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good grief, is this some kind of Club?

Serafina

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
So I went to the tack shop today and told them I needed to replace my helmet. The woman there said "Hey, didn't I just sell you a helmet a couple of weeks ago?" and I said "Yes, you did."

When I brought the new one up to ring out, the women settled in for a nice little chat. "SO! Tell me all about it!"

"What?" I said. "My fall?"

Oh, yes. And within 30 seconds, every single person in the tack shop had drawn up to the counter to hear all about it. They were vastly interested, too. And then I got to hear all about their Impressive Wipe-Outs.

It seemed clear that "got hauled off in an ambulance" conferred some sort of status over "got right back up"...but the ambulance, in turn, bows before "life flight".

Every single person there had a story of some kind. Most of them did not involve Poor Behavior. One of the women with a "life flight" story said she had just been out in a big pasture with her horse, and another horse snuck up behind them - she didn't hear it - and bit her horse on the butt and sent it flying.

I received, to my utter surprise, the congratulations of everyone assembled. I'm not sure whether I was being congratulated for a spectacular wipe-out, or for responding to my spectacular wipe-out by buying a new helmet (i.e., coming back for more).

I was pretty happy, though, to have it validated that the Stop...Uh-Oh...BAIL OUT! judgment was probably the right thing to do under the circumstances (avoiding the potentially catastrophic consequences of inadvertently directing my athletic steed at a jump).

Someone suggested that, instead of trying to just rein him in as I ordinarily would (which is what I was trying to do when I irretrievably lost my seat), that I might consider pulling back on one rein pretty tightly - she said like I was going to bring my horse's head to my knee - and that this would cause the horse to make a very tight circle and come to a stop.

Any thoughts on that strategy?

I did get a new helmet, one just like my previous one (since it did such a great job). I vaguely recall someone telling me the instructor had my old helmet. That one needs to hit the rubbish pile, I think.

I stopped off at the toy store and picked up a package of stickers. There was one that looked just like the horse I fell off of last week. I put it on the new helmet. I figure, one fall = one horse. I feel the need to commemorate this, and to remind myself that I've already fallen, nothing to be frightened of now, and that I got right back up. Like a helmet star. Only for the horse. WTH...It's easier than getting a tattoo. :smile:
 

perma-grin

Instructor PSIA L 3, APD Alpine Ski training MHSP
That's a one rein stop. I teach it to all my kids, I tell them to give the horse to steps to se if they (horse)can figure the situation out for them selves, if they haven't crank it. However I don't crank it around to my knee if the horse has bolted at a dead run. They can trip and go down quickly and you can leave the saddle evn quicker or worse they come down on top of you:eek: In a full on bolt bring 'em around in a circle increasing the pull around to your knee and gradually closing the circle. This type of bend also prevents the horse from lining up it's haunches and shoulders so they can't get vertical or buck big on you very easily either! So it's a bonus stop!:yahoo: Horses will go vertical for the same reason they will bolt, to much pressure to flee instinct they can't go back, forward or side to side so they go up on their hind feet! NEVER PULL BACK on the reins if this happens drop your elbows Down ward towards their shoulders and bend their heads to keep them from lining up again with their haunches. I feel very blessed that my Chrome was never big on going up his method of disagreement is a good old fashioned pony buck with an occasional crow hop thrown in for good measure! LOL! I worked a Saddle bred mare for a while that got vertical the minute she felt pressured in any given situation took a looooonnnnngggg time and a lot of patience to correct this habit! I've done the ambulance thing! LOL! Horses are big and it hurts when they manage to flip themselves over on you!:wink: I have learned that after 45 yrs of riding that when sh#* happens on a horse it happens FAST!!!! Just expect it. You should ask your Instructor to cover these situations and stops with you knowing is half the battle won.
 

perma-grin

Instructor PSIA L 3, APD Alpine Ski training MHSP
You will begin to understand that people who have been around horses and riding for a very long time( as with skiing) somethings become second nature to them and unfortunately this sometimes results in letting your guard down that is usually when less than pleasant things happen. I lost a very good friend to an avalance because he let his guard down and was lazy in route selection. The same thing can happen with horses you have to think ahead of them it's your job to keep them and yourself safe. This will become very apparent once you start trail riding or showing.
 

Serafina

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
That's actually why I bailed out (badly) last week - I suddenly realized I might just as easily miscue the horse into a job as I had miscued him into a canter. It's one thing for me to fall off and get injured (bad enough) but my feeling is that when I'm on the horse, I'm responsible for the horse's safety too...and if there's something going on that might lead to injury for the horse, I figure I have to do something about that right away!

I cannot imagine having a horse roll over on me. How you could not break every single rib and both sides of your pelvis? They weigh, what, like 1,500 lbs? (The kind of big horses I ride, that is...since I'm 190 myself)

I have asked my instructor to cover the emergency dismount - it sounds like it's likely I will need it again at some point, and I'd rather know how to do it properly first!

Thanks for the tip about how to make the horse circle, too. Good point about preventing the bucking and rearing, too.
 

altagirl

Moderator
Staff member
Regarding the "is this some kind of club?" - it is with every sport, I think. Tear an ACL skiing and talk to a group of skiers - there will be a whole crowd of knee injury survivors. Just got stitches from a mountain biking accident? Be prepared to see the scars on all of your friends...

:smile: Not that it's a club that you want to be in, but these things make interesting stories....
 

litterbug

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Every sport and every profession has it's war stories! They do make you a member of the club no matter how skillful you are or how long you've been in the sport. I still think enjoying bad weather and awful snow conditions helped endear me to the demo guys at Motherlode. Even hooking a tip on a metal lift line post entertained them.

So congratulations on your entree into the club!
 

contesstant

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Yes, welcome to the club!

And yes, the one-rein stop is a critical skill. I mentioned it in your other thread. Comes in VERY handy although I did have one mare who could circle like that at about a million miles an hour, but at least it gave me the opportunity to bail. And it REALLY does help keep them from rearing or bucking. Both are scary. I will NEVER buy a horse who shows a tendency to rear. Buck is harder on the back but easier to train them out of. Mine currently just flags his tail and prances :D That I can deal with, especially since he's quite lazy and only does it if something is REALLY exciting!
 

perma-grin

Instructor PSIA L 3, APD Alpine Ski training MHSP
"I cannot imagine having a horse roll over on me. How you could not break every single rib and both sides of your pelvis? They weigh, what, like 1,500 lbs? (The kind of big horses I ride, that is...since I'm 190 myself"

Not every rib! LOL! But enough, and my scapula and a few other rather minor things. I was really more concerned that she had cracked my sternum! Luckily not! The EMT's though I nuts because I was freaked about her (and my saddle)!
 

ski4fun

Angel Diva
A one rein stop can save you from so much trouble, but the horse should be taught to flex like that AHEAD of time and actually the rider would have to learn this and repeat it literally dozens if not hundreds of times for it to just be second nature to slide your hand down the rein in a emergency type of situation.

Learning this and teaching my horse to respond immediately gave me a whole new feeling of confidence.

I follow Clinton Anderson's method.

Have you heard of him ?

I learned more from him in a couple of hours than from years of following other well known trainers.

His website is

www.downunderhorsemanship.com

If you have never seen him - Do yourself and your horse a favor and check out his method.

He is going to be in Minnesota in June and I can't wait to see him again.
 

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