I used to think I was all fantastic for never having fallen off a horse until recently last month I fell off twice in one week! I%26#039;m feeling a little discouraged, especially since the first one was my first ever and could%26#039;ve easily been prevented. But the second time that week I%26#039;d fallen just made me think I learned nothing and was becoming a horrible rider! (they were two different horses and reasons why I fell) Just wondering how everyone else%26#039;s first falls happened and how they gained their confidence back.
My first fall was on a horse that was a level higher than I was but my trainer thought I should give it a shot. We ended up doing really well together until we did our canter warm up. We started a 20m circle and just one stride away from the last turn he decided he wanted to canter down the wall the opposite way and did a flying lead change (I%26#039;d never done a flying change before) and I lost my stirrup and slipped off sideways. My boot was stuck in the stirrup so I landed directly on my back/head and dragged for a second until he hit the brakes.
Now your turn! What happened to you and your horse?How did your first fall happen?Don%26#039;t worry about it; all riders fall off hundreds of times in their careers- it%26#039;s part of the job. :P I%26#039;ve actually managed to fall off 3 times (first 3 falls ever) within 5 days once (all on the same horse too. xD)
The first fall wasn%26#039;t so bad. I was cantering Willy towards a small vertical jump (I%26#039;d been riding for about 6 months or so). I went into two-point too early (something you could NOT do on that horse), and he refused. I flew over his head and landed on the other side of the jump and did kind of an army roll type thing and sat back up just as he decided to jump and land on the other side next to me.
Second fall was what really shook my confidence and made me terrified of going faster than a slow canter, jumping, and actually caused me to start crying during my lessons for a few months after that. I was on Willy (same lesson as the first fall, after I had gotten back on). My course had gone well until then and I was heading for my outside line (a small vertical and a super small oxer). Anyway, I managed to lose both my stirrups over the second jump, and not wanting to jump stirrup-less, I turned Willy out of the line. Not knowing what to do, I was squeezing with my legs trying to stay on to get him to stop, which (obviously :P) made him go faster. I was crying because I was absolutely terrified, trying to stop him. My trainer kept telling me to turn him into the fence, but I didn%26#039;t know what she meant, plus I kept thinking he was going to try and jump the fence. After 3 or 4 laps galloping madly around the arena, I somehow managed to lose my reins. No idea how it happened, but it did. I wrapped my arms around his neck (thinking, for some reason, that would make him stop. xD), and he bucked me off...right onto a fence. I remember landing and seeing his hoof hit the ground about two inches away from my face. He ended up running out of the outdoor arena and back to the barn. :P That fall shook me up pretty bad, and I only rode Willy once more after that; two days later, when he managed to throw me off /again/! Lovely, right?
Everyone falls off sometimes. Like another answerer said; it%26#039;s not a matter of /if/ you fall off; it%26#039;s a matter of /when/ you fall off. :PHow did your first fall happen?haven%26#039;t yet but i will !!!!!!!!How did your first fall happen?Don%26#039;t feel discouraged because you fell off. It happens to everyone, no matter how good a rider they are. What you have to do now is make falling off a type of art form.
Seriously we all fall......you just have to learn how to do it to lessen the impact and avoid as much injury as possible. I%26#039;ve had some SPECTACULAR falls over jumps.How did your first fall happen?I was riding my horse around my yard in my new saddle and I was trying out some spurs, because it was my first time with spurs on I wasn%26#039;t really sure what to do. I ended up full out running her and the next thing I knew I was on the ground and the saddle was on the side of her I have never fallen since then.How did your first fall happen?The mare I was riding was jogging along nicely, then when another horse passed she decided she wanted to canter with him. Since I had never cantered before (I%26#039;d only been riding maybe 2 months), and was completely unprepared for it, I slid right off of her.How did your first fall happen?hmmm...my first fall? It was my second time jumping and it was over a small cross rail that was about the height of a ground pole and I didn%26#039;t have my heels down, was looking down, already in two point 10 feet before the jump, at the trot, and...he stopped. lol. I flew over his head.
