Embarassing Falls

Nikki Salo · Grand Prix

Embarassing Falls

justice · Grand Prix

I can well relate to all of the above, Nikki, bought MY membership early on in my career. Good to know the company is grand : )

dbliron · Advanced

My most embarassing experience along these lines happened when I came home from training in Europe.

Of course, I thought I was a pretty big cheese, and jumped on my KWPN gelding the day after I got home (in spite of his having been laid off for the duration of my absence). He was airborne before I even made contact with the saddle, and somewhere about huge buck #12 I realized that we were out in the middle of the arena, where the landing would be soft and there weren't any walls to hit, so I BAILED!

That hit my ego hard (thankfully!), and I went back in the barn and got the longe line and started over. I learned a lot from that experience!

Barnmouser Ash · Grand Prix

db: Too funny! It's always nice to have horses to bring us back down from the clouds, eh?

I've had my fair share of falls, several due to my own ignorance or plain stupidity as a young rider. I can remember a time when I was learning to barrel race, and I apparently had not cinched up tight enough. Come time to run "home", my saddle started slipping to the side. Before I knew it, I was riding underneath my freaked out mare, and in a matter of milliseconds was on the ground rolling at about 20 miles an hour. Not so much a "I have no ability to sit a horse" type fall, but embarrassing nonetheless, as it was due to my own ignorance.

Ah horses, they keep us humble :)

Kathleen K · Well Schooled

I was riding a pony in a cavaletti class. The caveletti was at its lowest - only a few inches off the ground. Since it was an easy peasy class, I figured I had it in the bag.

Pony stopped. I came off.

Dancing Bear · Yearling

One time while waiting to take a ride out at the riding stable. I noticted that the horses forlock was tangled in the bridle. I reached my hand under the bridle and the horse swung his head down pulling me out of the saddle and slapping me onto the ground knocking the wind out of me. A dozen people standing there watching. That was embarassing to me.

Daniela · Yearling

I have an embarrassing fall involving a horse, but not falling off (although that has happened a couple of times). When my horse was a yearling, he had gotten out of the pasture. I went to catch him and walked him on the road back to the barn. I was on his left. He swung his head around to bite at a horsefly on his right side, pulling my body to the right, while his left front leg came up. Yep, faceplant in the middle of the road, a yearling looking at me wondering what the heck I was doing lying down. The first thing I did was look around to make sure no one saw that, lol. I got lucky.

justice · Grand Prix

My fine little Arabian left me hung on a treebranch ......once..

Nikki Salo · Grand Prix

Got a good laugh from Daniela's story, priceless biggrin

justice · Grand Prix

The visual IS a hoot!

MagsNMe · Advanced

My mare is a bit of a nut, she has temper tantrums involving bucking, kicking and generally being a jerk. A few weeks ago, we're wandering around, loose rein, warming up, when she spooked. Unlike her usual, this was a get out of town one, so we're at a good canter, I can't get my reins, my leg starts to bang on her and I bailed. Don't do that...

The most embarrassing part was explaining to my trainer why I bailed off a horse that was just on a bit of a tear, when I've managed to stay on her worst histrionics.... I was appropriately humbled. And now my horse thinks that maybe, just maybe, if she spooks just right....

Barnmouser Ash · Grand Prix

LOL Daniela! Lucky you ;) The visual IS priceless!

Mags, I can see how that would be humbling, but at the same time embarrassing!

Just remembered another time when I was working under a trainer from Philadelphia riding some greenies and troubled horses for her. We had this huge (16.2ish) paint gelding who had been throwing the owner's kids off, so the trainer decided to throw me up on him and correct him when he decided to buck. I was on top of the world as it was, given that I was working with a 'professional', and I had already sat several green attempts to throw me from other horses. So, being in the "this shouldn't be a problem" state of mind, I hopped up on Mr. Paint... got going in a nice lope around the pasture and in one swift crow hop I was on my face on the ground. Thank God for helmets. The trainer had a good laugh and reminded me next time to actually think about what I'm doing before I go thinking I can fix every horse. ;) He didn't get away with his crow hopping after that...

