Rider Fatalities

Imhof Tank

Desperate news at the weekend of Maria O'Grady's fatal fall hunting with the Tipperarys - there seems to have been an increase in fatalities and catastrophic injuries in both hunting and eventing recently.

Personally, with my own kids probably finished competitive riding now (at least for a few years with exams etc, if not permanently) I am relieved they are in one piece.

I remember watching a documentary about the motorcycle racer Dunlop brothers a while ago. Virtually the entire family have been wiped out in race crashes over the years yet they all say they love the sport and wouldn't change anything. I thought they were insanely reckless watching it. I now wonder is that how others see the equestrian scene?

What are peoples' views on this?

Odelay

Imhof Tank wrote: »

Desperate news at the weekend of Maria O'Grady's fatal fall hunting with the Tipperarys - there seems to have been an increase in fatalities and catastrophic injuries in both hunting and eventing recently.

Personally, with my own kids probably finished competitive riding now (at least for a few years with exams etc, if not permanently) I am relieved they are in one piece.

I remember watching a documentary about the motorcycle racer Dunlop brothers a while ago. Virtually the entire family have been wiped out in race crashes over the years yet they all say they love the sport and wouldn't change anything. I thought they were insanely reckless watching it. I now wonder is that how others see the equestrian scene?

What are peoples' views on this?

The news struck me alright and as I get older I do feel more vulnerable....
However anything can happen at anytime. People die watching TV or out for a walk.
I know there are risks horse riding, we just have to manage them as best we can.

isaos

I don't think there are more fatalities, but like a lot of other things we learn about them more often. I personally knew too many people who died around horses, 6 or 7. One was dragged by the stirrup around a closed arena. One was kicked in the head by a shetland pony while feeding them in a field. One fell face down in a muddy track and was trampled by her horse. One was also trampled by a stallion she was showing. One was killed by a reversing horse truck, One was killed after a bad fall while eventing. I think I am missing one, but you could also add the near-misses and broken limbs! My head crashing in a tree while being carried by my then mare that got spooked by a wild boar (in France). And I'm not counting the death and other accidents of a good few wellknown riders since 1965 when I started riding.

The horse business is probably less dangerous than car or motorbike racing, certainly less dangerous than driving a car everyday, but it still involves living creatures, and too often the risks of riding horses or just dealing with them can be under-estimated: I think of these riding stables where kids are left passing behind ponies with absolutely no control from adults that should know better.

The only thing we can do is take nothing for granted, even your beloved horse, wear helmets and safety gears when riding tough, teach the younger generation about safety, and just enjoy the fact that horse-riding is after all safer than a lot of other sports..

Imhof Tank

isaos wrote: »

The only thing we can do is take nothing for granted, even your beloved horse, wear helmets and safety gears when riding tough, teach the younger generation about safety, and just enjoy the fact that horse-riding is after all safer than a lot of other sports..

Is it not commonly accepted that equestrian sport is the most dangerous sport bar none in terms of deaths, spinal and brain injuries? I thought that was a given.

I just have the feeling some people don't want to confront the danger factor - the reality of riders and stable staff being regularly killed, often the most experienced people like Maria O'Grady or the groom kicked in the head in the paddock at Kempton recently. I didn't want to even think about this aspect myself for years but am reassessing my attitude now big time in light of the weekend case.

isaos

Imhof Tank wrote: »

Is it not commonly accepted that equestrian sport is the most dangerous sport bar none in terms of deaths, spinal and brain injuries? I thought that was a given.

I'm not sure, I was thinking of Skiing, of Motorbiking, of Sailing, and others including Boxing. The fact is that we have now access to safety equipment such as back protectors and safer helmets that we didn't have in my teens (meanin a long long time ago!). We have also made eventing somewhat safer.
Of course riding is dangerous: actually I think I remember that carriage driving was said to be more dangerous than eventing. I used to do some eventing back in France, was even in the Junior team at some stage, until my mare went lame, and to be honest I would freak out like my parents used to if my child had done the same...

Ave Sodalis

isaos wrote: »

I'm not sure, I was thinking of Skiing, of Motorbiking, of Sailing, and others including Boxing. The fact is that we have now access to safety equipment such as back protectors and safer helmets that we didn't have in my teens (meanin a long long time ago!). We have also made eventing somewhat safer.
Of course riding is dangerous: actually I think I remember that carriage driving was said to be more dangerous than eventing. I used to do some eventing back in France, was even in the Junior team at some stage, until my mare went lame, and to be honest I would freak out like my parents used to if my child had done the same...

