Your first fall

Whyner

Let me think back to my first fall and tell you all about it.

It was 14 hours ago and I fell on the road.

Went out for a hack last night with my instructor and her sister. Did a lot of trotting followed by an exilarating canter up a hill to a beautiful scenic point looking out over the blessington lakes.

Down the hill we went and back onto the road. I was just kicking him to get him into trot and he slipped, his shoe came off him and I went over his shoulder landing on the road. I kept rolling as I thought he might fall over on top off me. Luckily he just sat on his ass.

Hopped back up on him and got back to the yard with no further hiccups.

The fall was grand, not even a scratch. I have the first one out of the way now. It was actually quite exciting. I love drama!!!

So go on, tell me about yours.

valz_walsh

This wasnt my first fall, but it was one of my more dramatic!! Iv only been horse-riding classes properally for the last year and a half. My relatives had horses so Iv had my fair share of falls off them.

I was horse-riding in an indoor arena about 6 months ago, on a big horse that I had never riden before, as I was going over the first jump my foot came out of the stirip, then my other foot came out, tried to stop the horse so I could get myself together, but he just turned around and did the jump again (I was just hold on for dear life). He took a sharp turn after the jump, he went one direction and I went the other!!

I landed on my head, and even though I was wearing a helmet I got knocked out for a couple of minutes. My friend who takes the class with me, drove me to A&E when I woke up. Scared the crap out of me. Luckily I was fine, was very dizzy for about 3 days after.

Iv fallen once since, but it does make you nervious (well I am anyway). The best thing to do it just get back up and evenutally the confidence will come back. Its a great sport, good on you for jumping back on.:)

Valz - sounds like a concussion!!

valz_walsh

I was in A&E for a few hours, they checked me and sent me home. Charged me 60euro for my trouble!! But at least it was nothing more serious. A bad fall could break your neck!

Jen Pigs Fly

My most dramatic fall was when 13 and I was on a hyper gelding about to jump 1 metre20 .. he was also a horse that if he didn't like something he wont do it.
Anyway we were there appraoching the jump, though he was going to jump and next thing I knew I was the one jumping the fence without him landing on the wing of the fence (the whole thing fell) got caught and then the gelding decided to go for a gallop.

Needles to say i couldn't walk for quite a bit, and had a bruise about the size of a dinner plate on my lower back!

And to this day, it still bothers me, I used to be able to do the splits ... no more haha sometimes I can barely get my foot into a stirrup!

kerrysgold

I was just kicking him to get him into trot

you should be squeezing rather than kicking.

I think my first fall was off a shetland or something when I was about 5 so I don't remember much about that, I know it was over a jump though lol.
my funniest fall had to be off a little green mare I used to ride, I was cantering her around the arena at a nice active pace and she just suddenly decided to stop dead and I went over her head and landed on my knees somehow o.O and she just stood there looking at me. I got back up and continued after I'd stopped laughing. I think my sides hurt more from the laughing than the actual fall lol.

skink

kerrysgold wrote: »

you should be squeezing rather than kicking.

so you are qualified to instruct people on their riding now aswell? it actually depends on the animal whetehr you squeeze or kick, some horses like coloured cobs and the like have thick skin and require a good oul boot to get going!

my first fall was when i was four or so, i learned to ride in the old abbeylands in clane, and the owner <snip>, was a very good friend of my grandad(god rest him) but anyway my grandad said i needed a fall for my confidence( god it was crazy ways of teaching back then) so a lunge is produced without mine or the ponys knowledge, and the pony gets a crack and he bolts, i held on for a while but eventually ended up in the sand! got back up and did a few little jumps and stuff, but have never looked back since! have ended up in ambulances after falls and everything, but the important thing is to get back up as soon as you can!

togster

kerrysgold wrote: »

you should be squeezing rather than kicking.

Jesus give the man a break.

