How to fall off a horse

OK most people think that falling off a horse just happens and it will always hurt and that there is nothing you can do to prepare for the fall but you are very wrong about that one. You see when you realize that you will have to fall off a horse time slows down and you think about the best way to hit the ground as well as what ways you can stop from falling off if it all possible (this is the harder part). Now you won't be able to do this the first time you fall off a horse because you will not be able to think about anything because you won't know what is happening until you hit the ground - hard.





The first horse I ever fell off of was a lesson horse when I was 11 or 12 years old. I don't remember the horse's name but she was a Quarter Horse/Arab cross who was only about 14 hands tall (short for a horse tall for a pony). I had ridden her a lot already and we were riding in a large area and about the 4th time around the arena we passed the same puddle we had passed 3 times already and all the suddon she spooked (pretty much she jumped sideways without warning). Well because I did not know any better I stayed put in the air while she moved out from underneith me and I dropped about 4-5 feet strait down because there was no longer a horse under me. While this was going on I heard this far away scream that some how I felt was coming from me but did not sound like it was coming from me at all. My instructor came running quickly, checked on me and grabbed the horse and when I could stand again my instructor jumped on the horse and took her around the puddle again and again to ensure that the horse was not going to spook again and then told me to get back on. I got back on and finished my lesson but always wondered why the instructor never let me ride any of the other horses or had her other students ride this horse.





When I was in college I took horseback riding as PE (Colorado State rocks!) Well at the college level the instructors would get pretty mad if you fell off the horses and one even required you to bring cookies or other treat to her the next day if you fell off. Now let me tell you something about lesson horses at a college, there are a lot of them and usually they are leased so the instructors know very little about their initial training and quirks. This lead to some very eventful days with horses that may not react the way the instructor says they should. Well this one horse I was stuck with while I took English lessons was one crazy Thoroughbred. He stood probably abou 17 hands which is huge for my small 5'1" so I could not figure out why I was given him except he must be pretty calm...wrong! He loved to grab the bit and run away with me no matter what speed we were going. Well one day the teacher told us a pattern to follow which ended with a controlled gallop back to the group. Well somewhere around getting him into the right lead at the canter he took the bit and reins so when I allowed him to get to a gallop I realized it would be near impossible to stop him as he ran toward my classmates. Well by now that section of my brain that allows me to realize I am in trouble and react to it so I reached forward and grabed the reins farther up and pulled which caused the horse to turn in a quick circle and slow down...unfortunately at this time I lost my outside stirrup and centrifical force took over causing my rear to move off the saddle toward the outside. Finding myself not on the horse anymore and without any way to get back on due to my foot being loose as well I quickly pulled the other leg over the saddle and landed along the horse on both feet. The whole class knew I lost control but at least I did not land on my ass that time.

It was not until I bought my own horse until I fell off again. Just a few months after I brought Cheyenne home some friends came over to play with her and take some pictures. I decided to ride her as it was a really nice day. I grabbed my new austrilian saddle and her bridle and hopped on a few photos were taken of me and I asked someone to run in the house and grab my helmet...I was still only in sneakers instead of boots though. I took Cheyenne out into the hay field and she was doing great until we took a tern and headed back toward her home - the pasture - where her buddies - my neighbor's horses - were watching her. Now horses must feel embarassed to have someone riding them because Cheyenne started to want to show off that she was in control and her nice trot quickly speed up into a fast canter/slow gallop and no amount of rein pulling could stop her - I knew I was in trouble. This time I did not think to grab the reins and spin her in a circle like I had previously done I just saw the fence racing toward me and wondered what would happen when we got to the fence, would she stop, try to jump it or just run through it???? Well I did not have long to wonder because before I could guess what she would do I was flying over her shoulder. I knew that I was going to be in front of her feet so something needed to be done when I hit the ground and even though it hurt I started to roll away from the thundering hooves. Now remember I had friends over taking pictures, one who knew a lot about horses and one who knew nothing, well even though the horsey friend could tell I was going to fall not one picture was taken of the run away horse. Instead the told me that when I hit the ground and rolled it gave the illusion that the horse was kicking me so of course they ran right to me worried that I was dead. I hear someone asking me over and over again if I was OK but there was no breath left in my lungs to answer, I did eventually take one deep breath in order to say a shhhhhh that was heard 20 feet away where my friend had grabbed Cheyenne. I turned out to be just fine as I fell in the best way possible in the nice soft hay field, I assumed that by the way I fell Cheyenne had stumbled while she ran causing her to pull her head down yanking my arms forward pulling my legs against the leg rests of the australian saddle and cattapulting the saddle up and me over her shoulder. To rectify the situation I added a rear cinch to the saddle and added a vital part of the bridle - the curb strap but I have never really gotten my nerve back.

