Horseback Riding

There are so many fatal riding accidents that it is near impossible to keep count. Working around on with any living, thinking animal immediately presents obvious risks. Jade South, Jessica Forsyth and Emma Jonathan are just some names of promising young riders who have lost their lives doing the thing they loved most in the last 3 years. The first two names were girls of 14 years.

The first time I was bucked off I fractured my arm, sprained my neck, pulled a muscle in my leg, and dislocated my knee. When my cousin was a toddler she walked behind a horse and got kicked so hard she flew ten feet, became cross-eyed and since she hit a fence, she became paralyzed from the neck down. So yeah, horseback riding is VERY dangerous on and off the horse...

Most athletes get injured a lot more often than horseback riders. But when it comes down to the horror of the injuries, horseback riding has a ten furlong lead. We're talking about people balancing their assbones [Contrary to popular belief, you can't hold on with your hands or legs, because you're using those to communicate with your horse. For that matter, you've got to do the assbone-balancing in a very specific way, too. ] on the backs of extremely well-conditioned, high-strung twelve-thousand pound animals with a flight instinct, and then asking said animal to gallop at speeds in the vicinity of sixty or seventy kilometers per hour over terrain that a traceur would gasp at, stopping and turning on a dime [mind--a thousand pounds and sixty kph is a lot of intertia, ] or to vault over two meter high, four meter wide fences, many of which are solid wood, brick, and earth, with nice three-meter-drop ditches on the other side. Current statistics say that horse riders can expect a serious injury for every 350 hours of riding. We're talking about people getting their skulls smashed in, their spinal cords snapped clean in two, having their livers chopped in half by a horse's hoof, their rib cages crushed flat when a thousand-pound animal lands on them coming off a ten foot fall. Does that happen often in cheerleading? Lacrosse? Maybe sometimes when people get really drunk before a game of rugby union. And let's not talk about the equine casualties. No, let's talk about them. Globally we've got about fifteen hundred horses dying each year from racing related injuries, about a thousand dying at polio, a few hundred dying in the jumping disciplines, a few hundred in cross-country disciplines, and unknown thousands of pleasure horses dying of injuries. Generally for every fatal injury to a horse, there are another four to six permanently crippling injuries, and unfortunately permanently crippled horses, being extremely expensive and difficult to maintain, have this awful habit of ending up euthanized or shipped off to slaughterhouses. But I don't think that I've ever seen a footballer get euthanized.

T.V. taught me that horses are incredibly dangerous. Do ya'll remember the episode of Full House when Michelle fell off a horse and lost her memory?

Horseback riding is a very dangerous sport. Lots of people say it's not even a sport, but it is. By the way, there's a difference between going on a joy ride and actually doing it as a sport. I'm not saying joy rides are bad, I love them, but allot of people who say that horseback riding isn't a sport have ONLY gone on joy rides.

I've seen lots of injuries. I know someone who was just playing with her horse in it's stall one day. The horse didn't even mean to do this, but he did. He got startled and lifted his head quickly. His head hit the girl's jaw and shattered it.

By instinct, horses kick people when they go behind them. Let me tell you, THEY HAVE A POWERFUL KICK. I know people who have been paralyzed due to a kick.

If you play a sport that has an animal with a mind of it's own that, by the way, doesn't speak English, you are putting your life in danger. Horseback riding and other sports such as bull riding are extremely dangerous. Lots of people think of horses as an animal that does what you want and is so nice. That is not always the case.

We horseback riders love what we do, and we love the horses just as much as the sport. People who don't horseback ride will never understand it, so I don't expect you to (if you're reading this and aren't a horseback rider).

Another thing, the sport isn't just on top of the horse. We put allot of money and care into taking care of our horses. The stall can be dangerous too. When you go in there, the horse can kick you, bite you, and allot worse things.

I know someone who went into a horse's stall, and this person has been riding for about 35 years or more. That horse kicked her down, didn't give her time to get up, bit her on the butt, and picked her up by the butt, and threw her at the wall. She got right back up, even though she was in great pain, she knew that her duty had to be finished. She caught the horse then went to the hospital.

Taking care of a horse is physical work.
We lift water buckets.
We lift saddles.
We lift hay bails.
We rake.
We sweep.
We rush around, tacking up horses (in lesson barns)
And more.