However, I got back on and finally worked my way up towhere now I train OTTBs and get the joy of experiencing many falls in that lol. I train to do jumpers and hunters and love every minute of it, ever when a difficult horse finds a way to get me off their backs! ...How did your first fall happen?I%26#039;m pretty sure I had several falls when I was little that I don%26#039;t remember (most likely from being bucked off my pony!) but the first one I remember was when I was probably 8 or so. I had a little %26quot;white%26quot; (gray) pony named Snowflake (original, I know) who was green (good combination, right?) and a little nutty, or maybe she just didn%26#039;t like kids...ha. My twin sister rode her one day and took her up our long driveway (we lived in the middle of the country with a 1/3 mile long driveway). She said that they saw a turkey and the pony spooked, but didn%26#039;t do anything. So I get on for my turn and do the same thing--except that this time the turkey gobbled. Snowflake spun around, bucked, and bolted. I hit the ground after the buck, was knocked out, and rescued by my panicking mother who found the pony galloping towards the house without me...that was the first and worst time I%26#039;ve ever lost my confidence while riding. I was scared to go faster than a trot for a long time, and didn%26#039;t ride that pony again until I was about 11--she proceeded to dump me again within a few weeks, and we sold her after that.
Don%26#039;t be discouraged--we%26#039;ve all had falls where we feel stupid or just know we could/should have stayed on. One day you%26#039;ll have a more impressive fall where no one could%26#039;ve stayed on and you%26#039;ll be wishing it was just an embarrassing tumble into the dirt :).How did your first fall happen?Ouch! I hope your alright!
My first fall happened on an arthritic horse, who tripped easily. We were cantering, and it had rained a couple days before, and she liked to cut the corners. The center part of the arena was relatively muddy, and she cut in. All of a sudden, she tripped and her back legs hit her front legs and we both went down. I don%26#039;t remember or not if she rolled on me, but I was a little scraped up and the horse was stiff. I was more worried about her, but after a few days we were both fine! Good question!How did your first fall happen?the horse started cantering and I flew backwards off his butt.How did your first fall happen?With horses it is often not if you fall off but when...
My first fall was really silly. My dad was leading me on my horse in the outdoor arena when all of a sudden she just started bucking (not small ones either). It was my first time on a bucking horse, I managed to stay on for three before flying off and breaking my arm. We never found out why she started bucking as it was so out of character for her (we know that it had nothing to do with pain or tack).
It was hard to get my confidence back after that fall, especially since I didn%26#039;t know why she started bucking. It was really scary to get back on a horse however I found a great trainer who took my mind off of the fear and whipped me back into shape. Thanks to that trainer I am now more confident and braver around horses than before falling and breaking my arm.How did your first fall happen?I was learning how to canter and got WAY to far forward and just kinda slipped off the side and landed on my butt.How did your first fall happen?mare in heat + my first horse show :)
I have been riding for 3 years and I have fallen off 3 times. Honestly I laugh at people who act like they are such good riders for never falling off-every every every good rider has fallen off.How did your first fall happen?I would love to ride like many of you but I will tell you of my daughter%26#039;s first fall-she was out in the ring on a horse that hates rain. As many of you know they turn their butts toward the direction the rain is falling to keep it out of their face,well this guy turned so fast that he popped my daughter in the air like a piece of popcorn. Thank God a side walker (cause this was therapy) had her arms up just in time for my daughter to fall into them.
After that a pony dropped her on a trail because it spooked at the wind. Your fall sounds like one a little girl at our barn took a month back, you are so fortunate your arm or wrist didn%26#039;t break like hers did, thank God my husband was there for that class or I might need Zanax just to be an on looker. Keep your helmet on and your heels down. Glad you are okay.How did your first fall happen?The first time I fell off of a horse, I was five and riding around the ring on a horse that%26#039;s 15%26#039;3. Now, as a kid I had a pony, did well with him, so I thought I wouldn%26#039;t need to be led around on this horse..well, she%26#039;s a bit hot tempered with a rider, never mind if you%26#039;re five or twenty five.
