What do you do when you fall off a horse?

Question

When you fall off is it better to hold on to the reigns or let go? in my 2 years of riding i have never fallen off but now that i am getting to jumping i'm probably gonna fall of eventually so i'm just curious. i have heard its better to hold on and i have heard its better to let go. what do you think?

i would think it is better to let go because you could hurt the horse, get trampled, or drug but in a book it said to try to hold on unless the horse bolts

Answer 1

I think we are trying to asnwer 2 questions at the same time.
Keep the reins or let the horse go?
And,What to DO if you fall?
Could you add a few words so we can answer the best possible to just one question? Poeple really do care that you are safe and having fun.
## Its no game,so take take it serously! Your instrustor has the answers to this and all your questions,so for your money he/she should be in charge. If they wont answer you, arrange your questions carefully or get a better instructor.##
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Required equipment:Good Instructor,ASTM approved helmet,books and vid/dvd's of jumping basics, a quiet trained horse and twice checked tack so a fall is not the product of a broken leather or separated girth.Ride with the "gates"open, that is the spring latch that holds your stirup leathers in place. You can't get hung up in the irons if your gates are set OPEN. All jumping saddles have these to prevent a foot being hung up. Keep them clean and check that these lifesavers work.
Have a cell phone handy!and practice on the ground first without a horse to set yourself in a solid frame of mind.
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http://horses.about.com/od/learntoride/a...
Practial horseman December 2006
Equus magazine march 2005
USPC manual of horsmanship

Answer 2

Depending on how you are falling off, you should be concerned with landing in a way that won't get you hurt, instead of wether or not to hold onto the reins. You're probably in a ring anyways, so once you're off, and you don't have hold of the reins, your horse can't go far. Don't worry about the horse getting hurt, I've fallen off more times than I could ever count, and never has the horse been any where NEAR as sore as I was. I always worried about getting a foot stuck in the stirrup, but that never happened, even over 20 years of riding. So, forget about the horse, just worry about yourself, hit the ground in a combat roll, if you have time to get in that position!!

Answer 3

I have been dragged and severely injured holding on to the reins, but this was not as the result of a riding fall. I have always tried to keep the reins if possible because it is a long walk sometimes. You'll need to make the judgement at the time, and gravity will help you make the choice. If you are jumping, you should not be alone. Therefore letting go of the horse is not a big deal. He'll either run to other horses, or stand there and wait for you. If you are tucking and rolling, duh, you can't keep the reins very easily.

Do some vaulting work and learn how to manage yourself on horseback. Practice vaulting to the ground from walk and trot, and if you are being trained by someone, you may work up to the canter. Vaulting down at any speed faster than a trot can be very risky. If you have access to a vaulting gymnastics trainer, you can improve your balance and agility without the worry of controlling your horse.

You can also stand on the ground and hurl yourself down, practicing tucking your chin, holding your arms close, etc. Practical Horseman had a good article on this a few years ago. Wear your helmet and any other safety gear you have. The body protector is very nice for jumping work because you are inevitably going to bite it someday. However, it's overkill for an intermediate rider doing cavaletti and low fences, and a novice has no business over fences. If you move into eventing, a vest is very good for cross country, where the fences don't fall.

Answer 4

when you are beginning to lose grip, you should hold on; however, when you know that there is no chance of actually staying on, you need to let go, especially remember to let go of the rains, because if you don't there is a chance that you could pull your horse on top of you.; this, however, tho, isn't always the case. there are some instances where holding onto the reins could be the better solution. it depends on how you are falling, the speed, whether someone else is around, and whether or not you are in an enclosed space. this will take some judgement on your part, but you should know what to do when the time comes.

oh, another tip: stretch before you get on and then relax your muscles (as hard as it may be) as you fall off to help prevent injury. the more relaxed and stretched you are, the better, and to help prevent getting your foot stuck in the stirrup, be sure you don't have your foot too far in the stirrup, and keep your heels down.

hope this helps, good question!

Answer 5

In my experience with horses, most of the time when you fall, you're not going to be thinking too clearly about holding onto the reings. You're going to be instinctively trying to save yourself, and when you land, unless you make a lucky soft landing, you're just going to either let go of the reins or have them wrenched out of your hands.