I'm not saying that other sports aren't dangerous. In my opinion, cheerleading, gymnastics, rugby, bull riding, and hockey are also VERY dangerous.

People need to stop viewing equestrianism based on their one-time safe, organized trail ride on a dead broke old horse, or their cute little experience at horse camp as kids where, once again, they went on safe, organized rides on dead broke horses. True equestrianism is very dangerous and intense, and it is not limited down to one or two cute little disciplines like pony-rides or racing (which seems to be all anyone outside of the horse world ever acknowledges, though pony-rides, obviously, don't count worth a dime). Show Jumpers run courses over six foot fences. If their posture is incorrect for just a second, there's a long way down. If they don't set their horse up right for take-off before the jump, they could get thrown off (sometimes into the jump) by a quick refusal. Then there's always the horse tripping, or its legs giving in around the course. People train for years upon years for this, taking lessons several times a week - it's a very complicated discipline, just like most other disciplines associated with equestrianism. Barrel Racers gallop at full speed around barrels, making turns so sharp they're almost parallel to the ground. And looking outside of just specific competitive disciplines, they are on the back of a living creature! In other words, they're unpredictable and have a mind of their own, and that goes double for a lot of temperamental show horses. Every rider knows that no matter how good they are, they're going to taste the ground every once in awhile because their horse will throw them off without a doubt. Hospitalization and breaking bones happens all the time. I could go on and on, but I shouldn't. Bottom line is, everything about horseback riding is dangerous. Everything. You could be digging your grave just by approaching a horse the wrong way (specifically in a manner that scares it). Actually look into equestrianism and you'd be pretty freaking surprised.

Horseback riding is, first and foremost, a sport. As in, you get a workout and you use muscles. Furthermore, it's a very physically demanding sport. A 30 minute lessons of simple cantering and posting can make me more tired than after any soccer game I've played.

Now don't get me wrong - I'm pretty well rounded when it comes to sports. I realize how dangerous they all are - from downhill skiing to rugby to even tennis (i wouldn't want to get hit by that ball! ), but in the end, horseback riding is preformed on an animal. ANIMAL. As in unpredictable and with a mind of it's own.

Ask yourself this - can your soccer ball flip over you in a spilt second and crush you? Can your soccer ball throw you 7 feet into the air onto hard dirt?

The whole essence of horseback riding is trusting something with a mind of it's own with your life. It's having that brittle connection with an animal TEN TIMES YOUR SIZE (in weight) that can be snapped in a moment.

Obviously, going around a racetrack 120 miles per hour in a car is dangerous, but at least you have control of that car. Jockeys do have control of the horse, but in the end, you can't fully control it.

Professional riders gallop at solid obstacles at speeds of over 20 miles per hour in cross country. And most of these riders, after falling from 5+++ feet up at high speeds brush themselves off and are back in the saddle very soon.

Everyday riders jump up to 5 feet. Professional ones can hit walls up to 8 feet. EIGHT FEET. Could you imagine something going wrong and falling off from 8 feet up in the air. And if the horse gives out, then they fall on you too. Horses are natural flee animals, and when you fall - they run. And when you fall, your head is in a very close proximity to their hooves.

Obviously, like in any sport, if you know what you're doing you lower your risk of getting hurt. I'm not trying to say equestrianism is better than any sport out there, but one mistake can literally make you dead. And unlike in other sports, you can't control most of these fatal mistakes.

I'm 16 and have been horse riding (English style) since I was 3. I've also tried western, sidesaddle, horseball and individual stunt riding thanks to some of our yards horses being used in films. Over this time I've ridden at 3 different yards and although I haven't been badly injured myself I know people who have. I've fallen off horses more times than I can remember but luckily I seem to bounce, the worst of my injuries were bruised bones, ligament damage, strained muscles and sprains. One of my good friends however has had his horse (which is 17hh and pure muscle) fall on top of him. He was lucky and didn't break anything, getting away with just concussion and a few days in hospital.

I do agree through that it's not just the riding that's dangerous but the groundwork around the horse as well. I know someone who has died from a young horse kicking out at him. Horse riding has become safer in the past few years but I still feel that as a sport it's one of the most dangerous. It won't stop me doing it but I understand that every time I get on a horse I am pretty much holding my life in my hands and it's my fault if I don't control the horse. However, there are some things that cannot be controlled. Horses are living animals who can think for themselves rather than objects. Their ability to think makes them unpredictable which people who don't ride ignore when contemplating the difficulty of the sport.

