Take the fall, or hang on to the horse's face?

By "slow enough" I meant, like the horse spins unexpectedly, you get flung onto his neck, unbalanced, and are almost able to recover, but he chooses to dodge more , so you are not able to get recentered. Or, the hrose spins or dodges and silly you, you didn't tighten the girth enough and now you and your saddle are hanging off the side of the horse looking stupid.
Ask me how I know!

If the fall is "slow", I hang onto the reins because I'd rather not chase a horse down. If I'm pitched at a high speed, I let go. Mainly because I don't care what or where the horse is going. I'm focused on myself.

Its all in whats on someone's general instinct list. Self preservation is different for everyone. If someone's instinct is to hang on, they're going to hang on. If someone's instinct is to let go, they'll let go.

My personal preference is to let go, simply because I don't want to be whipped around into an awkward landing position or dragged. I want to be clear of the 1000lb animal that's acting irrationately enough to get me off. I'll catch the horse when I get up or if I'm in No Man's Land and left for dead, I'll use a cell phone or smoke signals to get home.

But really, at a high speed dangerous fall, no one is thinking about their horse's mouth. They're thinking about their immortal soul and how to save their own skin. If their reaction is to keep gripping onto whatever landline they have left, they'll hang onto the reins. My own instinct is to let go and save myself.

I knew a guy who would never let go. One time I saw a horse flip him over its shoulder and take off, and the horse galloped off into thd sunset with my friend hanging stubbornly onto the reins, swearing until they were out of sight.

I don't think anyone would knowingly yank on their horse's mouth but when you are faced with an emergency situation our self preservation instincts can take over in a split second. I know when I have fallen it can happen so quickly and there you are kissing the ground before you can say Jack Robinson. I mostly try to right myself whenever possible but then there's the point of no return and you know you don't have a chance and you're unseated.

There is a line and when the line is finally crossed I just let go and fall. But if the line isn't hit yet I will try my damnest to stay on. Luckily I have personally passed the stages of my balance being the reason for falling. Which now means if I am going there isn't anyway to save myself. I learned to let go of the reins because the last time I held on, ended up pulling him over the top of me causing him have to jump over me. Which saved me from real danger. I really lucked out as my gelding was extremely forgiving when it was stupid reasons as why I lost my balance. Haha even had the comment from my trainer,"your lucky most horses would have bucked you off for that." If I fall I don't hang on to the reins if I am in the arena or close to the barn. I havent been put in the situation on the trails of whether to hang on or not to. I think he would only walk a few feet and eventually come back but who knows. What does an emergency dismount consist of?
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I'm the strange one here I think. I hold on because I tend to get worried about my horse running off and getting hurt. Usually doesn't cross my mind a out me getting hurt. I don't fall often but there are times when it looks like I'm going to fall. I'm good enough at staying on without yanking the horse like mad that its my barn reputation! With my horse I keep enough rein so that he still knows I'm there and isn't "free", I collect myself while verbally asking him to slow down. The only time that didn't work was when my stirrup leather came off the hook on the saddle and I felt like I was ripped off my horse.
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I think that unless a rider has been taught how to do an emergency dismount (which most aren't) it's not fair to expect them to be thinking clearly during a fall.

Because most of my riding is done out in the field, I try to hang on 100% of the time. I typically hack out 3-5 miles at the very least, and my biggest concern is my horse injuring himself trying to run that far back to the barn. Plus, I just don't want to walk 5 miles back to the barn!
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Don't you just hate that feeling, when you realize you are past the point of recovery, when you say to yourself, "I'm goin' down!" and then, BAM! Instant chiropractic . I always here all my back joints crack. Sometimes, it's just that, and not much else. Other times, I feel like I was just tossed against a brick wall. I usually cuss like a mad sailor.

I also hate it when you get to that point of, either I get off now and land in some semblance of an order or come off later and end up a puddle. Its like "should I bail that way into the bushes, or that way onto a rock?" hmm....

I can't say I had a choice any of the times I have come off. It happened before I had time to think or let go, all I registered was surprise before my arse hit the dirt. But I ride out and across a busy road, and if I have a choice I'll be damned if I let my horse take off after dumping me and get himself run over if I can help it by holding on. The times I have considered bailing I have always decided that trying to stay on the galloping steed and perhaps succeeding seemed marginally safer than definitely hitting the dirt at speed. I don't fall off for nothing, so if I come off, it's because he pulled something dumb he shouldn't have, and while I would not normally yank on his mouth, I don't feel too awful about it either.