If you do have a choice, you should let go. In most cases if you're riding over jumps, you're going to be in a closed ring, so catching the horse isn't going to be a problem. If you hang onto the reins, you will get dragged, and you will also spook the horse. The horse's natural reaction will be to bolt or try to get away, and you really don't want to have 900+ pounds of horse doing a tap-dance on your body as you're dragged along.

When you fall, depending on how hard you fall and what you hit, you will probably initially lie still, slightly stunned and shocked by what's happened. Your next action will be to take stock of whether you've been injured: you'll move your arms and legs and see if they work, start to sit up, spit out any dirt you've gotten in your mouth and run your tongue over your teeth to see if everything is intact. If things don't hurt too badly, in short order someone will usually have caught the horse and will bring it up for you to ride.

If you're unlucky enough to have hurt something in the fall, your best option is to stay as quiet as possible while someone takes steps to call for help. Right now, before anything happens, would be a real good time to make sure that you're set up for getting help if you should be hurt: make sure you have a copy of your medical insurance card where someone can easily find it, and make sure that someone knows what your medical group is and how they are to be notified if you need emergency treatment. You have to understand that it is entirely possible, if you have a bad fall, that you may need other people to get you help and make whatever phone calls are necessary to notify people of your injury. Virtually every person I know of who has ridden over fences has had falls that sent them to a hospital ER at one time or another. This is not to scare you, but you need to be prepared for this eventuality.

I've personally ridden with broken ribs and had teeth busted and my back hurt from falls, but it didn't stop me from enjoying riding, although now at 50 I don't ride over fences. Just make sure you ride as safely as possible and that you've taken steps to assure that you get proper treatment when you do fall. Good luck.

Answer 6

This is something that only experience will teach but in general you should hang on for as long as you can. Once you know their is no saving yourself then you should let go. The danger of hanging on is that you are more likely to fall under the hose and get trampled.

The next most important thing is after you've fallen of a horse is to get right back on it and ride on.

Answer 7

holding on to the riens is often recomended . this is not so much to keep the horse with you as it is expected that you have trained your horse not to leave you .
the general idea is this one this turns the horses head back so he can see you and thus not step on you .
two you are leaving the horse with the stirups down this may result in the horse thinking your still on and telling him to run because as he goes the stirups are hitting him .
thats about it .
i have never falled off either but i did see a person take less then one lesson and with the horse just walking slowly not even having been told to bring the horses head up yet this lady fell off and that was it . her husband a doctor was behind me she was in front and she broke her back . i have thought about this many times and i can not see how that happen it just seemed impossible.

Answer 8

LET GO OF EVERYTHING! this girl @ my camp fell of and didnt really let go and she got all tangled up in the reighns. it rapped around her foot, and she would have been dragged farther if one of the counselors hadent helped calm the horse down. i've fallen off 2 times while jumping, and i found it helpful that if you roll away you'll b better off. i knew it was coming and it was actually kinda awqward because it seemed like i lost my balance in slow-mo. anway, after u fall, chillax on the ground and catch ur breath. your horse might freak out. think of it from the horses point of view. some ULO (un-identified lifless object) climbing up from sand in his blind-spot. i'd be freaked out too. So, just let go when you loose control, and chillax when you hit the ground for 30 seconds ish. and catch your breath too. dont be in ahurry to get back on your horse. have fun jumping!!!!

Answer 9

I'm a young rider and I have been bucked off many times and my horse Duke is a pro jumper but doesn't alot compete. my advice is try your best to hold on, but when the horse freaks out on a jump throw your self off and slowly walk away and let the horse jump for a while. When the horse cools off you can walk towards him and get back up. Good luck plus I'm a barrel racer who just started so good luck!

Answer 10

Matey,I'm a jockey and I'll tell you now,I got dragged for about 2 kilometers up side down with my foot caught in the stirrups,I was thrown around like a wet rag,my foot finally came out of the stirrup,and left me with a broken ankle.I was very lucky that day.I could tell heaps more but time is limited,you come off, you get back on and show whose the boss,good luck..