I now ride for a living and still have people telling me that I just have to sit there and do nothing. It frustrates me no end because to do well you have to strain your body physically and mentally. The last time someone said to me it was easy and a child could do it, I offered them my horse (who is only about 14hh but rather flighty) and told them I'd visit them in the hospital the next day. I've got my friends to have a lesson and they now understand how hard what I do is and even though they enjoyed it, none of them would even think about some of the things I have done.

This is defiantly the most dangerous sport. I ride horses and almost got killed when I fell. My horse fell too but I literally jumped off my horse, broke my ankle but got up anyway and ran to my horse. The poor thing was limping but thank god he didn't break anything. Only bruised his ankle. I managed to bruise my back badly, break my ankle, and sprained my wrist. When I jumped off the horse I went flying, landed on my ankle wrong.

But to those who say it isn't dangerous, it's easy and that we don't need to be fit. Yes, we do need to be fit. No offense, but you don't see fat people riding horses in competitions do you? No, sure a horse is strong but people who are over weight wouldn't be able to keep up with all the things that you need to do. I lost 20 pounds in a matter of two months riding.

Dangerous, yes. People die almost every single year riding, Jessica F. For example. She shattered her skull when her horse flipped and landed on her. So don't say it isn't dangerous. It hurts when you fall from five to eight feet in air and smacked the hard ground. It isn't a soft fall, even if it looks like it.

Easy, heck no! God, posting alone is hard enough! And that's the easy part! Jumping is hard, galloping is very hard and all together. Riding a horse is very X100 hard. It's the first sport in the whole world smart ones! Better than dumb football. -_-

Also, walking into a horse's stall with the horse there is even dangerous. Especially if the horse was abused before it was rescued and you walk in and that horse doesn't trust humans anymore. Just put it this way, if you can... Get out. If that horse is laying his ears back and bearing his teeth and stomping his foot on the ground, just back away and let him calm down.

Also, look up on youtube guy attacked by horse. Click on the video that looks kind of grey with a chestnut horse and a guy on the ground. That's what a horse is capable of and even more than that.

Also, to those cheerleaders. Shut your faces! You don't know a thing, sure you risk your lives. But not as much as we do. You know nothing of this sport and look stupid trying to say you do.

Really, horseback riding less dangerous than cheer? Hahah, so funny. First of all, you are dealing with a 1,000 (+) animal with a mind of its own, that if it wanted to, could kill you. But we communicate with it in ways you don't even see when you watch someone ride. We can't say "move", "walk", and it will automatically move, but we communicate using our hands, seat, legs, and eyes. I can't tell you how many times iv seen someone fall off and get hurt. I have had it happen to me too. I fell off in front of my friend one day, and she has never seen anyone fall, nor has she fallen off herself, and it totally freaked her out. Like she didn't want to ride the rest of the lesson because of that, Now imagine you are in a show, and your friend falls off right before you go on. You gotta get your act together, because your horse will feel that you are scared, and will be scared too. I have broken my wrist from my horse simply tripping. I have been bucked off, and luckily no one else was in the ring at the time, because my horse was bucking wildly all around the ring, and if someone else was in the ring, they probably would fall off too. I've seen someone fall off from a horse that was 18.2 hands ( a hand is 4 inches, you do the math) and the horse judged the jump wrong, he thought it was a vertical, when it was an oxer, and they were already 3 feet in the air. So she fell around 8 feet ( just an estimation)and going pretty fast. Now your going to say cheerleaders fall higher from that, but guess what, they got people to catch them. We don't. We have the ground. That's it...

Horseback riding. I have to say it's the most dangerous sport IMO. We are dealing with something that technically can't be controlled. Horses CHOOSE to listen to us because they are animals of flight and if they feel as though there is a leader, which is hopefully you if you ride, then they follow. We handle animals that are MANY times larger and heavier than us, and just because they are not as smart as we are doesn't mean they can't use brute force to get what they want. People usually only see horseback riding where there are huge A rated Hunter or Jumper shows and the horses are perfect and well behaved. There is SO much more to it than that. Do they know how every horse GETS to that point? A foal isn't born a top notch horse. It has training, training, and training. When horses are still "green" (young and unpredictable) they don't always know what you want them to do. Being on a thousand pound animal that doesn't know what you want it to do is like putting your fate in someone elses hands and hope and pray that if you are consistent enough and clear enough with what you are telling them that they will listen. Horses weren't put on this earth just so that we could ride them, we are taking a part of God's given Earth and molding it to what we want and hoping that none of the wires holding it together fall apart.