Mine was a small pony and it involved me getting tangled in electric fencing while he stood munching grass. Bast!d

bada-bing

my first fall was when i fell off a small 12hh pony when i was about 8, he bucked me off, i got back up and he bucked me straight off again! but it was grassy and i was ridiculously brave in those days (not anymore!).
My worst fall was when I was riding a young horse out down the road, a dog came out and started barking, he got giddy so i got off and put the dog into his garden and closed the gates (I knew the dog!) but just i was leaning across the horses back to get back up and had my foot in the stirrup the dog jumped over the wall and the horse took off! i went to jump off (in retrospect id have been much better off just getting on board but you never think rationally do you?!) and my foot was stuck in the stirrup, i was dragged for a small bit and ended up under his leg where he duely stoop on my right upper back causeing my shoulder to dislocate.
And my SORE-est fall was definitely when I got bucked off a huge horse in the outdoor sand when it was frosty and somehow managed to land sarly on both... knees!! dont ask how but it hurt like hell.
luckily ive had my sweet ISH mare 2 years now and havnt taken a tumble since (im touching wood as we speak!)
so... funniest fall anyone???

EMZ0907

haha love this topic!all my falls seem to be rather dramatic!!!(well to me and the poor spectators of them) my first fall was back in the day when i was like 11 or 12 and had not a notion of fear in me.we were playing pony games, and whatever we were doing, i was galloping back to my team and being young and silly i was too busy celebrating winning to stop my galloping pony!she skids to a halt, i go flying over her head, smack into the wall which sends the other ponies flying away!i was on the ground curled in a ball trying not to get trampled!!my next fall was on a hack.we were all jumping one of the logs on a xc course in the field, in not the best weather!we had all jumped it 2 or 3 times and it was my last go.i didnt think anything of it while getting in position but my pony thought other wise bolted to get to the jump faster(just excited) and slipped on the wet grass.she slipped to the side and luckly i managed to jump off and roll out of the way, and when she had finished rolling she was about an inch away from me!if i hadnt of kept rolling she would have rolled over me!my all time fav fall was on a stunning ex race horse.i have never been afraid to get on a horse but my god she terrified me!my instructor told me to cop onto myself and just get going.that i did and for the entire lesson my instructor was saying he has never seen her so calm and happy(which was true because normally shes like a 3 year old child filled with sugar).the end of the lesson and i was cantering.....dont remember much but i remember asking her to steady,the next thing i know i have no stirrups one rein and she is flat out on the smallest circle i could get her on,trying desperatly to stop her.once deciding she wasnt going to stop i threw myself off!not the wisest decision as i ended up with a severe concusion and vertigo that lasted nearly a year!and finally the fall that has seriously ruined my life this year.quite lunge lesson.on a mare i have ridden a million times....i had no reins or stirrups, turned to her hind quarters and out of no where, whopper buck!i go flying through the air with the only thought "f***ing typical". on landing i stopped breathing for what felt like and eternity!never been winded that bad!initially they thought i had broken a rib and punctured a lung, but once they realise i was paralised they knew it was my back.of course my response was "im grand stick me back on her ill be fine in a minute!ill work through it!" so four months later and one crush vertibrae and 2 fractured.....im stuck with part time work, no riding and no college!:( its ok though....makes you appreciate alls you gots!:)

bada-bing

aw thats terrible EMZ, hope you get well soon and back in the saddle..

convert

I don't actually remember my first fall (I think I was about 3!!!), only what I was told about it! It was off a shetland pony who was about 9hh. Apparently he 'dropped his shoulder' and I just slid off.... He trotted off, but when he heard me cry he turned round, came back and nuzzled me while I was lying on the ground...

