Home Current News News Archive Shop/Advertise Ridecamp Classified Events Learn/AERC
Endurance.Net Home Ridecamp Archives
ridecamp@endurance.net
[Archives Index]   [Date Index]   [Thread Index]   [Author Index]   [Subject Index]

Re: [RC] kids and horses - Mary Ann Spencer

Life can be dangerous.  Doubt there are many stats these days about horse related injuries.  Last century most deaths were from accidents or pneumonia and only a few people lived past the age of 50.   
 
BUT there are LOTS of injuries with ALL the popular 'ball' games.   Many have those home trampolines.  Cars also kill and maim MANY people.   We still drive and ride in cars.  Most learn and play lots of ball games.  Life can be risky.  A good plan is to REDUCE the risk as much as possible.  Whether it be horses, dogs, balls and bats or rolling wheels, there will be some risk.  We all take a chance just walking around our neighborhoods. 
 
Some horses are just not trustworthy.  They should be sent to a place that does NOT include reproducing or being a riding horse, ie maybe the bucking horse group.   With the cost of horses going down, there is little need to keep unsafe, unreliable horses.  IMHO. 
 
I thought that working in emergency in TX  there would be more snake bites than other places I had worked but that did not turn out to be the case.  The military has a risk assessment formal evaluation of the training, mission, etc.  I think we all do that every time we ride or plan our training and riding. 
 
 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, February 20, 2006 5:19 PM
Subject: Re: [RC] kids and horses

I'm very happy most people didn't get hurt when they were young riding a
large strong animal. I can't say the same. My grandmother asked to me to
ride my pony over to tell my grandfather in one of the "far fields" he
needed to come home for some reason.  It was about five miles from the
house. I was six. I had been riding my pony - a large Shetland -
everywhere since I was four and people though I was invincible on that pony.

We start across a fresh disk field when an old John Deere tractor came
along the dirt road beside the field and when he slowed down to cross
the old bridge, the tractor let out a very loud backfire as those old
Deeres would do.

My horse was startled, spun and took off. There was no way a 6 year old
had the strength to manage an animal that size that must have thought he
was running for his life. He runs straight toward the woods and into the
woods. A limb caught me, ripped me off my pony and I was out for the count.

It took my grandparents, uncle, aunt and all the neighbors until about
midnight to find me. The good news was I was not bleeding bad or I could
have been dead. I hung on as long as I could - probably a mistake. The
local MD was going to send me to Vanderbilt if the concussion I suffered
had not started showing some improvement.

It happens. A small child does not have the strength to manage a 700 to
1000 pound animal that evolved as prey. In retrospect the fresh disk
field is probably the only thing that saved me. The horse could not get
up full speed on the soft ground. Other wise my head might still be
laying in those woods.

Truman - who has a very healthy respect of the power and unpredictably
of the noble animal called a horse.

Barbara McCrary wrote:

> I was riding all over the countryside from age 12 on.  The only
> serious accidents I have had all occurred in my adult years.
>
> Barbara
>


--

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm
not sure about the former."  - Albert Einstein


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 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

 Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Replies
[RC] kids and horses, Dot Wiggins
Re: [RC] kids and horses, Barbara McCrary
Re: [RC] kids and horses, Truman Prevatt