[Amba1027]

Someone once told me that people experience falling off in one of two ways: Either you "black out" during the fall (one minute you're on the horse, the next you're on the ground, no memory of what happened in between), or you experience the whole thing in slow motion.

Used to be that I was in the "black out" catagory. One minute I'd be on the horse, next thing I know, I'm on the ground worndering how I got there lol. Anyway I fell off today. The first fall I've had since I started riding again. It was only when I was driving home that I realized that this fall was a slow motion one. It was really interesting to experience.

So how do you guys fall?

 

[Amlalriiee]

Hm...never really thought about this. Usually I think I'm more of the blackout type. I always know before I fall that I'm going to...but don't usually remember the actual falling motion. A few times I've remembered it but it was because it really WAS slow motion...like slowly sliding off or something. Interesting.

 

[jazzyrider]

hahahaha i try not to fall at all lol i havent had a fall in about 13 years but i remember it being very slow motion. we were actually crossing an old bridge made out of railway sleepers and fell through it. from the second i heard the first crack of the wood to the point where we were in real trouble it seemed to take a lifetime. i knew what was coming but had no way to emergency exit so i just had to brace myself and wait for it to come and boy did it take a while lol

i did have a sort of fall a few weeks ago. i rode my mare into the dam and the mud just a few feet in was much deeper and softer than it had been before. her front feet sank so she pulled herself up then her back feet sank and so on and so on. i held on for as long as i possibly could but i was bareback and we were both wet and i was starting to slip around a bit and knew i would end up coming off so i did an 'emergency exit, stage right' that fall was quick though cause i was laughing the whole way down and knew i was only going to hit water so it wouldnt hurt

does it count as a fall if you choose to jump off? lol

 

[Phantomcolt18]

haha i definately do the slow mo fall......but i guess thats because i know when im gonna fall....if i feel myself losing it i try to catch myslef and if that doesn't work i yank my feet out of the stirrups and bail.......better to hit the ground then be dragged in a stirrup behind a scared horse.

 

[Honeysuga]

Last time I had a big fall it was a mixture of the 2 you mentioned and them a little of my own. I didnt black out necessarily, but I do not remember from the time I left the saddle to the time i hit the ground. Then I hit the slomo phase when I hit and rolled, but also heard the thump really loudly in my head too, like i heard it more than I felt it... Then things snapped back to fast forward and I was up again trying to find my horse to be sure she was ok.

Other than that fall most of mine I was fully present the entire time, no black out no slomo, just "oh crap, here comes the ground!"

 

[charlicata]

LOL...I'm like you phantomcolt. I know something's going to happen. Go through the try and collect stage. If that fails, it's hold on for dear life. When all else fails, ditch. But no, everything seems to happen in slow SLOW motion. I wish I could black out the time between leaving the saddle and hitting the ground.

 

[tempest]

Slow motion, knock on wood.

 

[MyBoyPuck]

Wow, I've never heard of the black out method. That's a bit scary. How the hell do you hang onto the horse if you don't know you're falling? I'm in the slow motion group thankfully. I always feel like I have all day to pick my spot and roll.

 

[heyycutter]

ive only fallen off 2 times. the first time was a "black out" fall, and the second time was both, the beginning was "slow motion" as in i knew i was going to fall and i felt myself leaving the saddle, the second part was "black out" as in i woke up in the grass and couldnt remember how exactly i fell.
but i think i really blacked out because when i woke up, my face and shirt was soaked in blood and i had a pretty decent stream of blood pouring from my chin

 

[Gillian]

I haven't fallen in a while, knock on wood, but I've always been a slow motion faller. It feels like I have plenty of time to either scramble to stay on, or to accept my dirt eating fate.

 

[smrobs]

It has always been slo-mo for me. I remember once several years ago, Denny and I got tangled in a rope with a very mad cow on the end and he ended up going down with me. I remember everything in vivid detail from thinking to myself "rollrollroll" as we went down to glimpsing one of his front feet hit the ground no more than a foot from my head as he got back up. I also remember Prissy spooked out from underneath me one day (it's amazing how quickly cow bred horses move lol) and I remember watching the saddle horn go by and as I tried to grab it, watching as it just sailed right underneath my hand and continued on by. Fortunately I didn't fall and she didn't follow in the footsteps of her bloodlines and blow up. She simply stood while I righted myself from hanging off her side.

 

[Amba1027]

Wow, I've never heard of the black out method. That's a bit scary. How the hell do you hang onto the horse if you don't know you're falling? I'm in the slow motion group thankfully. I always feel like I have all day to pick my spot and roll.

For me, the "black out" starts when I realize I'm not going to be able to keep from falling.

 

[Brighteyes]

I fall in extreme slow-mo. Right when I'm almost off and hanging on for dear life, I have time to think. "Oh, Lord... I'm actually about to fall... I hope it doesn't hurt... I hope I don't get run over... Thank God for helmets... Are they laughing at me!? This is a serious situ--" Crash.

 

[MyBoyPuck]

I fall in extreme slow-mo. Right when I'm almost off and hanging on for dear life, I have time to think. "Oh, Lord... I'm actually about to fall... I hope it doesn't hurt... I hope I don't get run over... Thank God for helmets... Are they laughing at me!? This is a serious situ--" Crash.

LOL! Love the thought process.

 

[thunderhooves]

I got reared and flipped over. I got flung to the side-and landed quite gracefully, if I do say so myself- and watched as my horse crashed down onto his side in front of me and lay there for a moment. Then he started getting up and I jumped up and grabbed him, walked him 10 min up the hill, then got on and continued riding. It was slow-mo. (i was/am fine)
*knock on wood*

 

[Scoutrider]

I'm more of a blackouter, for the most part. Until my bum leaves the saddle, I go slow-mo, though. It's like once my mind realizes that I no longer have control of the situation and eating dirt is inevitable, I blank out, and 2 seconds later I'm on the ground, and then my adrenaline kicks in.

 

[boldstart]

Neither for me.

Usually it happens so fast that I dont know why I'm on the ground (and neither does the horse lol)

Or I 'white-out', when everything goes bright, feel like I'm going to faint and fall. (Well, I didnt fal-fall but managed to get off the horse before I did -_-)

 

[ChristineNJ]

I've had slow motion falls & almost falls...(grabbing on to the horses neck while charging up a hill). Also, I had a fall where the horse kicked back an gave a little buck and I went flying off backwards and my butt hit real hard. I don't think I blacked out but it happened so fast there was nothing I could do to try to hold on. One minute in the saddle and the next on the ground thinking how did I get there. LOL

 

[Gidji]

All of my falls have been slow-mo's. Even the ones I wasn't anticipating the falling process was slow. I actually enjoy the falling part, its like flying but the crashing part, ehh not so good

 

[chrispy]

I've had too much experience with falling since I resumed riding five years ago.

Yes, it is a fall even if you decide to bail.

All but two of my falls have been the "sort-of-controlled slip down the shoulder to land on my butt and roll onto my back and hit my head on the ground" type. Only one was a blackout -- I hit my head hard enough to sustain a concussion and lost 30-40 minutes of memory even though I was "awake" and talking the whole time. Weird. One minute I was slipping, the next I was talking to the paramedic. My helmet probably saved my life.

My other bad fall was in June when I "bounced" off the arena wall, breaking three ribs. I wish I had blacked out!