EMZ0907

thanks bada-bing!will have my first ride back next thurs!!!hurrrray!!:D

convert....sooooo cute!kinda happened to me when i fell off the last time!the mare was looking around for me and had the most confused look on her face when she saw me in a heap!!!im convinced she had no idea she even bucked!:eek: hehe

personaltrainer

ok one of my funniest falls not for me but for spectators!! I was hunter trialing in Tinahely and it was my first event on the new 14.2. Shed been my mums pony for bout 4 years she'd broken her and she was crazy about my mum. Anyway going round the course ok and coming near the end there was a double of hedges. You jumped one onto the lane and then jumped another back into another field. anyway coming up to the fence my mum stupidly (Shes a pony club instructor and also does a huge amount of riding for the disabled teaching!!!) shout GO BOB (horses name) and Bob hearing my mums voice heads straight for her while I keep going over the hedge!!!!! :eek:

thetonkatoy

i think my first fall was off a skewbald shetland pony who bucked me off head first into a pile of stinging nettles wen i was about 4.not amused!!

but i did have an unpleasant fall aged 9, wen my pony bolted down a lane way and jumped out into a main road, clipped a car, the saddle broke, i ended up underneath her and got trampled then hit by a car. wasnt one of my better days...
altho i am the proud owner of only half a pancreas due to it!! i was back riding after 4 weeks, i think id be a little more dubious these days!!!!!!!!!!!

AvAv

togster wrote: »

Jesus give the man a break.

Mine was a small pony and it involved me getting tangled in electric fencing while he stood munching grass. Bast!d

Eek!!

My first fall was riding a school pony over a tiny cross pole jump, didn't put my heels down, fell off to one side (no mane to hold onto to, it was a Mohawk :cool:) and got dragged around the arena...

My finest moment for sure :rolleyes:

Wicked

i only started riding two years ago - i'm 22 now!

my first fall was off my 13'2 pony. cantering in a lovely circle when all of a sudden my fellow bolted for the gate, i fell the other way and whacked my face off the only bucket in the field - two black eyes for over a week!

when i just started jumping i didn't go with the pony. he put in a big jump, his head came up and hit my face, i was wearing train track braces at the time and they basically got imbedded in my lip, had to get the bf to release me, blood everywhere ha ha;)

hilarious thinking back on it

shanagarry

Some hilarious stories, and some ouch ones!

I can't really remember my first fall, but it was only a tumble I think. I think it involved rubbing off the arena wall while cantering without stirrups - no hope of staying on!

People who were there still talk to me about my most dramatic fall, even though it was about 15 years ago. I frightened the life out of them, but I luckily I didn't realise the extent of what was happening at the time. I was having a jumping lesson over a short course. We were about half way round, all going well, approaching a jump on the diagonal (I was in an indoor) and everything was fine. We took off and next thing I was being cataputed through the air! As I was sailing through the air I saw my pony coming after me head over heels. Luckily I had the cop on to roll on landing and jump up and run because she came crashing down right where I landed a split second later. Luckily we were both fine, save a little damage to the tree of the saddle where she landed it, but I could have been squished. I still to this day don't really know what happened - I've been told that if a horse tips a jump with the very, very tip of their hooves it can tip them over, but I don't know how true that is. She left the jump standing and just flipped!

Another stand out memory is the day I had the same pony (there is a trend - she's at the root of most of my falls, I've never fallen off any of the other 8 we've ownded over the years!) out drag hunting. It was getting towards the end of the day and one of the new hounds they'd brought along wasn't performing, so the master asked me to keep an eye on him and shephard him home. This resulted in me being a bit behind the field, which the pony wasn't impressed with. We had picked up the hound and were belting on over the two or three ditches between us and the field, and I headed for what I thought was the gap. About two strides out I realised there was a row of wire on top of the ditch so we went tumbling. I was fine again, hopped up and went to catch madam - who promptly took off after the hunt without me. The same pony would happily hunt riderless, she adores it. I was out in the absolute middle of nowhere, no clue what to do, everyone was out of sight. So I went trudging after them and two fields over I met my friend coming back with my brat. I was too happy to have her back to be mad! The same pony could take three hours to catch if she got a notion (assuming you could pin her in somewhere)

