Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE Newsletter Archives

Help, I am a fraidy cat!!

From: Marie

Hi My name is Marie. I read your answer to Maria about Tuffy and boy does she sound like me. I used to ride horses once in awhile at those rent a horse ranches. One day I got the ride of my life. I was 13 and the horse decided he wanted to be a saddle bronc. Silly me I guess we didn't communicate well seeing as I thought he was a TRAIL horse! Anyways after losing the reins and total control not to mention even a tad control I decided to bale. Normally I would of held on but that saddle really hurts when she hits ya in all the wrong places. When I jumped off, the horse came up off the ground and my foot slipped throught the stirrup. He dragged me for about half a mile. (this camp provided no helmets or told us to wear heels, and I didn't know better). Now I am petrified of falling. It took me 14 years to even go in a pen with a horse let alone touch one. Now I own 2 horses a 23 year old mare and a 16 year old mare. I am sure both are great riding horses but seeing as I am 30 years old I feel not as agile as I did when I was 18. My question to you is... What are the chances of serious injuries when being dumped from my horse and what can I do to prevent them? Are disabling injuries common or do we just hear about them more because of their severity? I am sure you can't answer my question 100% but I was just wondering on statistics. Thank you for your time. P.S I am not wanting to go fast either on my horse. I prefer walking on the trails not galloping or any of that. Maybe in the future. Also what is the best helmet to wear?

Hi Marie! I don't think that you're a fraidy cat, I think you're sensible - you've had some very frightening experiences. Losing control, falling, getting hung up in the stirrup and being dragged would be enough to make ANYONE think twice about ever getting on a horse again.

It's always possible to become injured in a fall from a horse - any fall from a height can cause severe injury, even a height of a couple of feet, and when you're on a horse, the distance between your head and the ground is more like eight feet. It's possible to take precautions by being sensible, learning to ride really well, being extremely aware of the horse and your surroundings at all times, and of course by using appropriate safety equipment, but there's always a risk. The only way to avoid the risk entirely is to stay off horses entirely, but as you've found, that can become frustrating after awhile.

We tracked injuries in the US Pony Club for years, before and after we made helmets mandatory equipment, and the results were very impressive. But for recent statistics, nationwide and involving adults as well as children, your best source will be the American Medical Equestrian Association. Here's their contact information:

AMEA
P.O. Box 130848
Birmingham, AL 35213-0848
1-866-441-AMEA (2632)
email: amea@charter.net

I would recommend that you take a three-pronged approach to your return to riding.

Get yourself as fit, strong, and supple as you can before you start riding again. Whether you do this at a gym, in an exercise class, at home with videotapes, or whether you just start going for long walks every day, work on your physical fitness! Fit riders get into much less trouble, and are better-equipped to cope when they do get into trouble.
As soon as you can feel that your fitness level is increasing, start taking riding lessons. Find an instructor who is gentle with horses and humans, and who deals well with nervous adult riders. A good instructor can help you both on and off the horse by teaching you breathing exercises, relaxation techniques, and visualization exercises. Start looking now, so that you'll know whom to call when you're ready to schedule lessons. In an ideal world, your instructor would have good school horses for your lessons; if that's not the case, ask the instructor to begin by giving your HORSES lessons - then WATCH those lessons. That way, when the horses are ready for you and you are ready for them, you'll be able to take lessons on your own horses, and everything will be under the instructor's supervision.
You already know that you would prefer not to fall or be dragged! Ask your instructor to teach you how to perform an emergency dismount (otherwise known as "bailing out") in case you're ever in a situation where you've lost control of your horse and it's heading in a direction you'd prefer not to go (onto the highway, for example). You might also find it worthwhile to talk to a gymnastics or martial arts instructor about taking a couple of lessons in falling. There are a lot of different ways to fall, and some are much less dangerous than others. Once you know how to fall, it doesn't mean you have to do it all the time, to stay in practice, it just means that IF you start to fall, you'll know what to do, and you'll be much less likely to panic, freeze, and fall badly.

You have a lot of options when it comes to helmets. As long as it's new, and as long as it meets or exceeds the current ASTM/SEI standards for equestrian helmets, the brand won't matter. Visit tackshops and try on helmets until you find one that fits your head well and is comfortable for you when it's properly adjusted and the harness securely fastened. The best helmet is the helmet you'll actually WEAR, so find the one that's most comfortable for you.

Statistically, most falls happen at a standstill and walk, so you are very wise to be thinking about riding in a helmet even though you have no plans to gallop down the trails. ;-)

Work with your instructor so that you can build your confidence again. It may take a long time, and that's fine. Don't try to rush yourself. The plan will be for you to become comfortable with the horses and eventually ON the horses, but that might mean spending several weeks just mounting and dismounting immediately whilst your instructor holds the horse, followed by several weeks of mounting, sitting for a minute or two, then dismounting, etc. It's not easy to deal with a loss of confidence, especially after so much time away from horses. Give yourself permission to go just as slowly as you need to go, and take as much time as you need.

Good luck!

Jessica

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