# idk if this goes under this topic but what does it feel like 2 fall from a tall horse



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I am wondering the same thing! Of course, I know what it feels to fall off a horse. and my recent falls were off of a 16 hh horse. But I am now riding a 17hh and almost came off the other day when while cantering on the trail, he dodged solidly left and I almost came off his right shoulder. I didn't like that feeling, becuase the ground is really hard there. were it the arena, I can deal with that.

But, will I quite riding? quit cantering? nah. but I will be careful.

I think the fall off a big horse is pretty much like a medium one; quick and breathtaking!


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## GreyRay (Jun 15, 2010)

It hurts a little. Depending on how you fall and what you hit determines how much it hurts. But I can tell you this, hitting the ground hurts WAY less when the horse isn't on top of you. I got to experience that scenario back in December...
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Tennessee (Dec 7, 2008)

I guess it depends on the fall. lol. I mean it's not fun falling off, whether it be falling off of 13 hand pony or a 17 hand Warmblood.


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## nvr2many (Jan 18, 2011)

Put it this way............... you try harder not to. I know it may only be another 4-8 inches but dang! It seems like the difference between jumping of the roof of your house or a tall building! I know when I had smaller horses I would be more apt to bail and now, I think twice, or maybe three times, lol.


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## EmilyJoy (Dec 30, 2011)

tinyliny said:


> I am wondering the same thing! Of course, I know what it feels to fall off a horse. and my recent falls were off of a 16 hh horse. But I am now riding a 17hh and almost came off the other day when while cantering on the trail, he dodged solidly left and I almost came off his right shoulder. I didn't like that feeling, becuase the ground is really hard there. were it the arena, I can deal with that.
> 
> But, will I quite riding? quit cantering? nah. but I will be careful.
> 
> I think the fall off a big horse is pretty much like a medium one; quick and breathtaking!


Ha, ha, breathtaking alright...:lol:


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## Bobby Lee (Apr 25, 2012)

Yeah. It's kind of a silly question but I get you. When I had ponies I was always falling off. I remember being winded mainly, I'd always seem to fall on my back and knock all the wind out of me. That was quite a scary feeling when you can't suck air back in. But I haven't fallen for years and my thoroughbred is 17.1 hh, I'm so much older. I think if I had a bad fall now I could do real damage if I fell badly. But I've never had a real bad fall, and for that reason I don't have much fear of falling.


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## Saranda (Apr 14, 2011)

My horse is 16.2 hh and I've fallen off him twice. The first fall happened when he stopped dead in his tracks right before a jump and it was quite bad actually, because I hit my head hard and ended up with a concussion, but the other one was very soft - I came off in trails and just flew in some bushes nice and fast, without any injuries. The falls really depend on how your body reacts - if it stiffens up or if it knows how to relax. One can have very serious injuries falling off even the smallest of ponies, if during the fall the body is tense. Around here, almost all horses can be considered tall (16 hh and up) and people are just used to falling of these heights - I believe, it is not much different than falling from a smaller horse.


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

I'm pretty short, and I used to lease a 16.3hh horse. He bucked me off pretty violently, twice. I remember feeling like I had a lot of time to think on the way down, but the thoughts were mostly "Really? REALLY? AGAIN?!"


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

Verona, that's funny 

Big horse, small pony -- it's all about how you fall and what you land on. You have more time to do it right from 6 feet than from 5!


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

are you in a kept soft arena or out on the hard trails?
falling off or actually getting dumped from a bucking running horse? it does make a difference because of dealing with the additional force of a buck. 
any fall can be dangerous, bone breaking and life threatening. So be careful


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## horsedreamer21 (Jul 10, 2011)

haha yes it is a pretty stupid questions but i have fallen from horses that are 15 hands and under and none of the falls really hurt or scared me except for one when a horse bucked me bc it was the first time being bucked off lol  but i never fell off of a 16 hand horse so i never had the experience lol XD so yah just curious;-)


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## Mckellar (Apr 18, 2012)

That's too open... My friend was launched from a 16.2 and fine, I had a dumb fall off a 17h and illaserated my spleen. for the most part if you try to break your fall you will get hurt


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## srh1 (Jun 3, 2012)

It depends on how you land and what you hit and the force that threw you off the horse a lot more than the horses size does. I've only had one fall that landed me in the hospital for a concussion and it was off a 13hh pony.


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## cowboy bowhunter (Mar 15, 2012)

My guess would be the same i have never fell off a horse before. But i have been bucked off many horses many times. And they all hurt nomatter how big the horse was.


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## FaydesMom (Mar 25, 2012)

I was taught in 4-H how to do an emergency dismount in motion, to lessen the chance of being hurt. Saved my hinney many times. 

Fast forward 30 years, the ground is much harder these days. The emergency dismount still helps, but it really hurts much much more lately! And it doesn't matter WHAT size the horse is! :-D


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## RunJumpRide (Sep 29, 2011)

Pssshh, falling from a big horse is nothin' compared to falling from a pony! :wink: What the naughty little jerks do is the dump n' run: somehow dump you off, then gallop away so you have to chase them while you're still hurting! :lol: hahaha


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## katbalu (Sep 8, 2011)

same as a small horse, except you have two extra seconds to wonder how bad it will hurt...


