# Fear of losing your horse



## Reiningcatsanddogs (Oct 9, 2014)

Perhaps teaching him to ground tie would help ease your fears.


----------



## Prairie (May 13, 2016)

Our horses are taught to stop when a rein is dropped so that works most of the time. The one time our mare bolted in blindless panic and we parted company, she made a circle back to me.


----------



## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Teach him to come when called, like a dog. Teach him to come to you when you're lying on the ground. Teach him to ground tie. And fasten your contact information to his saddle when you go out.


----------



## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

You can tie a lead to him and loop it around so it is "attached" to you (do NOT _actually _attach it as you don't want to get dragged of course! but I think just having it handy may help you)


----------



## Prairie (May 13, 2016)

The thought of a flying strap snagging the fallen rider and dragging her really scares me. Why not just try to hand on to the rein?


For ID on our horses in case one gets loose, we have dog ID tags fastened to their bridles, halters, and saddles. Since we often ride in areas where cell phones are useless, the phone number is my daughter's.


----------



## anndankev (Aug 9, 2010)

All great ideas. 

A bit off topic, but I've heard in regions where there are frequent hurricanes some people mark a phone number on their horses' hooves. I think it wears off, so it is done when a hurricane watch is at hand.


----------



## Rainaisabelle (Jan 2, 2015)

anndankev said:


> All great ideas.
> 
> A bit off topic, but I've heard in regions where there are frequent hurricanes some people mark a phone number on their horses' hooves. I think it wears off, so it is done when a hurricane watch is at hand.


Yes we do.. Or we braid tags into the mane


----------



## Nickers2002 (Nov 25, 2009)

Thank you everyone  He does know how to ground tie, but could certainly use a refresher lol. The only time he has thrown someone was my husband last year and it was due to pain. He's really not the type of horse to try and unmount his rider, but things happen and I know that.

I can try riding him with his halter under his bridle and keep a longer line on him to see how I could work it.


----------



## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

It is frightening to think of losing your horse. 
First, I want to say don't try holding onto the reins or wrapping them around your hands or body. I've known several people that did not want to separate from their horse, ended up with broken hands and fingers, and the horse eventually got away anyway. Dragging a person who is cussing about having their fingers broken would probably make a horse more spooked.
So I've been instructed that is a bad idea. Plus, that is part of why Christopher Reeve had such a bad accident - he couldn't get his hands free. 
Some people will loosely tuck a mecate or lead line into their pants or belt, so they may be able to grab it and stop the horse or try to if they came off. It needs to be able to come loose before you might get dragged, for safety.

Ground tying training is good, might help you feel better even if not fool proof. 
All I can say is that I've seen lots of people come off at endurance and organized trail rides (I have twice myself), and it's super rare to lose a horse. You're in a strange place, with a herd. It's very unnatural for the horse to want to leave the herd, even if very frightened they usually circle back or stay with the other horses. Another good thing about being with other riders is that they can chase after and keep an eye on the horse until it stops, and then catch it.

If you're riding out alone, you're more likely to lose the horse. Still, it's extremely unlikely. If you're near home, almost every horse will run home. Last year my horse ran off but stopped about two blocks away since she got confused about how to get home. I've found my other horse either back home or stuck in the bushes heading toward home several times. 

If you know your horse well, it might help to think about how unlikely it would be to lose your horse with his personality. Many horses lose the rider and start grazing or stand nearby, confused about what happened. Many more will only run a very short way and then stop. You're familiar, so they will usually want to stay with you unless they're very panicked. Even then, many horses calm down very quickly. I'd only think it was realistic to worry about losing a very reactive, panicky horse in a place where they didn't know where home was, AND if I was also riding with no other horses.


----------



## ChitChatChet (Sep 9, 2013)

Have only worried about losing my mount once in 25 years of riding. I was riding a donkey headed home and he hit a trot... a typical choppy donkey trot. Fantastic road why not. Well, it went on and on and on for miles and I got a stitch in my side that only got worse. Ug. Couldn't get him stopped. Tried everything. Nothing worked. Finally I found a nice ditch and fell off taking the rein with me on purpose. He stopped. The stich I got back on and we walked home. 

