From: Pat McGee
Dear Jessica,
I too wish to join in the chorus of grateful 'thank yous' for your wonderful list.
Yesterday I was trotting in the "arena" [which isn't one but is what is available at the barn] when my horse stumbled. Somehow, and I'm not sure how or why, he must have gotten hung up, possibly stepped on a rein. He fell to his knees and I flew off. He's fine; the bridle was destroyed; I'm bruised but okay and grateful for the helmet. My question is what should a rider do with the reins when a horse stumbles. My inclination is not to yank back but rather loosen up to let him recover on his own, but this time things didn't work out quite as I anticipated. By the way, I've owned this horse for 11 years; he's very safe and sound, I think the stumble was just accidental due to the poor footing.
Thanks, Pat Patricia B. McGee
Horses may stumble for all sorts of reasons, so don't panic. A tired horse is likely to stumble -- so is an unfit horse, and a horse with too-long toes, and a horse being ridden in poor footing. It's true that horses with navicular disease will stumble, but much more often than once in eleven years!
It sounds as though your horse simply took a bad step -- perhaps putting one foot on a high spot or a rock in the arena, or on a low spot or hole. Or you might be quite right about the horse having stepped on the rein -- the destroyed bridle would certainly indicate that there was a sudden, large amount of pressure involved.
It's better that the bridle broke -- the alternative might have been a horse with an injured neck, and the horse would almost certainly have suffered a badly injured mouth.
It doesn't seem to me that you had any warning of an incipient stumble, and the horse didn't have a history of stumbling, and you weren't in a good position to help him anyway -- I doubt that there is anything you could have done under the circumstances. When a horse goes down on his knees suddenly, only the most balanced, athletic, and ATTENTIVE rider will even have a HOPE of staying on! Most riders will go flying (generally over the horse's right shoulder). I'm glad you were wearing your helmet! Most riding accidents -- including the head injuries -- occur at a standstill or walk, after all! It's a good thing you were only trotting -- any more speed and he might have done a complete somersault.
This particular stumble was probably a fluke! But here's what you can think about in case it happens again: first, how did your horse get in a position where he COULD step on his own rein? It's not safe to have your reins that long, or to drop one (in the case of split reins). If a horse steps on a rein and gives his own lower jaw a strong jerk downward, the surprise and pain can stop him as though he's run into a brick wall -- or it can drop him to his knees. If you are riding on the buckle (English tack) or with long split reins (Western tack) be sure that the reins aren't SO loose that they create large, dangerous, swinging loops between your hand and the horse's mouth. Light contact is suitable for English riding; a loose rein is suitable for Western riding, but not so loose that you could jump rope with it.
Your instincts are good: if your horse stumbles, there is NO point in snatching the reins. All you can achieve by this is to hurt the horse in the mouth -- and if he has stepped on a rein, he has ALREADY been hurt in the mouth. Your best bet is to leave the reins alone, or even slip a bit more rein to the horse, precisely so that he will NOT hurt his mouth. He isn't stumbling to be clever, he doesn't enjoy it any more than you do. ;-) And since he uses his head and neck as balancers, and desperately NEEDS balancers once he's on his knees or headed that way, let him have complete freedom with his head and neck. Meanwhile, put YOURSELF in a good position.
If you are in a good position, with your body balanced over your legs, you can sometimes help a stumbling horse regain his feet quickly. When you feel the stumble begin, push your feet slightly forward, bring your shoulders back and together, straighten your back, and look UP. This will help keep you in balance, and your balance will help your horse stay in balance. If you roll forward onto your knees and drop your head to look at the ground or the horse's head and neck, you will make the stumble worse and you are likely to continue the curling-up motion until you've come right off the horse.
The nice thing about a solid position is that it's something you can practice. When you automatically "assume the position" and slip the reins whenever the horse stumbles, you'll be far less likely to come off. Riders almost always fall off forward and to the side -- rarely backward. Riders are humans, and humans have a natural instinct to curl up into a foetal position when threatened or frightened. On horseback, this removes all the rider's balance and security, and throws the rider's weight onto the horse's forehand -- not really something you want to do to a horse that has just stumbled and is trying to cope with the fact that all of HIS weight is suddenly on his forehand!
Be aware of Things That Make Horses Likely To Stumble. I mentioned some of them in the first paragraph -- here are some others.
Light -- especially sudden changes from light to dark -- can make it impossible for a horse to see where he is going. Twilight isn't especially good for vision either -- human or equine.
Terrain and footing matter -- are you riding on grass? wet grass? dry grass? hard ground? soft ground? through mud? on gravel? in snow? on ice? Are you in an indoor arena that's been freshly harrowed and raked, or one that's had a load of new footing added, or are you riding in a ring that hasn't been graded in a LONG time, and has a hard path around the edge, a foot below the rest of the arena footing? That's a burning formula for stumbles, and injury-causing stumbles at that!
Speed matters. So does direction -- are you going uphill, downhill, across a hill? How much of a grade is there? It will affect the severity of the stumble.
Pat -- if your horse has only stumbled ONCE since you've owned him, I'd say you're lucky AND a good horse manager, and that you also have a good farrier! You may never experience another stumble, but just in case you do, you'll know a bit more about what to do and what to expect.
Jessica
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