Ridecamp: RE: [RC] Bailing off a runaway horse

>>I would be interested in hearing from those who HAD
bailed out.  Was the horse more likely to run away
again?  Did they get hurt?  Would they do it again?<<

I bailed off my 5 year old last year.  He, himself,
was very sensible.  But, the horse we were with (in
hand, not ridden) was a basket case, spooked over a
biker and ran for his life.  My youngster didn't even
know why he was runing.  I turned him into a treed,
bluff to slow him down and only knocked myself off
balance.  He took off as fast as he could and I
panicked and bailed.  I woke up as the ambulance
arrived.  We were on a railroad grade which was
covered in small, sharp rocks.  My helmet was badly
dented and had actually split.  I had a concussion
that lasted for 4 months (fuzzy head and hearing) and
several deep bruises.  I couldn't walk for several
days (until someone talked me into getting back on my
OTHER horse for therapy............surprisingly, it
worked!).  I was off work for 10 days and then only
managed to work a couple of half days before returning
to full duty.  I have no long lasting effects (unless
it's my brain being jossled so much).

The horse has NEVER offered to bolt again.  He was
genuinely concerned about me and came back to check on
me voluntarily as everyone else was too busy doing
"stuff" to worry about getting him. I was surprised
that he came back with the ambulance there.....lights
flashing and all.   He rarely even spooks and this, I
feel, was a one time incident.  I was scared to death
to ride him  for quite a long while (this fear didn't
translate to my other horse, however).  I still can
get the quivers when I feel he's beginning to act up. 
It's silly because he's very dependable for a
youngster!

Karen







__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
HotJobs - Search Thousands of New Jobs
http://www.hotjobs.com

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
 Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
 Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
 Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=