Of course I thought I would fall off Cheyenne again and felt that Crackerjack would never through me so after a year and a half of not riding either horse I took Crackerjack out into the hay field when my in laws came to visit. He seemed reluctant to be ridden but tolerated me saddling him up and up I went. He seemed to be easy to control but the adjustment to my bosal did not seem to give me the previous control I had over him. Both our dogs were let out at the time and Ozzy our Australian Shepherd decided to come visit me on the horse so I decided to see how Crackerjack was at cutting, he actually did quite well as I chased Ozzy around the field. Well eventually Ozzy got sick of this game and ran off and I headed off on Crackerjack to put him up. Out of no where Crackerjack bolted and the bosal adjustment came undone not allowing me to gain any control of the horse. Unfortunately I was also in an English saddle and did not have the leg muscle to regain balance and I knew I was going down. To make matters worse my leg was caught up in the stirrups so there was no way I could cleanly get away from the horse so I just had to fall and hope for the best. As I fell I felt something hit my leg and when I hit the ground I was in a lot of pain. My husband came running, he must have heard the very choice words I knew I had screamed when the horse bolted, and helped me to get up again after I determined that I had not been steped on or broken anything. We caught Crackerjack again and my husband helped me get back on so I could make sure he was good. I then put the horse up and had to hobble back to the house where I had a nice colorful bruise on my calf where he had kicked me as well as bruising where my boot had hit my leg.

My sweet life with the horses

Well first off to anyone reading this because they are wanting to get their first horse - think very hard about it because it is a lot of responsibility and I have it easy and am greatful for that fact every day. OK why do I have it easier then the normal horse owner? I live on 14 acres so I don't have to pay for boarding while they graze on a 6 acre pasture. 6 other acres are a hayfield that my neighbor bales for me for the price of half the hay which means usually I don't need to buy hay during the winter (a huge savings) this great neighbor also brings the horses the hay so I just sit back and watch them get fat. Next I have a natural spring which has running water 365 days a year so I never have to clean out water buckets, fill water buckets or deice water all very yucky and potentially cold jobs. So what do I have to do for the horses? Well I have to call a farrier out every 2-6 months to get their feet checked and trimmed, I need to get them to a vet once a year for shots and I need to check on them to ensure that they don't get injured which can be tough when you are trying to find 2 horses in a 6 acre wooded pasture after dark!

I also need to make sure they are ridden on a fairly regular basis, this did not happen when I was pregnant so they are a bit undertrained right now and like to take advantage of me which will lead to some exciting posts in the future when I attempt to ride them. I also need to ensure all equipment is in working order, I almost lost my mother in law one day because we went out for a ride and the curb strap was almost broken when we returned so always, always, ALWAYS check your straps before you mount a horse.

I love my ponies (yeah I will refer to them as ponies too because they are mid sized and very sweet). Cheyenne is my first and she really is a pony at around 13 hands and is few spot appaloosa colored but can not be considered a appy due to the fact she is under 14.2 hands, stupid rule. She is a bit of a bitch at times flattening her ears and bearing her teeth while you try to mount her and at other times she is the most adorable lap pony every falling asleep while you brush her. Crackerjack (CJ) is the horse I bought for my husband, he rode him once, and he is a Morgan/Arab cross of some sort and on the Morgan days he is calm and attentive on the Arab days he is high strung and flighty. I don't know which one I like to ride more as they both have their pluses and minuses and both have tossed me already, that will be another post. Cheyenne has a really smooth trot and loves to canter but she will also demand to go where she wants to instead of where you want her to which can be a big problem. CJ is the bounciest horse with this eligant trot (very flashy especially when he puts his tail way up in the sky) and pretty much refuses to get into a canter unless you ask for it nicely.

Wildlife craziness

OK racoons are the smartest little critters I have ever run into and we have our first little brood this year - unfortunately. It all started with me wondering how the cats were eating so much food so fast. Then I wondered if I was leaving the cat food lid open in the garage last winter. You see in the winter time at night it is really cold so we bring the dogs were indoors each night. Then one morning after letting the dogs out they started going crazy barking, when I went out to investigate I saw a racoon in the tree! It was a pretty big one but as we have a lot of woods I figured there was nothing I could do short of shooting it and that was not going to happen.

Then things started to get worse and worse. The raccoons started to raid the cat food each night and it was costing me a fortune. I noticed that the dog food on the porch was not being eaten or the sweet feed for the horses so I figured why not put the cat food on the porch too and just feed the cats there. I thought I was brillient for about 2 weeks until the lid started to be removed every night...only on the cat food by the way so I guess the dog food is not good enough for them. What happened you might ask...well the dogs have been brought in again due to an injured horse so now nothing is detering the raccoons from getting a quick bite. Now the raccoons are walking up to our french doors and looking in to see if any food is located in the house so I guess I will have to do something before they start attacking me or the cats.

An introduction

Ok I have lived in Kentucky for over 5 years now and I still feel like such a newbie when it comes to farm life! I grew up in the middle of OC in California and not the rich section that is seen on TV. For a few years I lived in an area very prone to areas commonly raided by the cops. Why then would I move thousands of miles away to live in the country? Well first off there is no way I could have afforded a house in Cali let alone OC and second off I have always wanted a horse and we now have 14 acres. So now a city girl needs to learn all the little things that are required to keep a farm running as well as taking care of animals - yeah I got my horses - even the ones that just show up uninvited.