Obviously horse-riding is more dangerous than cheerleading. Okay so in cheerleading you might get flung or dropped, but there are a number of things that can happen in horse riding. Like... Bucks, Rears, refusals, falls. Least in all the other 'sports' on this page you are in control of. I'd like to see all the cheerleaders control a 1500 pound horse, that has a mind of it's own. It doesn't matter what this stupid list says, it proves NOTHING. It's just a bunch of cheerleaders coming on and voting... Because they have to prove that there sport is harder, when everyone knows Cheer is just gymnastics with singing and pom-poms.
If you have never fallen off a horse (not a bomb-proof riding school pony, a real horse) then you don't have an opinion.

Ok, its me again the girl who got kicked in the mouth, stepped on and had one fall. Ok you think cheerleading should be the first most dangerous sport, uh no, no way! I just got back from horseback riding and I have NEVER seen anything so bad in my life, not even on YouTube. We were doing a jumping course and the person who was up next was almost done with the course while me and the other rider were in the corners giving her some space. The rider has the last jump to go, she goes over it, the horse bucks twice and starts bolting. There was a metal fence in the way to block an entrance way and the rider flies off the horse and slams HEAD ON into the fence and she also hit her side on it too. Luckely she was ok, but she had a cut on her hand, and a huge wound on her side near her ribs. The bang of her slamming into the fence was so loud, it echoed throughout the farmland, scared my horse and the other rider's horse and people came running to see what had happened. We had to get off because of the accident. This rider still got back on, but she just trotted around. I feel so bad for her, she'll be sore tomorrow that's for sure! She is lucky and strong and we finished the lesson by me and the other rider doing the course. That's why Horseback riding is the most dangerous sport to me.

Horseback Riding is a severely dangerous sport. All you cheerleaders have NO idea of what goes on in Equestrianism. In cheer, is there a chance that you could be crushed by a living, breathing, two ton animal? No. Do cheerers control a creature over solid fences, at a full speed gallop? No.
Ever heard of Jessica Forsyth? Her horse flipped over a fence, and crushed her skull. Has that ever happened to a cheerleader? No.

All you cheerleaders are making yourselves look like idiots. Riders cannot just hang on and be fine. Riders work harder than any other athlete.
In all other sports, you are in control of yourself only. Riders try their best to control a powerful, 2 ton animal, with a mind of it's own. Over 6ft fences, some solid. One wrong move can paralyze you, or, even worse, can END YOUR LIFE. And, not all the danger is when you are on the horse. I know of several farriers who have been kicked in the head and killed. Can a cheerleader kick you with enough force to kill you? No. And, this IS a sport. Whoever says it isn't is a loser. Riding takes a huge amount of muscle, and extreme balance. Advanced riders have worked so hard for balance, that they don't even have to think twice about it.

Equestrianism is a horribly dangerous, yet rewarding, beautiful
SPORT!

"Riding: The art of keeping a horse between you and the ground. ~Author Unknown" People just don't realize how hard that art is. What if that horse doesn't want to stay beneath you and the ground. Well then your pretty much screwed unless you can hang on for you life. If horse riding wasn't so damn dangerous than tell me, why is it we fall, and fall hard! Why one little mistake can cost us something as precious as our lives, or even more precious our horse's lives. TWO lives are at stake at least with every ride. You try getting on a 1000 pound animal! Now after that try staying on while it gallops around a ring uncontrollably probably throwing in a good buck or too. All these people on here (I see you football and rugby comments ) need to open their eyes and realize that when you get on to a horse, anything can happen. I know many people who have fallen and needed an ambulance. I've had it happen to me. If you've never seen a bad horse fall go on to youtube and look it up and believe me it will be on of the most horrifying things you will ever see. Next time you see a horse rider don't say that we just sit on the horse, think about how hard it is to stay sitting on that horse while at the same time talking to it without words.

