likelihood of falls in dressage vs H/J?

[FancyFree]

Anyway, just mentioned that because there are a lot of unknowledgeable people out there who believe trainers when they say it’s okay to fall off all the time. No it’s not. I don’t care if you’re jumping. If you’re falling off every ride, something is really wrong with your trainer! Why does the horse world attract such nutters?

The more I read about some trainers, the more I appreciate the trainers I’ve had. None of my trainers would want me to do more than they thought I was capable of. From the size of the jumps to the type of show, if they thought it might be a bad experience, they’d give their honest opinion about it. I remember when practically my whole barn was going to a big show. I only had my mare about six months with just two shows under our belt (little shows at my home barn). My trainer discouraged me from going. Waste of time and money she said, not to mention being demoralizing if we did really badly. Some trainers are just in it for the cash though.

[Ambrey]

@Janet;4334799

I don’t knwo about FALLS per se.

But with regard to “trips to the ER”, there was a CDC study a few years ago.

The activity MOST LIKELY to send you to the ER?
Walking on a loose rein.

Haha, I definitely buy that! At least in my n=1 study of ER trips it fits

[mbm]

i dont think it is discipline specific - at least for me all my falls have been on greenies. and most of them have been on a free rein

it used to be i could stick anything, but a i get older i am less able to stick - i think my reaction time is lessening

anyway, my vote is for green beans.

[LD1129]

I have had less falls after switching from hunter/jumper to dressage. However my 5 year old last year got me off at a recognized dressage show by jumping like a cat 8 feet over a puddle (in a covered arena :rolleyes:)

[Equibrit]

The more time your _ss stays planted in the saddle - the less chance of bidding it farewell. Hence the benefit of developing a secure and balanced seat, whatever the discipline.

[Carnelian]

The last fall I had was on xc going novice in 2007. My DH thinks jumping is soooo dangerous that a “condition” of my new horse purchase was dressage only. This was no biggie because my eventing trainer moved to Georgia, and I gave it up rather than go it alone without her. I’m a re-rider that went prelim back in the 80s so I’ve had plenty of years eventing and doing lower level jumpers. It was an easy concession.

However my biggest horse related injury happened in the stall AT A DRESSAGE SHOW. Arm broken, surgery, plates in both bones.

I do have to agree that while on the horse, the more time you butt is in the saddle and not over a fence the more likely it will stay in the saddle.

All that being said I miss jumping and admit that I “cheat” once a month or so and jump some little stuff.

[FancyFree]

However my biggest horse related injury happened in the stall AT A DRESSAGE SHOW. Arm broken, surgery, plates in both bones.

What happened? That’s sounds really bad.

BTW it’s not “cheating” to jump your dressage horse. Some of them, like mine, really enjoy it. Although for us “jumping” is an itty bitty cross-rail at this point.

[badawg]

Well, I’m an eventer, and have had two somewhat serious falls in the last year. But both happened on the flat. Once was between fences, wasn’t even presented to a fence. The other happened as we were warming up. shrug My absolute worst injury happened years ago before I ever jumped as I was hacking in a field. You just never know. Ok, none of these examples were from dressage, but they were all on the flat.

[eventing-n-SD]

[QUOTE=Janet;4334799]
The activity MOST LIKELY to send you to the ER?
Walking on a loose rein.[/QUOTE]

I think about that every single time I dare to walk on a loose rein (which is a lot). The other voice in my head is Ingrid Klimke admonishing a rider several times at a clinic for not walking her horse on the buckle. It’s a double edged sword!

[SoldierBoy96]

I’ve only ever been dumped once over a fence. All the other times, I was doing flatwork. Makes me nervous that I’m cheating the system :lol:

[rodawn]

I also had eyes bugging out of my head when I read the comment of falling off every ride… errr WAY too much. Far too dangerous. Your head, neck and back can only take that kind of abuse so long, even with safety protection. You land on your head, even with a helmet on and your brain still smashes into the inside of your skull, and you can still break your neck. Geez louise, I’d be rethinking the coach and looking for one who taught me and my horse proper balance and form, or investing in some serious glue for my butt. Getting catapaulted out of the saddle by a powerful 1200-1500 pound animal at a speed akin to what - 20-30 km/hour? Can be a permanently life-altering experience, should you be fortunate enough to survive, which thankfully most of us do survive it.

Christopher Reeves broke his neck being catapaulted out of the saddle while jumping. (Did someone already mention that? I haven’t read everybody’s responses yet… if already mentioned, I apologize.)

It’s a rare to fall off during dressage. Actually, jumping is more dangerous than dressage, because the idea behind dressage is to teach your horse greater skills, obedience, and tractability under saddle.

It would possibly be more common to fall off a wiley youngster or a very dishonest pony who likes to do full-stops whilst dropping their shoulder, or one certain pony who thought it very funny to scoot under low branches… It is very important for everyone to learn how to do an emergency and/or flying dismount to land on your feet and still hold onto the reins.

The last time I fell, I nearly died. It wasn’t my horse’s fault, or mine. It was a freak accident. We were jumping in competition. His feet slipped out from under him in slightly slick turf conditions (even while wearing studs) during take off and down we both went, he on top of me, crunching me under poles and standards. Fortunately for me, the ground was soft and cushioned and enveloped me a bit, and doubly lucky for me, my horse was very careful getting up because studded hooves would have been devastating. People said he was watching where he put his feet, like he knew I was under there somewhere under the smashed poles and splintered wood. Good boy, he never ran away either, he stood there looking and waiting for me to get up - - which I never did get up until I woke up in the ER. Doctor said, no more jumping for you. Next fall could be your life. He, by the way, only had a few bumps and bruises.