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## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

Kinda like falling 8 inches further than a short horse:lol: I learned backwards from most people, started on 17hh draft x, then slowly got shorter. The worst falls I've had have been off short horses, one 14.2hh mare in particular gave me a couple concussions, bruising and whiplash. A 15.2hh mare broke my wrist. The way you come off matters sooo much more than how tall the horse is. There is only one foot difference between 15 and 18hh.


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## cowboy bowhunter (Mar 15, 2012)

FaydesMom said:


> I was taught in 4-H how to do an emergency dismount in motion, to lessen the chance of being hurt. Saved my hinney many times.


They teach that. I have always heard if something goes wrong and you land on your feet your not trying hard enough. And if you fall off you never hear the end of it. So get bucked off trying to stay on.


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## CJ82Sky (Dec 19, 2008)

it totally depends. my worst (recent) fall was from my 15.1h arab because i didn't have enough time to rearrange myself to land properly. from my 16.2h OTTB or my 17.3h clyde x i've got plenty of time for my "airs above ground" and general acrobatics so that i can land nicely haha! a few years back, my OTTB was having panic attacks at shows, and we got a reputation....so everyone would come to the warm up ring to watch us because inevitably at some point he'd meltdown and i'd get tossed...landing on my feet. did it every show for about 4 - 5 shows in a row. it was pretty funny i have to tell you! glad we finally got over that issue though LOL!!!!


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## horseandme (Jun 4, 2012)

well I have a 16 h qh and when i fell off him last year,bareback, i fell in grass and it didnt realy hurt it just knockes the wind out of u. But i fell of my littlw 14 3 h horse while we were running through the field and it hurt. Had a black eye and scrapes all over.so it depends were u r.


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

Depends on how fast you think and how agile you are!
Falling from a tall horse can give you time to get the landing gear down, never time for that on a pony.


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Mine is 17hh and when I fall from him, at the beginning it was lightening fast. Now it seems I could read the entire newspaper before I reach the ground; I have a lot of time to plan and make sure I don't land incorrectly.

I haven't fallen from him in over 9 months though!


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## Silent one (Aug 22, 2011)

All I can tell you is that when I was training my Friesian Sport Horse (he was 17 hands tall at 3) and I came off I had enough time to think "this is gonna hurt" before I hit the ground.

I was right!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

It hurts about as much from a fall from any other sized horse. The only difference I've noticed is that you have more time to think about how much it's going to hurt before you hit the ground.

Considering things, for me, seem to happen in slow motion when I fall, it takes approx a week to hit the ground from anything taller than 16 hands LOL.


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## PaintCowgirl (Jan 2, 2012)

i came off my 17.1 Gypsy Cob onto the asphault yesterday. its a long way down, just be sure ya get your foot outta stirrup fast cuz you cant push yourself back up to get it out once you are down. i hit w my one foot and sprung back up to get my still hung foot out, if i had gone to the grown i dunno if i could have gotten my foot out where i didnt have any height/leverage to pull it. 

best part is, we were riding at a walk on side of road in the grass and something spooked her and she bucked *into* the road (obviously intentionally) so i would crash on the pavement not grass....so sweet of her!


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## Mason72 (Jun 1, 2012)

call me crazy but I like riding a bigger horse. It seems I can feel the booger or whatever about to happen better and easier for me to stay mounted. Ive been hurt worse on smaller horses that were more agile. Last bad throw I was on a Big Nice TN Walker with a gait out of this world. The owner told me he could get boogery at times. Went down the side of his barn and at the back side there were some calfs... That horse jumped out of his skin and body slammed me straight on my back. Was not the biggest horse but that one took the wind out of me....lol


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## Roperchick (Feb 1, 2010)

u no those dreams where your falling and you wake up when you "hit" and kinda jerk on the bed? well thats wat its like for me haha! its like i fall FOREVER then splat i hit the ground but its not soft like my mattress!
but no it just depends on how hard they throw me.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

Fallen off my 16.2 horse three times. So far, nothing but a bruise. Definitely helped that I landed on soft stuff all three times and managed to land on my fattest attachment...butt!


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## xJumperx (Feb 19, 2012)

Hm. I have fallen off a 16.2 hh Paint. That hurt. A lot. But he threw me against a rail. Now, another time he just bucked me straight to the ground, and that didn't hurt as much. Not as much as when I forgot my helmet, and fell off my 14.3hh pony at a canter. So really? I think it just depends.

I've only technically fallen off my 17hh once, and we kinda fell ... together... so it was more like scooting off a 5hh pony. So?? Idk XD


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## jfisher256 (Jul 12, 2011)

My most recent fall was last June. I was trying out a 16.1 or 16.2h TB mare that I saw online for an off-farm lease. She was great for the owner, but when I got on boy did she change. She bobbed her head a few times and just took off at a straight gallop. The owner said that that's not even the fastest she's gotten her to go yet! I tried to slow her down and next thing I know we're heading for a wall, she stops dead in her tracks and I went flying over her neck. My head hit the wall and I can describe it as practically rolling down the wall and slamming my lower back. All I kept thinking about was if my lower back was fractured again. Thank God just some bruising! Let's just say that's the last time I ever rode that horse and I'm not planning on associating myself with the owner when it comes to horses anytime soon -_-

and for some reason I always go back to the bigger and taller horses! I tell my family/other people, "I want something no smaller than at least 16-16.1 hands and up to 17 hands." but I do think it gives you more time to plan your fall. But it could hurt just as bad falling off a 13 hand pony. It all depends on the situation and how you land. Sadly for me, two of the past falls I've had have been on the spot on my lower back where I fractured it.


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