Tell me about your falls!

Have you guys ever had any funny or embarrassing falls? Ones that you've looked back on and totally could've prevented? Or falls that you looked back on and couldn't help but laugh at?

I was at IEA try outs yesterday and I was riding a little 13 hand pony who is known for quitting jumps right at the base if you lean up the neck. We were approaching a 2'6 hay bale jump and I leaned up the neck at the last minute, he quit and I went tumbling down his neck, and I somehow landed on my feet. Of course I got back on and got him over it (although it took some time, he's a cheeky little guy). But boy it was embarrassing! I'm just glad that I'm not the only one whose fallen off of him, he's thrown quite a few riders! Even though he's in his 20s he has a lot of sass in him c;

One fall I had that could have been prevented left me stunned for a good 10 minutes. sitting there. Landed straight on my rump after doing forward flips into the air over my horse's head lol.

What happened? Why my impatient dumb butt never checked to make sure the stirrups were secure, and what happened? They fell off and BLAM I lost my balance and welp, the results above are what happened. My hrse at the time, sweet QH gelding, stopped the second I fell and stayed there with me til I came back to myself lol.

I was LUCKILY not hurt, aside from a bruised Derriere. I could have broken my neck though o_o; My dad and I laugh about this one often now, but man you should have seen him panic lol

I had one fall (it was actually an attempted bail, as it was a neighbor's horse who'd taken the bit and was gunning it for home. Which happened to be on the other side of a pipe & barbed wire fence and I wanted no part of that. She ended up running into a barn and slipped/fell -and was perfectly fine- so guess it was good I bailed) that happened when my foot got stuck in the stirrup. I normally ride western and was in an english saddle, so guess my too-large boot got stuck and flipped me over. Landed right next to a crowd of people with the boot almost hitting me in the face. Ended up with a severely bruised tailbone, two fractured vertebrae, shattered disc (? can't remember the correct term) and a pretty bad concussion. It wasn't pretty and OF COURSE it happened right in front of everybody. I was too out of it to cry.

My most recent fall was a few years ago while riding alongside a country road. I was riding a friend's gelding who was being very barn-sour. Though he wasn't even AT his home, but I digress. We were working through it and he was almost back to behaving when my cinch snapped. Like in half. So I'm thinking the horse is bolting since I am suddenly moving back on him. But I continue to move back on the little guy. And back some more. When I tried using the one-rein stop I was suddenly on the ground, feet still in stirrups, and hands in position as if I were still holding the split reins lol. My friend was nearby and came running back with the gelding in tow and as soon as she saw me busted out laughing. He was not being polite and had excused himself to head back without me. Because I am the biggest sissy I cried a little but wasn't hurt. It was more of a "Oh no, I FELL" cry. *is ashamed* We made the horse carry my saddle back because I was not carrying it the half mile uphill back home haha.

Saddle was fine. Horse is now a 17 yr old. I have since purchased a neoprene cinch. Haven't ridden regularly in 2+ years, though once the baby (whose now a 2 year old) in my tag is ready that should change. Wouldn't trade those memories for anything though!

I was trying to canter bareback while facing backwards, and without hands. Clearly, it was a recipe for a fall xD when the horse turned, I literally bounced off and fell on my tummy. I was trying to laugh but only weird noises came out because I had knocked the air out hahahaha

I was, like, 7 years old and I was riding this chestnut mare named Flame. (Chestnut mares with names like that. Recipes for disasters. XD) Anyway, all was well, I was having a joyful time riding her, just at a walk. Well, I must have unknowingly squeezed her sides and suddenly she was up and away in this trot/canter thing. I tried desperately to hold on, but my bottom half fell of the saddle and I was only still on by my little hands gripping the saddle horn for my life. And the horse wouldn't stop! So as she kept going, my poor little nose was banging against the hard saddle, and low and behold, I ended up with a bloody nose and permanent scarring (metaphorically), so I kind of get scared when a horse suddenly goes faster than I had expected it to go. But my parents wiped my nose up, dusted me off, and put me back in the saddle. Haven't fallen off a horse since, surprisingly. :)

Last friday this pony I have been training decided she wanted going to be real stupid. So i have be. Training her for about two months now and i have got her cantering under saddle with a rider on her back but... i was riding her and she is every bit of 12 or 13 hands. Anyways I was riding her and we were trotting around and she suddenly stopped. I kissed and kicked to her and she tucked up and i knew what was coming. She went full fledged bronk horse around the enclosed area. I stayed on but the saddle started slipping and i basically threw myself off. She then came running up to me for help because the only thing holding the saddle up was the beast collar.

Last edited on 2016-06-29 at 10:15:50 by Laney

Ohhh laney I have a bucking bronco type of story too! I was hacking one of the boarders horses and my barn and she hadn't been ridden in a good 2-3 weeks and hadn't been consistantly ridden in over 4 months, so it was a recipe for disaster. So I hopped on her and she decided that cantering was no fun and starting bucking around like crazy, at first I managed to stay on but after one extremely large buck I was like halfway off, so I just sorta slid off of her. And then she looked at me like "what did I do?". I got back on to try again but she wouldn't give up, so we called it a day and I went back and rode her again like a week later and she was fine. We never really figured out what was wrong that day.