At night a highline is used where the horses are tied up to. Day time horses are tied firmly or held.

We have a few ponies we use for packing that I know are runners. We just make sure somebody always has a good handle on them or they are tied firmly.

Knowing your animals personalty will help you decide the best plan of action. Don't let the fear of loosing your horse ruin the fun of going out.


----------



## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

In my almost 30 years of riding, I can only recall TWO instances where my horse and I were separated on the trail. (And I ride *a lot*.)

The first one, I think I was about 16 or 17. I was practicing pole bending with my horse about 1/2 mile from home in the summer fallow field my dad has dug up for me. I was using tires on the ground since I didn't have my poles done yet and my horse tripped over one. When we weaved back, he spooked at it and I fell off. I had my barrel reins on at the time, so I was unable to keep a hold on the reins and he ran on home without me. 

The second one, I was about 20. I was riding a 3-year-old filly I was training, also about 1/2 mile from home. Was working on loping circles and, best my memory can remember, she tripped over herself and rolled over me. I was knocked out. Can't exactly hang onto the reins when I am not conscious. When I got myself home (pretty delerious from my concussion), she was grazing in the ditch next to the other horses as she had just gone home. 

I have fallen off MANY other times when riding, but 95% of the time I use long split reins while riding on the trail and I am able to keep a hand on the reins and keep my horse. The very reason I choose to use split reins for trail riding. 

If you have that strong of a FEAR of losing your horse while trail riding that it is preventing you from trail riding, you'll need to come up with a way to _manage_ that fear and deal with it. Yes, it is a possibility that it could happen, but if you expect to ride on the trail, it's something you will have to teach your mind to accept.


----------



## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

Several years ago my horse was cantering. I got off balance somehow and flew off the side of her. I could see her galloping away in the sunset. 

Suddenly she stopped dead still. She turned around and looked at her empty saddle. Then she stared at me laying way off in the distance there on the ground. She trotted back to where I was and put her nose down on me.

I thought she was going to say, "What are you doing down there?"

She had no thought of leaving me behind. She also had no idea why I was on the ground. 

If they do go off and leave you, they will probably go back to the barn or to your trailer if you hauled them out. They know where the feed comes from.


----------



## Prairie (May 13, 2016)

Many years ago our trail club was totally turned around on a new area. It was getting dark, and I trust my gelding to find his trailer since he knew where his dinner was. He blazed his own trail when I let him have his head, but 30 minutes later he parked himself exactly where his halter and lead rope was tied to the trailer. Good Boy since we were all really hungry too!


If you are riding with at least one other horse, most loose horses will stay close and just follow along if they don't go back to their riders.


----------



## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

Prairie said:


> Why not just try to hand on to the rein?
> .



Good if you are riding with long split reins and you have the presence of mind while "disembarking" to hold on. I have never been good at planning in advance as parting company with my horse has usually been a surprise event. 


OP...it sounds like you have a well trained and dependable horse. But even though you aren't riding an outlaw just about anything can happen when you are out and about. There is more security when riding with a companion but that isn't always possible. I hook a pet tag with name and phone number to the saddle. Teaching your guy to stop and wait if you come off is the best thing to do. Years ago the clinching event to me buying an endurance mare was the fact that she stopped and waited when I came off right into some sage brush...and the fall was my own fault.
I hope you can work through this and get out and enjoy the trails with your nice horse.


----------



## Prairie (May 13, 2016)

LOL, my instinct to hang onto the reins comes from decades of working cattle and learning that it's a long walk back to the barn to collect your horse! Yes I always ride with long split reins-----our horses are taught to "stand" when a rein is cropped since we often have to bale off in a hurry when working cattle if another rider needs help with one.


