PLEASE WHERE A HELMET

[justjinx]

Just wanted to add, i DO wear a helmet when I ride (and I will be 50 next month). I will also be using a helmet when I start driving.

I was just so surprised that the AMHR did not require the helmets for youth--all open shows around here require hard hats and hard shoes for youth, at minimum.

jennifer

 

[Tommy]

Glad you are alright.

Great advise too.

Tommy

 

[hobbyhorse23]

You did post that you screamed at him to stop, which, as Lyn pointed out, was entirely the wrong thing to do.  If you do not have the experience to handle a runaway  DO NOT GET IN THE CART!!!!

Fizz, you know I love you but you should be ashamed of yourself for posting without double-checking your facts.

I pulled back my reins to tell him to whoa, and he went faster, at a full gallop. I screamed help several times, my grandparents didn't hear, even my neighbor who was in his driveway didn't hear.

She did NOT say she screamed at him to stop, in fact she said she only screamed for help after he had already panicked and bolted. At that point and in her location (an arena) and with her experience level, I would be doing the same although I would probably call it a "yell" and not a "scream." The horse is already a lost cause at that point and as a youth getting someone to notice you are in trouble and step in is critical. I completely agree that she should have had a helper in the first place, but I think you are being a bit harsh. How, precisely, is one to get the experience to handle a run-away without having driven a bit? She drives her mare regularly so it's not like she's never done it.

That said- MINISEASONS, GET SOME HELP OUT THERE! LOL

Driving is dangerous at the best of times and should never be done alone if you can help it. A greenhorse is a ticking time bomb and should be handled with the level of care warranted by TNT. You love Dusty like I love Kody, but that doesn't mean things don't happen. As you now know.

Thank you for the reminder about helmets, I know one saved my life when my big horse took off in his cart in 1997. Projected from the wrecking cart at great speed and head-first into a gatepost, then rolling about two horse lengths from the left-over momentum. I got double vision and a headache even with the helmet!

So youth or not, if you value your life you will wear one any time you can.

Leia

 

[shminifancier]

Hmmmm I never have wore one even when riding a green horse...Oh Well

I even taught riding at a girls camp for 3 summers, and we never wore any protection even as instructors...Oh well...

 

[Jess P]

Thank you, HobbyHorse .

I wasn't screaming at him to stop. I actually said Whoa and Halt with a normal tone until I realized there was no stopping him and I felt like I was sliding out of the cart. I know I shouldn't have left the cart but I feared for my life and I was scared.

 

[Triggy&Blue&Daisy Too]

Glad to hear you and your horse were not hurt. Runaways are always unpleasant but one bright spot is that you probably have more experience at it now than some of the know-it-alls here who see fit to run people down and usually miss the point that someone without decades of experience can actually have great advice too.

While having a helper is desirable it’s not always a practicality and the end goal still is to end up driving the horse alone. They've got to let go sometime.

As you have seen in a previous post a helper is not always going to be the saving grace imagined and wrecks are still possible no matter how many precautions one takes. That's horses!

You are wise to back track a bit in your training as this horse seems to need some extra attention how to deal with his panic mode and groundwork is never wasted.

Thanks for sharing your experience and I agree helmets are always a good idea.

 

[justaboutgeese]

I am going to jump back in here again. You have been thrashed quite enough for this episode. Now you need to get some qualified help as soon as possible to help you AND the horse over this hurdle. IMO the sooner you get him back into training the better he will be. Now just remember how you felt just before you bailed for the cart. The horse was experiencing twice that and the cart kept following him.