holly-wood
6th Jul 2000, 03:34 PM
I had a rather bad experience about a week ago – a friend and I were out hacking when her horse unexpectedly spooked and she fell. She hurt her back and was not able to get up and walk (It turned out not to be serious – badly bruised, not broken). I was then left with a situation where I had to get help for her as well as deal with both horses.
We were on a trail that runs along some hydro lines (in other words – middle of nowhere). I carefully tied my friend’s horse where she would not step on my friend or get into trouble. I decided to walk my horse for a distance to see how he’d react to being separated from the other horse (they are seldom apart). This turned out to be a good call, since the further apart they got, the more upset he got (whinnying back and forth the whole time). I ended up walking about 2 km out to the road where there happens to be (lucky for me) a racetrack. Security from the track called an ambulance for my friend, and someone came with a trailer and took my horse back to the stables at the track and put him in a stall. Then I had to walk back with the ambulance attendants to show them where my friend was. I held my friend’s horse while they put her on a backboard and carried her to the ambulance (which was a short distance down the trail). Her horse by this time was VERY upset and never stood still the whole time – I had to work hard to keep her calm. Finally I got to walk her out to the track we loaded her on a trailer (what a job!). Then I had to figure out how to get the horses home (we had trailered to the beginning of the trail and left the trailer at the roadside) That’s another story in itself! - but it’s too long for here.
Which brings me to the point of all of this:
YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN WHILE YOU ARE OUT HACKING! And since I’m not willing to give it up (and I doubt you are either) here are some tips……
#1always bring your halter and a lead! You might need it! We had ours with us – what would I have done if I couldn’t tie up my friends horse!
#2 always wear your helmet! The one time you forget will usually end up being the time you fall off and bang your head. Adults – this means you too!
#3 write a list of emergency phone numbers and instructions - if you don’t have a pocket, put it in your helmet (I couldn’t call anyone for my friend right away because she didn’t know any numbers from memory!)
#4 try not to go out alone - imagine if I hadn’t been with her when she fell! If you must go out alone – tell someone where you are going and what time you should be back (sort of like registering your flight plan in case the plane crashes).
#5 try to know what’s in your area – where would you go for help? (Let’s face it - a farm where they can help you deal with the horses as well as the injured rider is better than ending up having to try to get two horses home by yourself!) This particularly applies to me in Canada since it may be a distance to the next inhabited place! + I can't drive a horse trailer!
This may seem a bit much but trust me, speaking from experience, SAFE is way better than SORRY! So plan ahead!
Happy (Safe) Hacking!
We were on a trail that runs along some hydro lines (in other words – middle of nowhere). I carefully tied my friend’s horse where she would not step on my friend or get into trouble. I decided to walk my horse for a distance to see how he’d react to being separated from the other horse (they are seldom apart). This turned out to be a good call, since the further apart they got, the more upset he got (whinnying back and forth the whole time). I ended up walking about 2 km out to the road where there happens to be (lucky for me) a racetrack. Security from the track called an ambulance for my friend, and someone came with a trailer and took my horse back to the stables at the track and put him in a stall. Then I had to walk back with the ambulance attendants to show them where my friend was. I held my friend’s horse while they put her on a backboard and carried her to the ambulance (which was a short distance down the trail). Her horse by this time was VERY upset and never stood still the whole time – I had to work hard to keep her calm. Finally I got to walk her out to the track we loaded her on a trailer (what a job!). Then I had to figure out how to get the horses home (we had trailered to the beginning of the trail and left the trailer at the roadside) That’s another story in itself! - but it’s too long for here.
Which brings me to the point of all of this:
YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN WHILE YOU ARE OUT HACKING! And since I’m not willing to give it up (and I doubt you are either) here are some tips……
#1always bring your halter and a lead! You might need it! We had ours with us – what would I have done if I couldn’t tie up my friends horse!
#2 always wear your helmet! The one time you forget will usually end up being the time you fall off and bang your head. Adults – this means you too!
#3 write a list of emergency phone numbers and instructions - if you don’t have a pocket, put it in your helmet (I couldn’t call anyone for my friend right away because she didn’t know any numbers from memory!)
#4 try not to go out alone - imagine if I hadn’t been with her when she fell! If you must go out alone – tell someone where you are going and what time you should be back (sort of like registering your flight plan in case the plane crashes).
#5 try to know what’s in your area – where would you go for help? (Let’s face it - a farm where they can help you deal with the horses as well as the injured rider is better than ending up having to try to get two horses home by yourself!) This particularly applies to me in Canada since it may be a distance to the next inhabited place! + I can't drive a horse trailer!
This may seem a bit much but trust me, speaking from experience, SAFE is way better than SORRY! So plan ahead!
Happy (Safe) Hacking!