How to fall off a horse safely if possible?
I have just started riding my 17.2Hand percheron who is a doll. But my stable owners, trainers and everyone else says I am going to fall/be thrown off at some point, that it just happens. I am worrying about it way to much….
Is there are safe way, or better way to land if you know you are going to be thrown/bucked off?? It’s a long fall off a draft horse, and I just want to be smart and safe.
You have answers all over the spectrum here. As a senior who has been bucked off, slipped off bareback, spooked off, and got lazy in the saddle, I have had 7 broken bones at different times (and a broken shoulder right now) , NOT ONE of them was from a horse fall. Plenty of bruises and one mild concussion, but nothing serious. I am much more prone to trip over something and break a bone that way.
You plan things in advance; the most important thing was taught to me by an old roper almost 40 years ago. Teach your horse to stop when you slip in the saddle. Think of how a rope horse locks up and even backs up when the loop is thrown and the rider pops off to tie the calf. When you teach this to any horse, it will stop (even when spooked) and wait for you if you hit the ground. That guarantees you won’t get drug and it is hard to picture this unless you have been on the ground looking up (as I have), but the horse stands and looks at you for guidance instead of taking off. I have had 2 horses do this for me when the rider slipped from the seat. One was at a dead run and one was at a downhill canter. Both froze as taught. You are not training a trick horse for the circus, so there is no reason for you not to teach this. My horses learned it in about a week and I reviewed it at different gates every so often. I never practiced it at a full run, but the horse knew it anyway. An absolute lifesaver. Have a roper show you how to train a horse to stop when you slide off.
Secondly, I ride western and sometimes with an aussie saddle. I am no longer interested in looking appropriate. I ride with a helmet at ALL times. Arm and rib fractures heal. The broken head doesn’t have a good outlook.
Another poster already told you to teach the one rein stop. If you do your groundwork on hip disengagements and suppling and giving both right and left, you get control always by disengaging to stop the buck or the runaway. When you have that confidence and the horse already knows what is expected there, it makes that stop a piece of cake. If you don’t know how to do this, it is crucial for you to learn.
Now you are only left with you losing your seat and sliding off. My favorite place is in about 2 feet of snow. That’s the only time I didn’t bruise. Relax. Don’t let the fear paralyze you. Ride with a good seat and stay tuned into your horse and really feel him and be a good leader. Makes falling less of an option.