Thank you

How is horseback riding not number 1? There were over 50,000 equestrian related hospitalizations last year. I am a jumper who jumps over 4ft jumps being as fast and efficient as possible. The people who ride horses, their head can be up to 4 meters off the ground, going 40mph, with nothing but a helmet on. 1 in 5 riders will be hospitalized with horse-related injuries. Last year, I had one of my worst falls. We were going over courses, and my horse spooked. He bolted, bucked, reared, and I, unfortunately, feel off. I was wearing a helmet, but my horse ended up kicking the side of my face when he tried to jump over me. I was hospitalized with a broken collar bone, 3 broken ribs, a shattered wrist, a concussion, and a broken jaw. Now I have a huge scar on the side of my face from where his hoof hit my face and cut it open. If you think cheer is easier than riding, you are out of your mind! I did competitive cheer for 7 years, I've been riding for 13 years, and it's not even close. I loved cheerleading, I still do, but there is no way it's harder than riding!

Every time I get on a horse I risk my life. With the other sports (besides bull riding) you put your life in the hands of other people, but with horses you are trusting a 1000 pound animal with your life! You can die just from standing still on a horse let alone something like barrel racing gymkhana jumping or cross country. Most of the time you fall from at least ten feet and no one is there to catch you like in cheer. Even if it isn't your horse acting up you could just loose your balance and die. Most of sport involved accidents are horse back riding accidents, and here's the thing the horse is not forgiving they don't care most of the time if you are in the direction they want to run they will trample you and their is no stopping them, and there you are stuck on the ground with a giant beast running around like crazy with high possibility of them landing right on you. So for all of you who say that it isn't a sport why don't you go on a high strung horse and try to jump them or even stay on galloping for that.

Ok so you think cheerleading's more dangerous? Sorry, but I used to be a cheerleader and it's no wheres near as dangerous as horse back riding. When I cheerlead, it took me a week tops to learn most of the moves and I didn't get injured through any of my 4 years of cheerleading. I've been riding horses for the past 5 years, one year longer than cheerleading, and I've broken both of my collar bones, one from being wrapped up with a horse in a long line and her falling on top of me after freaking out then the other from falling off my horse, I've bruised my arm from falling off my horse during barrel racing, fallen on my head from pole-bending, and much more. And I agree with anyone else who says horse back riding is more dangerous, if you think that riding is easy just because you've ridden a horse in a pony ride at a zoo who is, by the way, completely broke and in a place that's controlled, you clearly have no idea what it takes to truly be a horseback rider.

I've been riding for 13 years now and I've been thrown into so many jumps I can't remember most of them. Some people say that lacrosse is dangerous try playing it on a horse at 30mph and you don't tackle down you tackle up where face is. But one of the most intimidating thing is when your in the ring next to go round the course and the rider before you falls off and gets driven away in an ambulance. I went on a farm ride last your with about 15 people and about a mile ahead of us someone had to be taken away by air ambulance we were all wondering at what fence I found out it was a hedge about 70cm on one side and on the other a 5ft drop the person who was giving me a lead over it because my horse wasn't being cooperative told to me lean back I didn't understand why because I've always done show jumping not hunting any I learnt why me and horse did a few rolly pollies one of my friends said that my horse had rolled over me and no one thought Me or my horse would get up again. I only broke my collar bone and my horse was raring I got back on and bolted across a few fields but I had to wait till he couldn't keep galloping because of my shoulder luckily he didn't spook at anything but I haven't jumped that hedge again

okay, horseback riding is definitely the most dangerous! In the last year I've broken both my pinkies, in two different spots on each pinky. So that's four broken bones, I almost broke my hip after I lost an iron and fell off. I was going to go over a triple and the first two jumps were like, 18 in(? ) and then the last jump was only 2ft but the horse refused and I landed ON THE JUMP! I could have been stepped on or broken my neck! Lets see here, I also broke both my thumbs and I almost broke my elbow once. And this is just lessons. Wait until I get my own horse=)Oh yeah I almost forgot, I've also been on a bucking horse, but I stayed on and the this past week I was cantering a green horse and then she took off galloping in the lesson ring and there were two beginners and another person on the horse that bucks in the ring with me and I just managed to swerve her to the side before crashing into the beginners(i was training this horse, my sis was on the bucking one). THAT COULD HAVE BEEN A DISASTER! p.s. I've also done gymnastics, not anywhere near as dangerous as horseback riding.

