That happened to Tamie Smith at Jersey Fresh many years ago! Horse got his shoe or hoof caught up in the carabiner at the bottom of the girth.
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Sometimes it does. Sometimes it does not break quickly enough to prevent a fall.
Happened to someone I know just last year. The strap of their breastplate that goes from the chest to the girth got snapped by a shoe part way through cross country. The strap snapped (thankfully) and the horse gleefully did the rest of cross country (the rider did not realize until they finished) with that strap whacking them in the legs.
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Yep same here. We used to add clips to martingales and breastplates at the girth and that hardware was NOT going to snap. Now I know better and choose breastplates that donāt have a girth strap at all (the Free Motion or whatever), and I choose martingales that I run the girth through leather. More time consuming, but if the loop is adjusted properly thereās less to catch on. No need for belly guards here 
Loose rear cinches are a HUGE risk for this kind of accident too - though Iāve seen it happen from cow-kicking at a fly more than at-speed activity. The timing of catching it over a jump or on landing is just the worst possible scenario!
Something to be said for minimal tack, bare feet, and bare legs, though nothing we do can prevent horses from finding SOME way to get hung up.
ETA: also realized I havenāt used a martingale in years. Too much hassle for little reward - I donāt think a standing is more than a fashion item (they do break up the front half of the horse nicely, but they donāt serve a purpose really). I donāt have anything that needs a running to the point that I think I sold all of mine.
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I always thought they came about to camouflage the one horse in the barn that needed one. Just put them on everything so that one doesnāt stand out. No proof of that, it has just always been my opinion.
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Iāve had a horse bite at a fly on his chest and get his mouth stuck on a martingale strap (the portion around the neck). The scariest 20 seconds of my life! I managed to get off before he flipped/fell. Honestly, if thereās a way to get caught in a piece of equipment, a horse will find the way. Blankets, fly sheets, girths, reins, shoes, fencesā¦all can cause problems when feet or mouths come in contact.
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Yup - my kidās pony got the ring of his snaffle bit stuck on the peacock stirrup hook (also in the news this week) and almost fell over before he managed to release himself.
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Any equipment we put on our lovely horses can potentially become dangerous Not usually. But sometimes. And when things go pear shaped. It can get scary.
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I saw someone get their spur strap through the release mechanism of a safety stirrup. One of the closed branch ones - it got hooked around some obscure piece that perfectly trapped the spur strap. She didnāt notice until she went to dismount and was left doing the splits! Luckily she was tall on a shorter horse and he stood like a rock while she unbuckled the strap. It could have been a wreck.
(I donāt know the brand of stirrup sadly, but it was a competition legal closed branch, one of the bulkier options.)
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Iām going to be sharing all of my unpopular opinions this week. 
I donāt ride in safety stirrups either. The best safety stirrup is a properly positioned leg with weight in the heel.
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Leather only breaks when you do not want it to.
Have actually seen a horse with a hind shoe caught on a fly mask and another with 5 gallon bucket around its neck.
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I let my horse drink out of a 5 gallon bucket with a full cheek bit in. It had the keepers on correctly, but when he hooked it, the weight of the bucket and water just shoved the keeper down the bit. Bucket, horse, water, and teenage me all went flying.
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margie goldstein engle was badly hurt some years ago just like that. Not sure the exact bit etc etc but it got caught on her stirrup and down they went.
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I had a horse go to itch her ear and get her back leg caught in her rein near her neck. The leather snapped before the rider could get off. It felt like it took five minutes, but it probably happened in a matter of seconds.
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The whole slow motion/time lapse thing around horses can be really freaky.
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I had something similar happen recently. Mare went to scratch her face with her front leg and got her leg up through her reins. When she went to pull her head up, her leg was hooked over the reins and stuck by her eye. It happened so fast I didnāt realize what she was even doing until her leg was stuck at her face and she started to freak and spin. Fortunately the hook on her rein by the bit popped off before she could get hurt and I bailed off (and narrowly missed landing on the mounting block). We got lucky that the rein broke when it did because it definitely could have gone poorly.
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I spent a long time looking at a pony across the aisle, trying to figure out what I was seeing. It was his hind shoe, no longer attached to his hoof, stuck through the buckle of his cribbing strap.
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Same! Broke my reins while I was about 3 miles in to a 10 mile ride. Fortunately I had baling twine in my saddle bags!
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Moral of the story: Always bring the baling twine!!! Lol.
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ALWAYS!!
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I did that once when a rein broke out hunting
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