How long?

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num

kitten
Nov 8, 2005
25
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chicago
I've been taking lessons for 9 months or so now, before that i'd only been on the occaisional trail ride (or hack, i can learn you guys' words :D ) and i haven't yet had my first fall. I was wondering, how long into riding did you guys have your first fall?

in a lesson the other week, some water from the roof dripped onto my horse when i was cantering, and she did a little buck, kick, run medley before calming down. i lost my stirrups, but stayed on. there've been things like that before, but this last time i remember thinking "i guess this is it, i'm actually going to fall this time. wierd."

i've been meaning to ask my RI about falling tips. i know the main point would probably be to get out of the horse's wayand not get trampled but i was wondering if there's any other important stuff to keep in mind?

anyone else give too much thought to all this before having their first fall?:eek:
 
The very very worst thing about falling of is... worrying about it happening. Try not to think and ride as though you can't fall off.

You won't really have time to think about it when it happens, but incase it's one of those slow motion falls:

Aim for somewhere soft if you have an option. ie if your on your way and heading out of the sand manege onto the conrete yard, let go while your still on sand.

Do NOT put your hand out to save your self, this is how wrists, arms & collerbones get bust

Roll, preferrably away from hoss.

Try not to land on your head. It hurts.

I became somewhat an expert on this topic while bringing on my youngster. he he. (although that doesn't explain saturday, he's 11 now!)

Fi x
 
good for you sticking the bucking canter i wouldnt have! lol!

i had my first fall after 14 weeks of riding, i cant remember thinking much about it before hand, i was cantering down the feild and the next thing i knew i was "flying" in mid air and i can rember thinking "hmmm this is strange" and then i relised i was faling and every thing went in slow motion and it seems like you have about 10 minnuets before you hit the ground!
the best advice i can give you for falling is dont hold onto the reins because you will risk geting dragged, if you can roll out the way so you dont get trampeld on but i find the best thing to do is to just get up, get back on and do whatever you were doing before you fell off again so you dont put your self off. once my little cousin fell off and wouldnt get back on and the next time we tried to put her on a pony she was to scared and wouldnt ride at all, now she wont go any where near a pony.

hope this helps, oh and dont think about falling off, keep it right at the back of your mind, think positavely!:D

~*becca*~
 
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cobsrgood said:
it seems like you have abot 10 minnuets before you hit the ground!
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So true! I've fallen off Alfie twice bareback - I distinctly remember the ground coming up and thinking "Oh no..." before that familiar bump :p

Didn't have my first fall for a while, as I was very small when I started. My old school had a strange policy about practically holding you on if you were anything under 7 :rolleyes: When I did first fall, it was going over a tiny jump on an even tinier pony. To be honest I was quite relieved to get it over with.

When I fall I usually try to keep my arms close to my body and b-r-e-a-t-h-e. I haven't seriously hurt myself yet (touch wood!)
 
it's odd that i'm not actually scared of falling off at all, and it's something that never crosses my mind when i'm on a horse (except that last time) but it's one of those theoretical "i wonder what that's like" things to me.


jellybaby- you got me thinking, i'd probably fall pretty quick if i ever rode bareback ;)

never have tho, i'd love to try
 
fi-76 said:
The very very worst thing about falling of is... worrying about it happening. Try not to think and ride as though you can't fall off.

hehehe have to disagree, the worst thing about falling off is the landing!! :) Only joking.

To be honest I try not to think about falling off, if it happens it happens.

I fell off on my second lesson and fractured two ribs, didnt put me off though made me more determined to stay on next time :p
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erm... has to be said that i fell off after about 9 months! i was on a hack, my pony started to canter not trot, i pulled him back and he bucked me off. big bucks. i got dragged for a bit but i didnt realise.

there are two types of fall - slow motion, and those you know nothing about until you sit up wondering how you got down there. i have had slow motion falls as well, and you will find a single thought looms large in your head e.g. 'i should have worn my back protector!' is one of my favourites.

as said before if you worry about falls, you will be tense every time you ride, and therefore your riding will suffer. chances are your first fall will be when you least expect it and are not worrying about it e.g. doing something you have done loads of times before. sounds like you did really well staying on for a buck, and let it give you confidence for next time.
 
i can't remember really, but heres a tip for when you fall off :) when it happens roll, it doesnt have to be long or anything but if you roll i heard it prvents you from getting seriously painfull injuries;)
 
Probably about a year before the first fall, then a few year till the second right now Im going for 3 a year and all in a row.. Im done for this year though:p I hope... The best thing to do is tuck and roll if you can! :D
 
I am the queen at overthinking my falls. I've been taking lessons since Jan. 2005 and have had three falls. The first time was when I was having a lesson (3 months into riding) on a really fast mustang. She broke into a canter, and I was too forward, and I fell. I didn't really think on that one. It just happened.

My instructor says I have to start thinking about how I'm going to stop the horse rather than how I'm going to fall off.

To give examples of my overthinking:

1) I was riding my instructor's daughter's horse, Lucky. He's an awful little sh*t, and I'm not just saying that. He's a beautiful horse but with a terrible attitude. He broke into a canter and I tried to stop him but I couldn't. I was actually taking a huge grad. school test that following weekend, and I actually thought about which side I should fall off on. My right was on the inside, but I didn't want to break my arm and not be able to write, and the fence was on the left... so I ended up crashing into the fence because I thought this way if I did break my left, I could still write with my right.

2) My lease and I were riding on the driveway of our stables because the rain had soaked the ground something awful. Unfortunately, little Faith took off like a banshee up the hill towards her stall. I managed to stay on until the top of the hill but then I realized she was going home. I knew if she whipped into her stall I'd be crushed, so I tried to get her to go the other way, but then I thought she might not see the metal fence behind the stalls... so I chose to fall off thinking it might minimize the damange.

Yes, I'm aware that I am a huge dork.
 
Probably about a year for me.

Then I started learning how to jump and I was so wobbly on landing I used to fall off all the time.

Went to wales for a teaching week - 3 hours a day teaching for 6 days - fell off at least once a day for the first 5 days (fortunatelt had bought a body protector!).

Then I just got my balance from nowhere.

Have only fallen off once now in the last year - it was my fault - long story but it was a slow motion one - no harm done.

Enjoy it when it happens - it isn't that bad as long as it is not at speed!

xx
 
It took well over a year for my first fall, and then of course it was probably the worst way to fall off. I was excersizing a pony for the barn and his saddle fit me terribly so me leg kept falling back then when he stopped suddenly after a canter pop there I went. I was with people I was trying to prove I was good enough rider to exercize horses reguraly, wonderful. This was already after I had started jumping small cross rails too, and so it was kind of like WHAT WAS I DOING? I can sit canters! I can sit little bucks, and I can sit it when horses stop suddenly. So I think it was that evil saddles fault, mm hmm
 
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