Horse riding should definitely be number one. More people are killed doing this than cheerleading. In my opinion, being on an animal which is often over 6 times your body weight, has it's own brain and could kill you in a heartbeat, is far more dangerous than cheerleading. Of course cheerleading is dangerous, but if you compare this, if you fall or get dropped in cheerleading, the damage won't be anywhere near as bad as falling of a horse and having a 500kg+ animal crush you against the ground or an obstacle. If you ask me, I think it's plain obvious that horse riding beats cheerleading on the dangerous scale. Also, I don't even think cheerleading should be in second place... Is motor cross not far more dangerous? I mean, you're on a heavy piece of machinery and jumping extremely high and ridiculous speeds on a tight track... I mean... Horse eventing really is the ONLY sport where your are required to have your medical information strapped to your arm, is this not saying something?

Definitely a very dangerous sport! Let's just say that I am happy to even be walking right now! This is not a sport to be taken as un-serious. I know a few people who have died from horseback riding. I'm sorry but it is very unpredictable and one wrong move and you better be prepared to watch the world crash around you because even through the saddle that horse can feel even if you shift you weight not even and inch. I've fallen off of my horse quite a few times now and hope to never again. We were going towards a jump not even that tall like 2'6" maybe and she stops right before and where do I go? Right over her neck with my back landing on the poles. Anything can happen at any second. If cheer beats and average fatality rating of over 100 deaths per year then someone tell me because it's not that hard! The sand definitely isn't a soft landing and is almost guaranteed to scrape you and it's very shallow sand as well with a layer of cement underneath. I would like to see everyone who calls this a sport to try to ride a horse really legitly and see what happens.

Gosh. I ride horses and it's scary sometimes. If you listen to what people say sometimes it makes horse people crazy. Most people say horseback riding is easy all you do is sit there. Oh but they are so wrong. Can you control a 16hh horse through a whole jumping course perfectly, that you learned like 10 minutes before? Can you run full speed with 15-20 other horses, and get first? Can you gallop tight turns around barrels without knocking them over? Honestly, horse back riding is way more dangerous that cheer leading. Some of the injuries from riding horses can be as severe as death. When you get thrown in the dirt, fall on or in a jump, get crushed by a horse that flipped over, or even trampled. IT'S SCARY! Only the best riders can get right back up after many falls and continue to ride. Those are the true riders. It takes a long time to learn to ride a horse. On mistake in your posture or signals, and you could end up in the dirt. So if you think horseback riding is not dangerous or not a sport, think again.

Definitely the most dangerous sport out there. Horses are unpredictable animals and could do anything at any time, and although you can try to prevent it, it still happens. I've been a rider all my life and have fallen off many times, but I am extremely lucky to have only broken one bone so far, my wrist way back when I was around 8. But, I have a friend qho is just so fragile that she manages to injure herself every time she falls off. And, you don't always fall on sand or grass, you could fall on a jump (that's painful) or even harder surfaces like gravel, there was someone around my area that was dragged across gravel and has various broken bones and other serious injuries. But we riders still get on with the task at hand and accept that we are going to fall of, possibly get injured or even killed. It's just all apart of the sport (yes, it is a sport, those of you who think you just sit there and let the horse do everything, try it for yourself and get back to me on how it went) and at the end of the day it's very much worth it.

Just a little while ago I was at a show and saw a girl get slammed full speed into a wall by her horse. You know what? I didn't even think twice about it, stuff like that happens all the time.

A girl who rides at my barn took her horse for a trail ride a week ago, fell off, and fractured her pelvis in 13 places. She had to get immediate surgery and can't do any normal activities for more than 12 weeks.

I have another friend who broke her collar bone by falling into a jump and before it was fully healed she slammed her shoulder into a jump AGAIN.

I see people all the time with broken toes and enormous bruises from being kicked and stepped on, and they don't even care.

I see YouTube videos about people who fall off, get their feet stuck in their stirrups, and are dragged around upside down by terrified horses as their ankles are snapped.

These are just a fraction of the injuries I see all the time and don't even get me started on the possibility of death when riding. Getting kicked or stepped on after falling off could easily result in getting your neck snapped or your chest or skull crushed. If horseback riding is not a dangerous sport, I don't know what is.