Actually, horse riding is more dangerous than motorbiking. It's not been well research but any study out there so far has pointed at horse riders having more hospital admissions (which is impressive given most people I know don't go to hospital unless it's very serious). One study had it at 0.14/1000 compared to 0.49/1000, another it was 20% higher.
In the USA, horse riding stands at averaging 100 deaths per year, boxing stands at averaging 10 deaths per year.
A New Zealand study on adventure sports put horse riding as more dangerour than skiing.


I can't find anything on sailing, so I can't comment on that. All those sports you mentioned are undoubtedly very dangerous. However, horse riding is up there with the highest risk sports, despite the increasing levels of safety measures. There was a study in 2007 by the Centres of Disease Control and Prevention that put horse riding as the highest athletic activity to cause traumatic brain injury.
I mean, I don't think we should be wrapping ourselves up in bubble wrap, or anything, but I don't think we should kid ourselves by saying it's safer than other sports either.

isaos

I totally get the points re horse riding being really dangerous, like anything having to do with horses as it is.
There are so many statistics out there, like http://igrow.org/livestock/horse/equestrian-injury-statistics/ (more North American, as it compares sports that we don't necessarily practise here such as Ice Hockey vs Rodeo).

You also have to look at road accidents, such as http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/38-riders-222-horses-killed-britains-roads-bbc-breakfast-highlights-shocking-statistics-617143, and why not farming accidents involving livestock..

It is obvious that dealing with a living creature weighing anything up to 1,000kg (ok not your average!) is dangerous, and that eventing, hunting or racing make it worse (for both horse and rider) as you have to add rough grounds and hard fences to the equation.

But the fact is that safety has improved a lot in the last 50 years (except on roads as the traffic has increased so much). At my age I am very conscious of the dangers - which didn't stop me from doing very stupid things like getting on my horse alone on a sunny day, horse being a bit hot and rarely ridden, not checking that the girth was properly tighten (his belly was much to round.. ) and riding downwards straight in the field - I obviously ended in hospital after my back encountered one of the many stones lying around. Life is a learning curve...!

Would that stop me from being around horses? nope. I'm more careful, use back protectors and helmets, check that someone knows that I'm riding, avoid walking behind a horse, teach my horses not to be in my face, etc...

Can love of horses be qualified as an addiction? I do believe so... I would rather give up smoking (which is incidentally more dangerous than riding, isn't it? ) than my horses..

granturismo

Ave Sodalis wrote: »

Actually, horse riding is more dangerous than motorbiking. ....

In a quick search of the internet and looking over some old files, I found the same results as @Ave.

There seems to be a lot of research in Australia and NZ on the topic;
Horse-riding is a hazardous activity. Each year, horse riders are injured, hospitalized or killed as a result of horse-related accidents and injuries. Despite technological advancements in equestrian safety equipment, horse riding continues to be found more dangerous than motorcycling, skiing, football,
and rugby.


In 2001, the Queensland Government Code of Practice on Horse Riding Schools stated; horse riders have a higher risk of serious injury than participants in most other sports’
That publication has been updated and I cant find a link. I think this sums up the risks well;

While the freak factor has been applied to motorcycle riders, base jumpers and rockclimbers, it is even more relevant for anyone sitting astride – or even handling – a half-tonne animal capable of running 50km/h and which has its own mind, teeth and hooves, and isn’t afraid to use them.

2016 again and this excludes horse racing; you are 20 times more likely to be injured doing an equestrian-based activity than you are riding a motorbike.
And even worse, horse accidents equate for 25% of all lethal injuries in children's sport.
https://www.ruralweekly.com.au/news/horses-more-dangerous-than-riding-motorbikes/3121858/

From 2016; However, a study released today by the journal Neurological Focus found that the sport that causes most traumatic brain injuries isn't even a contact sport, it's horseback riding.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/horse-riding-leading-sport-related-traumatic-brain-injuries/story?id=38090435

It would be interesting to see if there are any similar publications from Irish third level institutes with equine courses or research foci.

Like the OP, my children have just given up competing, but we are now horseless but one still has lessons with leaving cert exams on the horizon. I've seen more broken limbs at juvenile hurling matches over the years but have never seen an air or road ambulance take a child away from a school competition. There are a lot more precautions taken with high risk sports but when something goes wrong with a horse the potential is for a severe outcome.

