"If I were describe myself with way, for me, this would be another thing to "practice at home." :)
I am personally of the opinion that one of the most important things to know how to do in order to avoid serious riding injuries is to know how to fall off without getting hurt, and yes, there are ways to practice this (and much of it can be done without a horse)."
My husband has done martial arts his entire life and insists that I can learn to fall safely. I challenged him to fall off the bed "safely", which is a good bit different from falling while standing or being thrown in a martial arts or wrestling throw. He has never taken me up on it - so how do you fall off the 5 feet from a horses back safely? I had a serious injury in a spook, spin and bolt a few years ago. We were meandering at a walk after a wonderful relaxed trot/canter and a bird flew up in front of him. There was no time to react and I was flying through the air and broke my back when I hit. Now I think about it - how could I have fallen "safely" at that velocity, from that height at that speed?
