perhaps have some say over the steering. If it ever happens again, make sure you lean back (not forward as you'll have less pulling power), feet hard in the stirrups in front of you to brace your weight on and then you can use your whole weight to help you rather than just your arm strength.
 
I would always try to sit it out and watch for a space to turn/pull up. I'm far too much of a wimp to bail out and I don't want to think about what the consequences of a lose horse on the main road would be.
 
Thanks all.
Forgot to add, that she did eventually slow to a canter but she was determined to continue at that pace. I know the road well and there was nowhere we could possibly turn in.
I grabbed her mane and jumped off - planning to land on my feet, running beside her to slow her - once your beside her - she's an angel.

My downfall was, in the panic I forgot about my twisted knee and it collapsed. Hence me landing on knee and back. Pony stopped immediately as I kept a hold of reins.

Police stopped, apologised and did offer assistance. I felt very foolish and embarrassed and sent them on their way ASAP.

Snowy and Paint it Lucky - I can see where you're coming from regarding jumping off but I was majorly panicing about her legs and turning up the stable road. I'm afraid that thinking about me didn't come into it. :/ Honestly can't believe that during the entire time, I was thinking "OMG, her legs are goin to be *****. Hope that you and both your neds recovered fine.

Once she had spooked, the police car backed right off and I really exaggerated my dismount.

I am very fortunate to have just a skinned knee and my backs a little scraped. I've had worse falls on soft grass tbh.
Turns out the police had been called to a RTA just past the yard entrance.
 
Yaiks, glad you weren't more seriously hurt!

The only time I've had a similar experience (friend fell off, her horse took off mine followed on a narrow, twisty single lane with ditches either side) I did consider jumping off but couldn't quite figure out how to do it. Stunt riders have my admiration - deciding to fall off is decidedly harder than it sounds!
 
I had to do this a long, long time ago when the cheap indian leather reins snapped on the 16.2 ex racehorse I was riding and left me holding onto the ring of the snaffle bit!

Thankfully, I was a lot younger then, I was also supple and weighed just 7 stone.

We were heading for a main road out of a lane. My OH, boyfriend then was running back and forth across the lane waveing his arms about like mad, in a desperate effort to stop the horse. As the mare went from a flat out bolt she was in, to a slower bolt I swung my leg over onto one stirrup and lowered myself to the ground, amazingly landing on my feet:eek:

The mare stopped and dashed into a gareway.

Phew! It's never forgotten.
 
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