I'd like to hear some of your stories about the worst experience you've had on the trail (or stories you've heard from other people). It could be an accident, something you've seen, how a horse has reacted to something, etc.
Something similar to that happened to me. I was riding this horse I was trying out to buy, and we were crossing a river (something he was very acclimated to doing) when he decided to plop right down and have a good 'ol roll in the water. I jumped off before he had the chance to lay on my leg and I had to have someone chase him down so I could get back on! It was quite funny.we where crossing a really shallow stream (like a foot and a half in the deep spots) and Wally decided he didn't want to go in the water, so I got off and led him through, and he bumped into me half way across, and I landed face down in the very muddy water.
Oh, I've had a few..
I was galloping bareback in Camble Valley Park with two friends. I was on one of their ponies. Well we cut through the people trails but didn't think about it too well. We had ridden in there the night before and barely made it under the tree branches on little ponies. And now we were galloping through there on big ponies.... the smallest was in the lead and made it through, the medium one snapped a huge branch and the branch fell onto me and knocked the wind out of me.
I had a mare rear up and flip over onto me and my cushioning was a fence post. We snapped it. I fell off at that point. She scrambled, reared back up and came down on my leg.
I fainted once off my old chestnut mare. She ran over top of me. I had huge hoof print bruises on my back.
By far the scariest was swimming in a river and having my horse go under.
By far the most painful was the silliest, most recent fall. I got swiped off backwards by a tree branch. At a walk. I hit the front of my face on my horse, then fell and hit the back of my head on a rock and also my back landed on a rock. I'm hopped up on pain killers as we speak. I did something seriously horrible to my back.
Haha, yes, I know what you mean. We often learn the hard way in this situation, but it does make for some interesting stories. I know when I was a kid I didn't learn my lesson until something no-so-good happened to me.I was a reckless, unsupervised kid with several horses at my disposal.
Holy crap! That's terrifying!We were trail riding on the Mississippi River during hunting season, and somebody thought we were deer for a second and shot in our general direction.
WOW! I don't think I've ever heard that many scary things from one person before! You certainly are a trooper.Let's see, What the worst? You decide.
First off, you need to understand, that I don't ride in arenas or fairgrounds. I ride in some pretty rough stuff.
On a pack trip in the San Rafael Swell area. Going into Robbers Roost. We were winding up a narrow trail, A pack horse rushed up and bumped a saddle horse/rider. That horse went over a 40' cliff, Rider baled, but horses crashed and broke it neck. Dead Horse.
And ride in the same area my friend's horse ruptured an aorta ( at least we think.) it was trotting along and suddenly started weaving and become unbalanced. Rider got off and the horse laid down and died, all with in about 5 minutes. We took the saddle, cut the brand off and left.
While riding in Yellowstone Park, a friend had a horse break a leg. We had to cut it throat with a knife because park rules prohibit carrying any guns in the park. Since then we always sneak at least one pistol in. Never want to have to put horse down that way again.
I was riding a young green colt. He was pretty herd bound to the gelding I had my Brother in law riding. We came to an area that I thought looked boggy, So I tried to get him to circle around to the right, My Brother in law went left. The colt was upset and fighting me, lunged into the area ( and it was very wet boggy under the grass) and immediately went dow and started thrashing, I stayed on about 3 bucks and then came off, The horse landed on top of me. I was under his belly and reached up and grabbed his halter and pulled his head down to stop him from thrashing any more. My Brother in law, seeing my legs sticking out from under the horses belly and thinking my head was under the mud, came a running, waving his arms, trying to scare the colt off me. Didn't know I was trying to calm the horse. The colt paniced and started fighting again and got a hoof up on my chest and as it pushed off with that hoof, broke two ribs on me. It was a long painful ride back to the truck 15 miles away and a two hour drive back to home.
I was also riding with some friend in the desert, I was the 4th horse to cross a small stream, I felt my colt struggle a little like the mud was holding his feet. The 5th horse right behind me, went down as it followed into the same spot, in what turned out to be quicksand. His whole front end disappeared. The horse was covered in mud from the cinch forward. His back feet stayed on firm ground and hauches never went in. The rider was flipped over the horses head and landed on his back in the river.
Here we clean the mud out of the horses nostrils and eyes.
While at a CTR, I witnessed another fellows horse slip while crossing a ditch. The horse fell and landed on the rider. He was under water, with the horse upside down on top of him. The ditch was so narrow the horse couldn't roll off. The horse was trapped like a turtle upside down. We all jumped off and grabbed the horses legs ( trying to not get struck by the flying hooves as the horse struggled) and pulled him off the rider. He about drowned. Besides being underwater, the saddle horn had knocked the wind out of him. He pulled from the event. Too sore to ride.
You bailed? As in you jumped off? I'm assuming you and baby were ok?!!I was 7 months pregnant and riding with a group of friends through a rough forest trail. The lead horse stirred up a bunch of what we call ground bees, actually yellow jacket hornets, and if any of you have experienced it you know it's a rider's (and horse's) worst nightmare. I let my mare take off at a gallop up the hill and through the trees, thinking all the while "This is why they tell you not to ride when you're pregnant." I bailed once we were clear of the hornets and just let her go, knowing she wouldn't go too much further than she had to. One of my friends rode after her and brought her back, I climbed on and we finished the ride with several good welts to nurse once we finally got home.