I was going around minding my business when one of the older riders cut in front of me at a lope, their horse%26#039;s tail flicked in Dali%26#039;s, (horse) face, and off I went. If I had of been riding western it wouldn%26#039;t have happened, but it was my second time using an English saddle. To this day I still see Dali all the time; she%26#039;s still at the barn that I board in, and she%26#039;s still a beast. I%26#039;ve managed to forgive her though, haha.
The last time I fell off one of my own horses was two months ago. There were a group of kids coming up for a camp, I was in the outdoor ring, and going at a canter. One of the kids decided to just walk right in (smart, right?) when I was on a turn after they were specifically told not to go anywhere the horses were. I didn%26#039;t see him until I was about six feet away, plus he%26#039;s really tiny. I stopped my horse on a dash, flew over the top of her head, all while holding onto a rein. Oh my god, I sent myself into such a shock I cried for an hour. I seriously thought the little boy was going to get run over by me, and I wouldn%26#039;t have been able to forgive myself. After wards I had a sore butt and a few choice words for the girl who ran te camp that day.How did your first fall happen?You shouldn%26#039;t feel anything but sore, lol. People fall off all the time, check this out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYOKc-RB4
My 1st time was on my horse I now own. It was the 2nd time(if I remember correctly) I rode him at this fun day type of thing at the ranch he was at.
We where doing barrels. I know barrels on a horse I just met? But it was cantering, and not a serous race or anything. Any way, I turned for the barrel, he turned for the gate. We simply split apart!
I learned then one valuable lesson about horses: They don%26#039;t always have the same thing in mind you do! He was pretty much the 1st non lesson horse I rode, but I loved him anyway. Now he is my baby, and I have fallen off him more then a few times, lol!How did your first fall happen?I was out on a trail and it was rocky and steep. My horse was an ***, and not that many people could ride him. He decided he was done working for the day and started running and bucking. He almost pushed one horse and rider down the cliff/hill/slope! Instead I fell off because he rammed me into a tree and I lost balance right as he started bucking. Not the greatest moment..How did your first fall happen?I%26#039;ve fallen off 18 times, but my first fall taught me something important: explosive horses suck.
So I was stuck riding my least favorite lesson horse, but I was just happy to ride. We were just walking innocently around the arena as we%26#039;d done millions of times before. And then the horse, Dunnie, reared up and took off bucking. I fell off into a dirty pile of shavings, but at least it was a soft landing! I never liked that horse after that. I%26#039;d been riding for nearly a year before that fall.How did your first fall happen?I fell off the first time I rode. My horse %26quot;spooked%26quot;. He really only skittered sideways and trotted off and I fell under my sisters horse. We were in a round pen walking. I don%26#039;t think mine falls into the %26quot;exciting%26quot; or even %26quot;interesting%26quot; category. :)
I was a horse-crazy 7 year old at the time, so I wasn%26#039;t phased at all. Confidence wasn%26#039;t shaken. Dusted myself off and got back on. I wasn%26#039;t really bothered by a fall (and there were a lot of them) until my horse reared and landed on me at 14. It took me a while to regain confidence after that. I think lessons and developing a secure seat really helps in that regard. If you can stay on a few really gnarly bucks or hops, you feel like you can take on the world. When you fall and it%26#039;s because of something you can%26#039;t control- like when a horse falls on you or you get hung up on a fence- I think you get more shaken than when you just slide off because of balance or a buck. Those are the times when having a good solid foundation in riding and a calm horse to ride for a while comes in handy.How did your first fall happen?I had just turned 7 and was living on a farm in France. They had some horses that live in a wooded area as a herd. The only one ever to be broken was the stallion (yes there were foals - so cute when you are too young to know the welfare issues).
He hadn%26#039;t been ridden in a long time but my mum started %26quot;riding%26quot; him a bit (she hadn%26#039;t ridden in 10 years!) and me and my sister sat on him as my mum led him round. So of cause in my mind I was a great rider.