SmellySockies

My first fall was jumping when I was 8 the horse refused and I was not expecting it at all!
My worst fall was during a competition and I was just riding past a jump I was not even planning on jumping and the horse didnt see the jump till we where next to it and taught I wanted it to jump it so it like turned sharply in refusal and I ended up getting slammed into the jump. I was in so much pain I could barely walk my back was all bruised.
But I really dont mind falling I dont get hurt that bad (touch wood) and I heal fast when I do

Ave Sodalis

I've been riding two years and my first fall happened less than a month ago. I was in comp jumping 2ft 9 and was coming up to the last jump of my first round (there were two rounds). Number 6 was a very tight corner followed by a funny dogleg. The horse I was on (a 17.1hh gelding) went to run out as I had him lookin left for after the jump. I gave him a good kick on and he jumped from were I kicked him which was about two meters from the jump.! I came sideways and nearly stayed on except he turn around nd I went flying onto my back. Bita wind knocked outa me but no serious harm done.:D

ecaf

My worst fall was when I was 11 and the pony I was riding in the riding school summer show decided to rear up and then fell backwards on top of me! BIG fright for me! And took years to get any bit of confidence back. Still suffer a bit with my hip since then. And am nervous on any new horse too!

Another fall was on my old reliable (I had him for 14 years) when I convinced my friends father to allow me to jump (small jumps) in the show, in the rain, with my foot in plaster! Well needless to say we slipped in the rain, and with one foot not being in the stirrup I fell off! Got back on anyway and finished the round, my mother wasn't the better of that one!

Also fell of same cob at hunter trials coming down some steps. He liked to surprise me with big leaps at times :rolleyes: I fell off and hurt my backside, got back up and finished the round.

Actually my first fall of him was when he was a 2 year old (we didn't know at the time - long story!), I got him while recovering from the 1st accident. Taking him over his first TINY cross pole, he jumped it as if it was barrel height, and I went flying off!

9wetfckx43j5rg

I can't really remember my first fall but I do remember some of mine.

One of my earlier was when I was riding a small 12hh pony. When going round a corner she broke into a canter (I had never expierenced a canter before) and I swung off, hit the ground and rolled under the fence!

I had to roll back to get back into the arena it was quite funny.


Another of my more painfull ones was when I was riding another smallish pony about 14hh. He always used to get quite deep at his fences and almost climb them. Anyway with this fence he got so deep I thought he was refusing, almost sitting on his hindquarters so i sat back. Then he decided to take off and I soared over his side I think. I managed to land on the other side of the fence and crashed pretty heavily to the ground. I tell ya I was pretty winded!

Terrykid

Wow but Shetlands seem do be wicked little things for falls, again I don’t remember my first fall but I do remember my worst fall and guess what, it was off a Shetland. It was totally my own fault. Thankfully it wasn’t too bad. I was on a back road and took it for granted that he was only a pony and was way too relaxed on him. just got a few cuts. This probably isn’t the best thread for me to be reading at the moment. I have been away in college for a few years now and put my horse riding on the back burner. I’m moving back home soon and I’m getting back into it. I have a 3 year old gelding who is going to be broken soon so he is my new project. I’m sure there will be a nice few falls in my not too distant future.

workaholic2

My first fall was when i was 14. was my First lesson in a new yard, had told d instructor i had been riding for 5 years, so naturally she gave me sumthin fun 2 ride...a luvly palamino arab gelding. hopped up on him, went to squeeze him into walk, nd den he dropped his shoulder nd bucked. landed right on my bum next to him with a big red face! wasnt hurt tho so just got back up nd went on wit d lesson!