Beasty

As a keen and competitive cyclist I suffered from a major racing accident 3 and a half years ago. Since then I have studied a great deal the impact of traumatic brain injury on both myself but also reading about others

Without doubt this is a topic that quite rightly is receiving a lot of attention across a number of sports. A lot more people are aware of this as an issue and a lot more people are being treated very carefully following head injury.

I have seen a significant increase of reports of serious injuries across more sports including my own. Is any of this down to increasing risk? I personally would relegate that to being a minor factor. I think it's much more about a wider awareness and indeed wider reporting of such incidents

Just to add, my sister had a major fall breaking her back a few years ago when off on a cross country ride on her horse. I have 4 kids all if whom ride horses and two of whom ride bicycles. I would continue to promote these as healthy activities. Yes there are risks but we all take some risk pretty much every day be it getting behind the wheel of a car or crossing a road

I think the attention these incidents get is a good thing as it makes both participants and others who can end up inadvertently involved a little more aware and hopefully a little more careful to evaluate any risks in advance

Ave Sodalis

I'd love to know the Irish stats of injuries/deaths due to falls, vs injuries/deatbs due to road accidents. I know the BHS has stuff like that but the UK have bridle paths which I would imagine would make it different to here.

I know I've had most of my near death (or at least near serious injury) experiences whilst hacking due to ignorant drivers or cyclists.

isaos

Ave Sodalis I haven't found these stats either... One thing is ure, in a country so wellknown for its horses and ponies, nothing seems to be done to help keeping us safe.. no passing through forestries, no briddle paths (in my area anyway), meaning less and less areas where to ride, no insurance coverage available if you try organizing any event that would include horses, (we had to stop our fab Halloween parade of horses in Kenmare), in short we don't seem to exist despite doing a lot for the economy of the country!!

So we do our thing, we try staying safe, that's about it!

murphthesmurf

I don't have a link, but I read a news article around 15 years ago where a study had found more people are killed or seriously injured in sports involving horses than motorcycle racing.
Only a week ago we were in A&E with my 12yr old son after he got concussion from falling from a horse in a show jumping arena during a lesson. He had the full protection on, a skull cap and body armour, and the arena is a soft sand mix. He has fallen before and been fine, but this time he must have jolted his head somehow. He was motionless for a few seconds. When he came out the arena he couldn't remember what had happened and kept asking the same questions over and over.
Very worrying.
He's off for a few weeks on doctors orders, but I know he's going to want to go back. When he first arrived at hospital and they wanted to do a blood test he said he's never doing it again (he's terrified of needles), but by next morning it had changed to 'I think I'll just miss Tuesdays lesson and go back Saturday' until the doctor told him otherwise.
When he was younger he wanted to be a racing driver, I kinda wish he had. Would have been safer, and probably cheaper!

finbarrk

Myself and my daughter were hunting on Sunday. It's always a worry when you hunt.

charlieIRL

I'm into motorbikes and horses / ponies and can say I've had a few nasty tumbles of both!

My cousin passed away a few years ago as a result of a riding accident, young man in his prime, but we didn't let this prevent my kids from riding their ponies and showjumping / hunting. We do think about him a fair bit as we use their facilities a lot but it hasn't put the girls or myself off. Accidents can and will happen to the best of us, no matter what sport / pastime we partake in.

Imhof Tank

charlieIRL wrote: »

I'm into motorbikes and horses / ponies and can say I've had a few nasty tumbles of both!

My cousin passed away a few years ago as a result of a riding accident, young man in his prime, but we didn't let this prevent my kids from riding their ponies and showjumping / hunting. We do think about him a fair bit as we use their facilities a lot but it hasn't put the girls or myself off. Accidents can and will happen to the best of us, no matter what sport / pastime we partake in.

Sorry Charlie but cant agree with that - how can risks of for example tennis, golf, athletics etc be compared to motorcycle racing or equestrianism.

Don't get me wrong, horses and ponies have been a huge part of my life for a long time, given us some of our best times as a family actually. I rode out myself in my younger days and the wife and kids have all competed at a high level so Im not coming at this from the outside with an anti horse attitude. Do think there is an element of people burying their heads in the sand however.

charlieIRL

Imhof Tank wrote: »

Sorry Charlie but cant agree with that - how can risks of for example tennis, golf, athletics etc be compared to motorcycle racing or equestrianism..

You can't directly compare motorsports to the sports listed above, what I meant was accidents can happen in any sport, hopefully not serious, but they can happen.

I know of a guy who got hit in the face with a golf ball last year, unfortunately done a lot of damage to the poor lad. He wasn't standing in front of the person hitting the ball, or in the line of the shot at all, but still got hit.......by accident.