Over Christmas, when the family was away and my mum was in charge, some dogs started chasing the goats (it was a goat farm). Once the dogs were out of the way my mum decided the best way to get the goats furthest away was to ride the horse up to them (the herding dog was a bit old and she didn%26#039;t want to make him run that far - they had spread out a lot).
My mum fell off and a neighbor had to drive her to hospital leaving me, my sister and the goats in the hands of this mad women, who also worked on the farm, and the sheep dog (who I think was more trustworthy - it%26#039;s really bad but I can%26#039;t remember the dogs name, but he was lovely :-( ).
I thought I%26#039;d help by getting on the horse and rounding up the goats. Ha ha.
It wasn%26#039;t until we returned to England almost a year later that I learned what a saddle was. I thought
it was normal to ride bareback. Don%26#039;t worry though I wasn%26#039;t hurt - a goat broke my fall, and to this day my mum doesn%26#039;t know.How did your first fall happen?my first while was when i was riding a horse bareback for the first time. but you see i loved trotting and cantering...in saddle, id never done it bareback. sooo my uncle decided he%26#039;d get his horse to go into a canter so that my horse would get moving faster as well...buuuut then when it was too bouncy and i lost my balance i tried to stop him but instead i gracefully fell off the side of him and landed in some really tall green grass. thankfully the grass was there, i landed on my side. but it didnt hurt. according to everybody else my fall looked like it was planned lolHow did your first fall happen?I was at an all-day sensory clinic and had to borrow a horse for the event, as I was unable to trailer the horse I usually ride. I had never ridden this horse before, although I had seen in around the stables. Anywho, after taking a break for lunch, two friends and myself decided to go exercise our horses in a round pin nearby. Now, at the time, I had only been riding for a few months, while the other two had been riding for many years. They were cantering their horses, while I was trotting around. Until I decided it was time to start speeding up. To my own shock, she was a little bullet and zipped around. Pulling on the reins only made her jerk like crazy, which of course made me loose balance, and down I went. It wasn%26#039;t too terribly painful, as there was soft dirt on the ground. Didn%26#039;t really bother me. What DID scare me was that the gate was wide open, and she darted towards it (scared the living day light out of me). Luckly, they were able to close it before she had a chance to escape. Now let me tell ya, I learned my lesson: never try to do extreme things on a horse you don%26#039;t know.How did your first fall happen?For the record, im not counting this as a fall but a learning experiance!
I was trying to learn how to get on my horse bareback without a mounting block, but after hours of trying and failing i was fed up. I led my horse over to the fence, climbed up and prepared to jump on. Once i was on the fence however i realized my horse was just a bit to far away. Oh well! I jumped, slammed into her side, she spooked and took off galloping with me still laying in the dirt. When i walked back to the barn leading my horse, and my parents asked why i was all covered it dirt i told them i slipped and fell on the way home. Jumped and crashed was more like it!How did your first fall happen?My first fall was extremely dramatic...*drum roll please*...the saddle fell off on my first canter. haha amazing huh? lol. needless to say that very effectively taught me the importance of proper tacking up!How did your first fall happen?Well to date (crosses fingers) i%26#039;ve fallen off 3 times since i was 9, but i got my own horse at age 13 and actually started riding properly.
1st Fall... I was 9, the pony was 7... newly broke arab mare and an inexperienced big ego 9yr old.. not a good mix. She started cantering and i was like cool i can canter so we kept going, then she decided she was bored with straight lines so she bucked.. threw me over her head and i landed head first on a concrete pad.. had to be the concrete pad :S... = Concussion.
2nd Fall... I was 14 i think... simple fall of swing on bareback, bubbles started bucking and spinning (mustve clipped her flank oops) i stayed on for the first 3, then plowed into the ground... again face first. got up and had one side drenched in mud. = headache as didnt have a helmet.
3rd Fall... and by far the most painfull. TB mareish day, plus teenage monthly day... again... not a good combination.