Daniela · Yearling

I know you folks are laughing WITH me, right?? ;) lol I actually laughed about it as soon as I got up - I could just imagine how it looked. If I would see that happen to someone else, I would lmbo! I love these kinds of stories.

Nikki Salo · Grand Prix

With you of course Daniela! I find that most horse people have a very good sense of humor, the ability to laugh at one's self can get you through the toughest of times. aww

MagsNMe · Advanced

Well, I guess I have to add being thrown to the ground and run over by my 9 month old colt to the list...

Daniela · Yearling

That was my first interaction with the young gelding who became my horse. I bought him a year later - never a dull moment, hahahaha! & 7 years after our interesting introduction, he is helping addicted youth in crisis try to heal and become well again. He is so special and so irreplaceable, even though he has played lawn dart with me several times. :)

Nikki Salo · Grand Prix

Daniela, that is great! What a wonderful boy you have biggrin

prospect · Advanced

glad I am not the only one - I got dumped off the four year old last night because he thought an indent in the dirt was a hole and decided that something was jumping out at him - he literally jumped 6 feet sideways and I kept going from the sheer impulsion of the jump. Here is a video of my infamous fall on cross country in 2007 - I was poised to win the division and we were having a great round up until this point. EMS thought I just sprained my ankle but I knew my leg was broken as I saw my horse's hoof land smack on the middle of my calf and heard/felt the snap.

Barnmouser Ash · Grand Prix

Oh my, Prospect. That does not look fun at all!

coloradocowgirl · Well Schooled

Yup, I feel your pain. A couple of months ago I was riding a little hackney pony (a pony that I'm supposed to be kind of re-training so that he can be a little kid's lesson pony), and I only had about 15 minutes to work with him so I just put the bridle on and jumped on bareback.

We were riding around the arena and he was responding surprisingly well, I was really pleased. Then the barn owner proceeds to let the other 7 horses in the paddock right next to the arena out to pasture without him, and they gallop off. Shadow (the pony I'm riding) then gives off a little bellow and does his bumpy high stepping little trot towards the end of the arena closest to the other horses. I kid you not, he goes about 6 strides and I slip off. Keep in mind that I've been riding for 10 years, since I was 7, which makes this an incredibly embarrassing fall. I'm not hurt in the least, not a bruise to be seen, so I dust myself off hoping that the owner and the two boarders that were there didn't see, but to my disappointment, the owner immediately shouts an "Are you okay, Willow?!" in my direction. I jump back on and ride for another couple of minutes before I have to leave.

I have no idea why he knocked me off so easily, I'd like to think that it was his narrow, slippery little back or extremely bumpy trot, but I'm pretty sure he just caught me off guard and I was really out of practice riding bareback. ;)

darkhorserunning · Well Schooled

i can think off a couple, i was riding a mule yes a mule and we were, loping along she seen a rock monster went sideways down threw a ditch and over the fence( just a two rail decoratative fence) i made it threw ALL of that, my dad was yelling at me to come to the house so i continued to the house, got to the frount steps of the house and my mom came rushing out of the house mule jumped straight in the air i bailed landed on the frount step ass first, mom and dad will never let me forget that one, the other one was in a indoor arena at a friend place was around 15 workin on a horse that had about four rides on it, she dumped her head and started buck instead of just stepping off her i decided to ride it out was a good till we got stuck in a corner, she went one way i thought we were going the one alltogether bad reading of the horse knocked myself out cold on the outside rail of the arena smashed my cowboy hat and had sand stuck every where, needless to say with a quick trip to the hospital to check for concussion a severe case of my pride beening smashed all to heck, thank god everything has thaught me something new, and the funny thing is after riding all those colts as a kid i am ready for anything i belive it made me a better rider and way more aware of my horse and or mule lol.