Yes, you can fall while riding in dressage, but jumping definitely has a higher incidence and greater seriousness to it. For this reason, I also have a younger, skilled person start my youngsters and put a few months on them and then I take over.

Falling isn’t always the problem, however, it’s getting hung in your stirrups in the middle of a fall which could be the most life jeopardizing situation to be in. It would help to have the stomach strength to stiffen your leg, roll your body outwards to rotate your foot in the stirrup so it can fall out, or be able to heave your body to the saddle so you can reach the pommel and hopefully be able to hang on until you could release your foot, or talk your now anxious horse into calming down.

[bird4416]

I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve fallen off over the years. (been riding for over 40 years) Usually if the horse jumps, I stay on. Its when they slam on brakes at the last minute or veer off suddenly that I’ve parted company with the saddle. I have only come off once while riding dressage and that was because my mare gave a giant buck that sent me flying. She was unhappy about the movement I was asking for and let me know it big time. I think jumping just lends itself to more opportunities to lose your balance and come off.

[twofatponies]

[QUOTE=Eclectic Horseman;4334483]
Depends. Some unaccomplished riders have very bad balance and poor coordination. A rider who is rolling around in the saddle on her butt with her knees drawn up and using her reins for balance can just lose her balance and fall off without any reason whatsoever. Some riders that are a bit better than that will fall off if the horse trips or coughs. It really won’t make any difference with this type of rider whether they are riding over fences or on the flat. In fact, with this type of rider riding the same horse all the time, the situation is likely to get worse and worse as both the rider and horse become more tense.

Other riders will stay on unless the horse does something sudden-like stop short or shy. Theoretically, this will happen more in jumping, particularly with a rider that unintentionally interferes with the horse’s balance, causing a stop or run out. But it really depends on the horse’s temperament. I’ve seen flying armchairs that pack around small courses with terrible riders aboard, and I’ve seen sensitive dressage horses that lose their confidence and freak out when not ridden every stride by a competent rider.

In most circumstances, dressage riding inside the arena should provide less reason for a rider with poor skills to fall off, as long as the rider has a suitable mount.[/QUOTE]

Sorry, this just reminds me of a kid I saw at a junior type dressage show. She was sitting on her horse at a halt, outside the ring, and the horse did something so small - raised its head, coughed, rested one leg, I can’t recall, and the kid just plopped straight to the ground. I really had to work hard not to double over laughing. Poor thing.

[twofatponies]

[QUOTE=eventing-n-SD;4335468]
I think about that every single time I dare to walk on a loose rein (which is a lot). The other voice in my head is Ingrid Klimke admonishing a rider several times at a clinic for not walking her horse on the buckle. It’s a double edged sword![/QUOTE]

The several most serious accidents I know of (among acquaintances) all happened while walking horses on the buckle at shows. One woman nearly had to have her leg amputated due to the severity of the break! And they were all riders who also jumped.

In fact, the other several recent falls among acquaintances I can think of were during trail rides, at the walk (horse bucked, horse spooked, horse stung by bee, etc.) All resulted in broken bones.

ETA: makes sense, when you are walking on the buckle you are often chatting with friends, relaxing, thinking about how well/badly you just did, etc. and not as focused on what’s going on or what your horse is doing; besides not having the reaction time to address the sudden unexpected movement when the horse does something like buck or spook.

[dressagevettech]

[QUOTE=Janet;4334799]
I don’t know about FALLS per se.

But with regard to “trips to the ER”, there was a CDC study a few years ago.

The activity MOST LIKELY to send you to the ER?
Walking on a loose rein.[/QUOTE]

Ah yes that was what last sent me to the ER actually.
Done riding, cooling out in the indoor arena when thing “x” spooked my mare into a full out gallop. I had to bail out before she went down a hill into a fence she had no hope of jumping. She was fine.
I on the other had had a sprained shoulder, black eye/roadrash face, and a nice concussion.

Needless to say I am always on my toes when I walk on a loose rein now!!

[Twigster]

Most of my falls have come since I went from dressage to hunters when I got a new horse a year ago. Strangely, not one has been over fences and they’ve all been at the walk. (I think I got into a nasty habit for awhile of not worrying about the walk, and used that time to think about distances, where to change leads, etc…and miss mare’s big spook caught me by surprise more times than it ever should have.)

[Janet]

@rodawn;4336094

Christopher Reeves broke his neck being catapaulted out of the saddle while jumping.

Actually, he fell off due to the horse NOT jumping.

[thatmoody]

I did fall off once during a warmup on a loose rein. Horse saw a cow, reared, ducked hard sideaways during the rear, and came out from under me. But that was pretty extreme circumstances with a green horse, and it’s kind of unusual for me to get dumped that way. I was really nervous when I started riding English that I would fall off more often (after all, there’s no horn), but truthfully riding western I really was riding less broke horses, and didn’t get dumped that often anyway. Besides, I always rode in a slick roping saddle, and that horn isn’t much use for anything other than a rope anyway - I’d challenge you to even put your hand AROUND it!