Next one was when i was 16 , showin my friend how 2 ride horseback, her horse had never been ridden bareback before nd she was nervous in case he did sumthin when she got up on him. I hopped up to show her, nd he went around grand, next thing i know he stopped dead nd i went slidin off! everyone had a gud laugh, i jus landed on my feet anyway nd he happily trotted back up to his owner :rolleyes:

next one i wasnt so lucky (am 23 now), was in a lesson nd d horse i was ridin started limpin. d only other horse dat was available was a horse id never ridden before, but had seen him in a lesson d week before, tryna buck off his rider. he went well for d first half of d lesson, threw a small buck which was fine, but then we were queuing up 4 d first jump, d rider in front of me was takin her time, nd d horse i was on was gettin impatient so i tried to turn him, as i turned he dropped his shoulder nd bucked. i went one way, he went d other but my foot got caught in d stirrups nd i was thrown over him nd landed really badly, ended up in hospital havin surgery d next day, nd spent a week in hospital den, had a bad tibial fracture (a broken knee) nd now hav 2 screws holdin my knee together. hav been out of action for 6 months now, nd my knee still hasnt healed just startin back now doin lunge lessons wit no stirrups, but hopefully gettin my own horse again soon

silverfox88

ha some of these are hilarious!! cant rememer my first fall it was so long ago but can think of a few funny ones!! one was when i was about 12 and was in a riding lesson out in the cross country fields, (this was a friend who fell not me) and we were jumping a tyre fence which once you landed there was a long run swinging round after it to the left. we all stood in the centre as each rider took there turn , and we were facing away from the rider as they completed the canter around to the lef t to the next fence; so we watch her jump the first, oh lovely, etc etc, and turn to wait for the next. the horse comes cantering around by itself but no rider; we turn around behind us, but no sign; next we hear a squeak and the poor girl has somehow been bucked into what appeared to be a large rabbit hole and was completely concealed from our view.. another wasnt so much a fall but just an embarassing incident in those sme fields; i was about 14 and had completely lost control - my friend says that all she remembers is watching the back of a galloping horse disappear into the distance and a fading voice going with it screaming "HEEEEEEEELLLLLPPPPPPP MMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" ive no recollection of how i stopped him, i thnk i may have blocked most of that incident out of my memory...

MPB

Had my first fall yesterday. Just started horse riding lessons a month ago. So yesterday was lesson number 4. Was doing my first canter and being honest I felt the horse was more in control than I was. Was a bit freaked out byt he speed he was travelling at. It was in an inside arena. Anyway ahd just got out of the canter and was going back into a trot. Thought the saddle was a lil off centre but nothing major. While turning I realised my suspicians were right. Saddle slipped and over I go. No damage done. just a few grazes. Got up, checked the horse was ok, re-posititioned the saddle, tightened the girth again and got back on. Funny thing was I had checked the girth only a few mins before it happened and it was fine. I guess the canter must have caused somethign to shift. Anyway got back into the canter again and this time I felt a bit more in control.

The thing is if you fall off you gotta get back on. Its liek riding a bike or crashing a car. You have to get back in the driving seat as soon as possible after the altercation. Hasnt deterred me in any way. Booked again for next weeks lesson. Met the owner of the equestrian centre afterwards and he didnt know what happened. he asked me how I got on. I just said "grand". my instrucor was laughing. She said you call that grand? First canter, first fall and when doing the first canter he was heading towards a fence that was lying flat so he jumped over it. She said it was more eventful than she had planned. lol We obviously have differnt opinions on whats ok. lol

skywards

My first fall was when I was 4. My little prick of a pony decided to go over the paddock fence. Needless to say I fell flat on my face. Why I'm still riding all these years later I still haven't figured out .

Shelleysbaby

My First fall had to be when i was about 3 or 4 i was riding in Coolmine. I had lost my stirrup coming up to a small cross pole and slipped right off scared the life out of me. My poor dad had to jump over a wall that was about 5 to 6 foot. Fallen off loads since haha

lulubell

My first fall was 10 wks ago, of my lovely new Friesian horse. Was trotting away happily down the beech, when i squeezed him on for a canter, he did a massive jump, poor thing got excited, was a carraige horse, not at all used to cantering, anyways i lost my balance & came off!! Ended up with 3 cracked ribs, internal bleeding (burst spline) & broke my shoulder in 3 different places. Haven't been up since , as doctors said at least 12wks before i can ride again :eek: