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Post by Frostym on Apr 21, 2014 8:37:20 GMT -5
As a young teenager I was going over a 4' post and rail jump when my girth broke. Luckily I knew nothing about until I pulled up and somebody screamed for me not to try to get off! Ooops!
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Post by Jenni on Apr 21, 2014 9:57:23 GMT -5
There are so many...
Probably the time I was practicing the barrel pattern in the field along my driveway, bareback. I turned the third barrel and headed for the "finish line" full speed. Started to pull up and my right rein broke. I was heading towards home and she started to pick up speed when she realized the rein broke and I didn't know about one rein stops at the time. We were about 1/4 mile from home across a swamp and a couple sharp corners, then a fence. I decided to bail before she got back up to full speed.
Then a few years ago when Izzie lost her balance and fell on me. She went to bite at a fly on her belly and somehow caught her lower jaw on the stirrup - as she brought her face back around I saw the stirrup go with it and knew she was going to go over but couldn't get off and out of the way.
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Post by Sheryl on Apr 21, 2014 11:08:08 GMT -5
I have had more than one.... many of them now seem silly because they weren't that big of a deal, but for my confidence level they were.
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Post by Idaho Linda on Apr 21, 2014 13:41:45 GMT -5
Sheryl has a great point. And I think we can all look back and think about how we learned NOT to do something at the school of hard knocks. Like I have heard Mark Rashid say numerous times, "I have never seen anything good come out of having something hooked to the horse and the other end of it dangling on the ground....." I thought that was a very positive way of making a safety correction (although the gal being corrected just didn't "get it" even though it was repeated more than once.)
One that "could have been" was the day I made some nice, new reins using a fid to slide one end of the nylon rope into itself around the bit. Cool reins--no hardware. But, the longer I rode, the longer the reins got. I think one end finally slid out before I figured out what was happening. Luckily, I was where it didn't matter. But, I could have been in a very bad spot like Jenni was--that would not have been good. I still make my reins this way, but now I put leather ties through the two pieces a couple of inches from where the rope loops back into itself.
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Post by kerryc on Apr 21, 2014 14:04:51 GMT -5
I remember one day I was running Clover Leaf in practice, lots of folks sitting on the arena fence. I rounded the 3rd barrel and the tree in my saddle broke. Try and get your barrel horse NOT to dig out of the 3rd barrel in this case. It wasn't all that bad, she was kinda wondering what was going on as well.
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Post by dawnh on Apr 21, 2014 16:28:16 GMT -5
LOL oh my the memories... best was probably because it freaked out others way more than me (as in my mother never watched me ride after that LOL wouldn't even go). Fun speed show easy class hold a towel btween two horses and burn it around the outside of the arena. Fastest time of those who made it together wins. Seems simple enough till on the 3rd turn felt the saddle slip. Warned my partner who was on the outside to watch it when we hit the last turn which he did. He pulled up his mare and the saddle went the rest of the way. giving me a total faceplant into the fence panels. Hindsight 20/20 should have pulled up but it never crossed my mind the saddle totally give out thoguht just a bit of a loose cinch. And he said if had been thinking he would have stayed there and let me fall onto his mare (who had done lots of events where the rider jumps up behind was used to all of it...) A well whats a few bumps and bruises... we won the class.
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Post by ponyexpress on Apr 21, 2014 17:15:04 GMT -5
After a childhood with backyard ponies, my first OMG moment came when I bought my first full-size horse at age 40+, a former hunter/jumper and I had never even seen an English saddle up close before! I was in over my head but.....he needed me. There have been many since then, but I've lived to tell the stories, so no worries! :-)
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Post by ride4fun on Apr 22, 2014 10:25:11 GMT -5
LOL, how about just the recent one. Two years ago riding Sadie and thinking the saddle had slipped forward a fair amount I had a brainless moment and after stopping her leaned right to see how the girth looked wrt to front leg, turning the saddle and dumping me on the ground and not quite able to hang on to her as she reacted to the WTH feeling, watching her canter off, not at a full crazy bolt pace but still cantering with saddle under her belly and having to walk home hoping she didn't run thru a fence and have a big wreck getting there herself. She was OK, a little bruising on her knee from stirrup flopping. And with a few weeks of horse treats she even got over feeling like AAACK when I went to get off.
She is such a sweet thing that even though she was nervous and goofy for a while when I was dismounting she stood like a saint for me to get on through the whole period.
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Post by rhapsody on Apr 22, 2014 10:51:21 GMT -5
Mine was when I was riding Zipp and my friend was riding one of the boarder's horses (grey Arab stallion). I was riding bareback, just a bridle, and back then we didn't wear helmets. We were coming back from a trail ride and doing a nice canter down the logging road that led up behind Joe's place when the bit in his horse's mouth broke. I mean it literally broke and the metal pieces came out of his mouth. His horse took off and Zipp said, "Oh, Crap! Something's out to get him! I'd better run, too!" We were running hell bent for leather down a logging road, me clinging to mane and barrel as I watched stumps and trees and small mud puddles flash by. All I could think of was the "step-up" that you had to traverse to get from the logging road to the trail behind Joe's place. It was about 18" tall. I can remember thinking that if Zipp made that turn and jump at the speed he was traveling, I wouldn't. Fortunately, he slowed down and I was able to regain control and, as I did, so did Joe (even without a bridle).
So that "oh crap" moment wasn't horrible because I didn't come off but if I had it would have been really, really ugly!
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Post by Jenni on Apr 22, 2014 11:59:55 GMT -5
Here is one involving my son. When we were building the barn we had a triangle area fenced off for construction. I had a wagon with hay on it in that triangle section. Caiden was about 18 months old and was with me by the wagon. Then he started to walk back up to where Kelsey was up by the shed. I went back to what I was doing - thinking he was safely walking up to his sister, outside the pasture fence. I turned back around and discovered that he had taken a detour to follow a cat, under the fence into the pasture and straight UNDER my horse Izzie's belly. I knew there was no way to get to him without possibly making her move. So I just froze and said "WHOA Izzie, WHOA" and as he walked under he reached up and touched her belly - OMG. All she did was suck up her belly and look around under herself to see what was going on! Good Izzie.
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Post by snelson on Apr 23, 2014 14:37:20 GMT -5
Oh goodness Jenni...I had a very similiar experience with a relatives son. He was about 2 and they were NOT horse people. We were all outside and he had wandered over to the horse fence...under the horse fence and was standing underneath my 3 yr old Arab gelding. My gelding just stood there and let him pat him under the belly with flies swarming all over him and he wasn't kicking at them until we made it over the fence and could grab the boy. Then Lucky started kicking and took off running. They seem to know. My old mare used to "babysit" my son in his stroller. I would put him in the corner by the gate and she would stand cross ways in front of him so no other horses could get close to him and just guard him until I finished feeding. Sure miss that old girl.
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Post by Marci on Apr 23, 2014 23:48:08 GMT -5
I've had so many....Some make me blush, as the time I made my own macrame reins to discover they were really elastic and I had no steering or control. LOL
One was a green arab mare I was trying out to buy, she bucked and I had this whole circle layed straight out before I hit the dirt to think oh shit this is going to hurt.
I think my worst one was when I was 20 and wore new boots and they started pinching but I wasn't ready to quit riding so I took them off and rode barefoot-jumping. My horse switched leads or something right after a jump (1 footers) and I lost my balance. Flew off of him and it would have been no problem except I hung on to the reins, as my but hit dirt the reins pulled me sideways violently and messed my back up. I didn't realize until I tried to stand up. I had crushed a vertebra. It was quite painful. 2 weeks later I was back on and riding my silly arab who could spook faster than greased lighting. LOL Man I was stupid. I pay for that day all the time.
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Post by colorless on Apr 24, 2014 11:01:19 GMT -5
Perfect post to send chills up my spine. LOL
Also way to many to even think what was the worst but mentioning your kids would prob be way at the top...
Jenni and snelson I can relate.. Where we live our neighbors pasture buts right up to our backyard. They were a elderly couple that I dearly loved and considered them way more than family. He had a bunch of horses and they were a bit on the crazy side at times. My daughter was about 2 and back then they just went outside and you checked on where they were but never stood over them. Well I was very young also. Went to get her and she was in the pasture under his older mare rubbing her belly. I about died also but the ole girl never moved and daughter walked off and Dad put a sheep type fence along the yard very quickly..
Down the road to 4 daughters and 3 in school which ment youngest was about 3 or close to 4. Kids got of the bus and ran to tell me that Ashlee was out in the pasture sitting on my 2 yr. old filly.. Somehow she must have been on the fence while mare was standing right there and just decieded to hop on. My good filly just wandered out with the others to eat and daughter somehow just sat for the ride.. When I went out to grab her my good little filly just looked like Man I was wondering how long it was going to take for you to come get her..
The good Lord looks after Fools and Little Children. And I sure hope I fit in the fool catagory now as I don't think I will bounce much anymore.
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Post by Marci on Apr 25, 2014 16:49:06 GMT -5
I had forgotten my first oh $hit moment with Shadow. I had sold my good saddle to pay for hauling Shadow to Oregon. So I used an old beater saddle I was given. Was at my Moms who had the front yard fenced with chain link. I opened the gate and turned to get on Shadow and the billets that hold the girth to the saddle gave way. I landed on my rear and quickly got up and closed the gate thinking to keep her in the front yard. Turned around to see that Shadow had plowed through the chain link fence knocking it flat and was racing across the desert. She had already crossed the semi busy street. I thought she was toast. And that I would never catch her. But I walked over to the huge open area and called her name and she slowed down and turned around and came back to me. Maybe that was when I fell in love with her.
Later on that saddle became my first treeless. As I took it apart and "fixed " it up.
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