----------



## 6gun Kid (Feb 26, 2013)

anndankev said:


> All great ideas.
> 
> A bit off topic, but I've heard in regions where there are frequent hurricanes some people mark a phone number on their horses' hooves. I think it wears off, so it is done when a hurricane watch is at hand.


 Also use livestock marker write phone number directly on the horse, it will last through 
Markal Ma 61024 All Weather Paint Stick Orange by Markal | Toolfetch


----------



## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

If you are spry enough to be able to do emergency-type dismounts.. you can teach your horse that rider on the ground = carrot.

I have done this with all my horses, as we are riding in strange places at competitions all the time. While I certainly don't plan to fall off, I wanted a contingency plan in case I did and didn't keep hold of the reins.

To begin, I have the horse in a contained space (we don't have an arena, so I use a paddock). I ride the horse a bit, ask for a halt, then as I dismount I "fall" down, landing beside the horse. As I go down, I hold up a carrot. When the horse turns to look at me, there is this lovely treat. Slowly work your way into doing it from a walk and then a trot if you can (I am not brave enough to try it any faster!). All ours picked up quickly that stupid rider on ground = carrot and would stop and come right over for the reward. I then move to doing it out in the yard (where they are loose but hopefully not be tempted to go too far). Thank goodness (and *knock wood*) I have not had a need to test this in a real trail situation yet.


----------



## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

phantomhorse13 said:


> If you are spry enough to be able to do emergency-type dismounts.. you can teach your horse that rider on the ground = carrot.


That's a great idea, never heard that one before.


----------



## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

If he isn't a total loon, he should stay with you. I usually bring a couple treats in a plastic bag, and I always feed my horses treats by crinkling the wrapper first, so when they hear that crinkle they come flying. (Peppermints are good for this, but even just ruffling a bag of them and then getting one out will condition him to coming to you)

Every time I have fallen off or been seperated from my horse I have been able to catch them quite easily. One time I rode out bareback, stepped off my horse for a minute to let her graze and sit and enjoy the sun - And suddenly she took off bucking and kicking, took the rope with her, in this public lake recreational area. Luckily no one else was there. She came back to me after a bit but it sure was a scary moment there.


----------



## tim62988 (Aug 30, 2012)

i love Phantom's idea,

when I ride out alone I have a length of rope (3/8" i believe, probably 20' long) and leave one end clipped to my mare's halter and the other end is looped under my belt, no way to get tangled in it but nice long easy lead to grab hold of on your way down

another thing I keep thinking about is a GPS tracker, there are some for dogs of varying prices and the one I keep looking at is the "Trace" by Spot but it's another expense to deal with


----------



## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

I don't think this is something most riders need to worry about. My horses will only go 1 place if they get loose and I am riding alone- back to the horse trailer or the barn. And that would only happen if something truly terrified them (which isn't much). If I were to just fall off, I think my horses would stop and eat grass about 3 or 4 strides away from me. 

When I was a child, I would routinely take my horse out on the trail and set her free to eat grass while I read a book. She never tried to run off, as I was her herd. For that matter if I walked away she would follow me. When I originally got her she had a tendency to be barn sour, but the more I took her on rides to go eat grass, the better she was about leaving the barn. 

My current riding horse is trained to come if I whistle.


----------



## Saranda (Apr 14, 2011)

I, too, have taught my horse that "rider down equals carrot!". I started at the walk, wiggling in the saddle and kicking stirrups off at first, then sliding down his side and "falling" - with a carrot in my hand.  He caught on the idea quickly. I then progressed to the trot, but haven't had the courage to try it in the canter, however, it's now enough for me to "lose" stirrups and he'll stop dead in his tracks. Really effective and gives an added sense of security in the trails.

(It doesn't mess with when I decide to ride stirrupless, as then the added cue of losing balance/wiggling in the saddle doesn't come into play)


----------



## lsdrider (Jun 27, 2012)

Tie a piece of baler twine from your belt to the coil wire. 

If you fall off it will pull the coil wire off and stop the motor. 

:biggrin:


----------

