Worst Falls? Tell them!

[ghosthousecorns]

I so wish I could go riding again. Horses are so expensive
I fell off a horse in a little gymkhana - type event growing up. I landed on my head, I was wearing a helmet and it broke! Explains a lot, probably. I was stunned but got back on and finished the race (came in last but got a consolation prize)
I've fallen off numerous times since then. The most memorable one was riding this older horse I used to sponsor, she stumbled and fell. It was on a hill. I was able to jump clear but landed downhill from the horse and she was rolling towards me. I had just enough time to crawl on my hands and knees out of the way, hooves missed my head by a split second. We were both OK though.
I'm jealous, I haven't gone riding in like 5 years.

 

[Lynnea]

All your stories are--what's the word...amazing, and like, you survived! Also amazing is how many horse "people" are here!

I have had my share of spills, over the years, suppose the worst one was when I was 14. I (stupidly) went riding my old gelding & first horse out through some woods into a pasture--with only a halter and lead line and on an English saddle. When we turned to head back, he took it into his head to get back FAST, took off at a dead run, and of course, no amount of yanking on the lead was going to stop him. Swell. We were headed towards the trees and a dilapidated wire fence with openings only in certain spots. So, what else could I do, but bail. My foot must've caught in the stirrup, because I fractured it. And guess what, my dad witnessed the entire event. He had to carry me back to the barn where we boarded him, with me crying, "Please don't sell him! It was my fault!!" Wah!! I did keep him for about three years.

I've owned mostly Morgans on and off over the years, sold the last three when we moved to this area about 14 years ago. And we live in horse country, including an annual Steeplechase. I do love horses to this day. However, I also have been riding motorcycles since '79, and I can tell you absolutely, I feel much safer on my bike than I ever have on a horse! I know, there's no animal-human connection, but I still love my motorcycle. So at this point, I won't be getting a horse again any time soon.

However, my worst (and knock-on-wood only) painful spill on a motorcycle was back in the 80's, when my bike went into a bad tank-slapper on a back road, fell over, and like hanging on to the reins, I couldn't seem to let go of the grips, so I was dragged along enough to scrape the skin off my knee. I finally let go and just laid there on the side of the road. Meanwhile, my boyfriend (now hubby of 23 years) had gone on and didn't know what happened. First car that stopped was a doctor--with a cell phone. Yes, I was lucky. I couldn't move, I was just in shock. I always wear a helmet, BTW. Meanwhile, future hubby comes back, kneels down next to me and says, "What did you do that for?" When I asked him how the bike was, he said the worst possible thing: "It's totalled." (It wasn't, just bent a little.) (He's really a good guy, believe it or not.) I ended up getting some very painful stitches in my knee by a couple of comedian doctors in the ER.

 

[Nanci]

Well, then again, the funniest was when I was about ... 12 yrs. old? Went out to the pasture and decided to sit on the back of my favorite horse but, for some reason, I sat on him backwards

When I was a kid, junior high school age or so, a bunch of us hung out at a riding stable. The horses there were of the quality that it was probably their last stop before "retirement." But they were all my friends, and most were very old and very patient. So besides taking formal lessons, you could rent horses by the hour and just go mess around- they had acres and acres of trails. After a while, they didn't bother to send a guide with us. We had this thing we called Horse Club, where we'd go to an open area and do tricks with the horses- ride backwards, ride standing up, much of this included making jumps out of hay bales and going over those backwards! It's amazing no one got injured- not a helmet among us. The old horses just put up with us and were so friendly about it all- probably just glad for all the attention.

 

[carol]

I just lost my 27 year old mustang in January, and to a toxic plant, not old age mind you. He had baggage when I bought him but the two times I got dumped were not his fault.
The first time I fell was totally my own fault, I turned him too tight in some slick wet hay and he slipped. I felt myself get unseated while he was halfway down and I jumped off. I landed on my feet just has he was catching his and we just stared at each other and promised we'd never tell anyone. Sorry Sox! I'm so glad he didn't get hurt, I would have never forgiven myself.
The second time I didn't land as nicely. We had a really great long ride and I was cooling him off in his pasture. We were both exhasted and I was just sitting on him to nudge him back into a walk whenever he wanted to stop, I had my feet out of the stirrups and reins dropped... after all he was tired and in a willing mood. After a few minutes he stopped along the fence, I put one hand in the air to try and look at my watch and the other hand in the air blocking the sun. Right at that moment my horse turned his head and hit his bit to the hotwire. I can't imagine what a buzz from hot wire felt like though a wet peice of metal in ones mouth but the next thing I knew I was still in the air looking at my horses bolting rear end. As soon as I saw his tail, I actually had time to think "I'm going to fall", and that I did like a brick. Thank goodness he was barely 14 hands when he needed his feet trimmed and it wasn't that far to fall. My baby ran to the end of his pasture and then walked back to say he was sorry. I was just thanking my lucky stars that he "knew" that the shock wasn't from me. My first thought after I hit the ground was fear that my pony would think I somehow had something to do with his pain and never forgive me. However, as always, he knew. It was my own fault for not asking the bording facility to turn off the hot wire in my pasture since my horse didn't need it, and I was breaking almost every rule of being atop a horse... not paying attention, feet out of stirrups, reins out of hand, totally off balance... Although, even if I was in perfect form, I'm not sure I would have been able to ride that bolt. He was a fast little bugger, and this was the fastest I'd ever seen him move.