Horses and safety

I have been working with horses a long time now. I used to work for a big hunter/jumper barn with trainers that could sometimes be a little reckless, and so I have seen more than my share of incidents causing injuries. I also read horse related news and bulletin boards, so I read about needless tragedies that highlight the risks that come with working with horses, and how important it is to take reasonable safety precautions.

I realize though, that some of you are fairly protected from what can (and does) go wrong, and so take needless risk. Hopefully I can open some eyes.

#1; Footwear: Boots with a heel. And not just any heel...and heel that is at a right angle to the sole. A heel that slopes to the sole is pointless and just inviting the foot to slide through the stirrup. The heel needs to be sufficient that if the rider looses their foot position and weight ends up going down into the toe, that their foot isn't going to slide right through the stirrup. Why? so if they fall off, their entire leg isn't going to be caught up in the stirrup, leaving them hanging alongside a very likely frightened equine.

This weekend a small child was sitting on a pony with runners and her feet in the stirrups. Mom told me "oh, she is ok like that". To which I responded "well, me and my insurance company are not". All that had to happen for that kid to get very hurt is for pony to shake, kid to get shook off one side, kids foot to slide through stirrup and pony to spook from dangling child resulting in a hoof to kids face.

And then there were the two girls that rode up after the show in runners and no helmet. Watching them ride was painful as they had no concept of heels down.

Western or english, you want to minimize the risk of getting caught in the stirrup if something goes wrong...being dragged rarely turns out well, as even the most calm horse can panic when it finds its rider hanging of its side after a bad stumble!

Safety stirrups help prevent the risk, or hooded western stirrups.

But it isn't just a heel that keeps you safe, you also want to make sure the boot isn't too thick/wide for the stirrup. Those stupid winter riding boots drive me crazy as they are so thick that they pretty much wedge into the average stirrup, leaving the rider at a lot of risk if they happen to come off! Can you imagine having your horse spook, you falling off one side, but having both feet stay in the stirrup?

#2: Helmets: I am a big advocate of helmets. And no, I don't think adults should have the "right" to decide for themselves. If you ride at my barn you are setting an example to others, and have to wear a helmet. Plus, I don't think I could handle cleaning up brains.

The need for a helmet has nothing to do with level of ability or the horse's level of training. Courtney King-Dye was an international level dressage rider, riding an international level dressage horse....he tripped. She fell. Hit her head. Coma.

I really do NOT get the common perception that western riders don't need helmets. I dislike going to the little open shows where all English riders must wear helmets, but gymkhana rider's don't! I do not get the logic.

Do western horses not spook? Trip? Have heart attacks?

Look at what happened to that person at the Calgary Stampede in the Team Penning. Good rider, adult, on well trained horse. Horse has a heart attack. Falls on rider. Rider does not have helmet. Rider ends up in a coma.

I remember a while back...maybe 8 years, there was a news story that broke my heart. Girl used to ride down the road to meet her friends. Parents stipulated that she had to wear a helmet. Girl's friends did not wear helmets so girl would ride to the end of the road, take her helmet off, hang it on a post, and meet her friends, putting her helmet back on when she headed home. Went fine until one day horse made it home without her. Dad went to look for daughter. Found the helmet on the post. The saw his daughter laying in a pool of blood. No idea what happened as the horse was quiet and safe. Kid was in a coma for 3 days before mom and dad had to make the decision to pull the plug. NOBODY, not even a selfish self centered teenager should put someone else through having to make a decision like that, so even if you don't want to wear the gear to protect yourself, wear it to protect people that love you from having to go through that.

Parents tried to do the right thing by enforcing the helmet rule...although they should have gone a step further and told her she couldn't ride with friends that didn't wear a helmet. Of course I bet her friends do now...

Usually people don't use the proper equipment as they are either too cheap to buy it, too lazy to use it, too vain to wear it, or subcome to peer pressure. First year I showed dressage I was one of the few Pros to wear a helmet. Last year when I showed western, I was one of the few in the western classes with a helmet. That didn't stop YJ and I from placing very well...including beating some western pros in their Stetsons.

If you think wearing a helmet is cumbersome or uncool...imagine spending your life wearing a diaper because of a head injury...how cool would you be then?

Karen