We were quite happy jumping 70cm but i was getting frustrated as bubbles was rushing and wouldnt listen to me no matter what i tried so i sat down, hung on and tried my best... decided to jump 30cm, how on earth did i loose a stirrup over 30 when we had just been flying rounds of 70?? jeese i wouldn%26#039;t have a clue. but i did. and i was slipping off the right hand side, swearing. haha. i hung on to her mane and was trying to get my left foot out of its stirrup, finally did and fell underneath her. She kicked me in the head, then thrashed my ribs as she went over... and i landed in the one and only puddle in that 50x50m paddock.. again.. how on earth. = Broken ribs, concussion, bruised hip, mud covered and eaten, cracked helmet, and fencepost to the spine. oops. But i got back on (unknowing of the rib problem) and rode hard till she behaved. boy she hasn%26#039;t forgotten that.. and the best part is we got it all on video.
The bad part? that was the same helmet i had when i was 9 and landed on the concrete... i think i need a new helmet.. try telling my mother that.How did your first fall happen?It was my 2nd time ever riding a horse and my horse cantered and i fell off and broke my arm, it took me 4 months and i was a nervous wreck every time i thought of cantering but my dad came out and pretty much made me canter and i was exhilarated it was awesome and now i think i%26#039;m really silly for being scared. I have ridden for 4 years now and i am training my green 6 year old to jump (one day she will be an eventer).How did your first fall happen?i have had plenty of falls. its nothing to feel bad about. just hop back on. :)
I have even fallen off twice in one day.
even fallen off a very slow old horse. lol he took off and it was unexpected :)
When you fall of you learn. I learnt to hold on lol :)
hope that helpsHow did your first fall happen?Don%26#039;t feel discouraged, we all do it.
My first fall was when I rode western style. We were doing an activity (it was kind of dangerous) and the lesson pony I was riding started to buck. He was really kicking up his heels! And a lot. I was flung to his right side and tried to stay on, but couldn%26#039;t.
*Equest*How did your first fall happen?Haha, here where I%26#039;m from we say %26quot;you aren%26#039;t a proper rider until you%26#039;ve fallen off a hundred times%26quot; :D you%26#039;ve got a bit of a way to go! =)
I honestly can%26#039;t say I remember my first fall because I was too little to remember. It must have been sometime around when I was 9 or 10 and riding these crazy racehorses for an old guy who didn%26#039;t care about his horses, he just cared about the money they earned him if they won. So I mucked and mucked and mucked and then was allowed to ride a little. It was a cool deal. But it meant falling off a lot! I remember the one rule he set for me was that if I ever fell off, I must NEVER NEVER NEVER EVER let go of the reins and lose the horse, beucase then we might lose them forever. I know, right? That guy%26#039;d get sued in America for lack of looking after kids when around dangerous animals....
This is probably how my first fall went down:
Little, silly way too courageous girl riding large, hot-blooded racehorse, galloping at full tilt on a narrow forest road. Equipage rides around corner, horse spooks at oncoming horse, or car, or a stone on the side of the road. Little girl falls off, but remembers to keep hold of the reins!!!
LOL
In any case, here are some memorable falls I%26#039;ve had:
1) I was about 11 and was galloping along the road with my big sister on our first horse ever that we shared, a big coldblooded ex-racehorse. She had a really bumpy trot. We were wearing swimsuits because we%26#039;d been swimming in the lake, and helmets - just earlier that day my sister had forgotten her helmet when we left home, and we nearly nearly decided not to go back for it. So when we were slowing down from the canter, I started to fall off, and I gripped onto my sister so as not to fall off, and the result of course was that we both fell off. The horse stepped on my sister%26#039;s head, all but cracking the helmet. We were sooo shocked... What if we hadn%26#039;t gone back for that helmet?
Moral: wear a hard hat.
2) I was maybe 13 or 14 and riding this Nordlandshest in the pasture (cool race; and threatened by extinction, you guys should check it out). She was 16 years old and really stubborn. I was leasing her full-time. So I was leaning forward to do something, tighten the girth, the stirrups, I don%26#039;t remember. Suddenly she decided to put her head down and gallop underneath the electric fence. I was still on her, and my body caught on the fencing. So I was torn off the horse of course, and landed with my back right on this really sharp rock. I didn%26#039;t go for school for a week and was limping for two months. The day after that fall, my mother dragged me out to the local tack shop and bought me an expensive safety vest.
Moral: wear a hard hat, and a safety vest. Also, don%26#039;t trust a horse like that in a situation like that, and don%26#039;t leave yourself unguarded right next to an electric fence....
3) Things are a little blurred, but I remember borrowing the neighbouring barn%26#039;s huge XC course once (we were allowed to borrow on the condition that we wear a safety vest and not be alone) ... alone, stupidly ... in the middle of winter, and my horse (the big coldblood that I told you about in #1) sliding in the middle of a sharp turn and actually falling. She so nearly fell on top of me. I went about for weeks thinking I had broken some ribs, although I probably hadn%26#039;t. Thank god for safety vests.
Moral: Don%26#039;t go jumping on demanding XC courses by yourself =) Preferably, also on good ground, not ice. I live in an icy country.
4) Riding my favourite horse ever, an ex-racehorse that I sold about two years ago ... I digress. Anyway, my friend had egged me on to gallop around bareback on her in the pasture. I was and still am, quite scared of riding bareback, but she sits glued to the horse%26#039;s back and never ever falls off! So she was all coaching and really good about it, until my horse spooked or tripped or I can%26#039;t remember, but of course I bloody slid off, even though I just tried and tried and tried to stay on! Idun didn%26#039;t slow down at all like a good gentlehorse so I fell off at full speed. I hit my leg really hard and had to be more or less carried into the house. That sucked so bad, because I still really hate riding bareback!!
Moral: When you have to sell your horses in the end, sell them to good friends. =) That girl owns my horse now and is SOOO good with her.
Don%26#039;t be discouraged by falls! A lot of my falls have been by something happening at a full gallop, and then me ending up losing my balance and just sliiiiding off inexorably despite all efforts. Not all that spectacular, just humiliating....(and god, tighten your girth properly. Falling off by a saddle just sliding off when you%26#039;re cantering is, well... scary.) Falls are natural and you%26#039;ve got to get up on the horse again afterwards so that you don%26#039;t get spooked about it! But DO wear protection: a hard hat at ALL times and preferably a safety vest although I don%26#039;t always wear one, either ... you should try to wear one at least when you%26#039;re out trail riding on your own or doing serious jumping!How did your first fall happen?The first time I fell off a horse was when I was eight. I was riding a small shetland pony and she was scared off something in the corner and jumped/side stepped out of the corner. I was just learning and was trotting along completely unaware till she jumped out of the track (it seemed like a huge jump at the time, it was probably tiny but you never know) i was thrown off balance and slid off her side (at least it wasn%26#039;t far) and hit the dirt. I got back on and then the same thing proceeded to happen three more times (i guess i never learn :P)
Don%26#039;t feel bad about falling off because we all do and as long as your not hurt and you get back on its all good.How did your first fall happen?oh wow i%26#039;ve fallen i don%26#039;t know how many times!! my first fall was after like a year of riding and i was working on my canter.we were in a smaller arena than what i was used to so i was going around a corner and i was paying attention to his leg(to see if i was on the right lead) and i got to close to horse that really liked to kick. i came up on her, she kicked my horse, and cut his leg badly. i was just hanging there on him neck until he stopped! this is my first fall followed by many others! =PHow did your first fall happen?ya know, you should not feel bad cuz you fell off. every one will or has. my first fall was when i was on a trail ride with my 2 friends and my %26#039;2nd mom%26#039;. well, we were almost back to the trailer and we all wanted to trot. so, we let our horses trot. well, i guess my saddle was loose and it went to my horses side and i fell off. good thing i wore a helmet cuz i hit my head. (not that hard though) well, i tightened the saddle and got back on. my horse just stood there the whole time. it was funny because when i got back on, my horse shook her whole body and then i was like %26quot;holy crap!%26quot; but, it was all my fault cuz like, my friend told me that the girth looked loose, but i didn%26#039;t think it was so i just kept riding. well, that refusing to tighten the girth came back to bite my butt, i suppose!
Happy Trails!
