# My Friend Had A Very Very BAD fall.



## Phantomcolt18 (Sep 25, 2007)

His horse tripped and went down the momentum caused her to roll over him, then she accidently kicked him in the shoulder when she got up. He was unconcious for a good 5 mins and was rushed to the hospital from the show. He lost all his memory and forgot who everyone was...within 24 hrs he got it all back but doesn't remember the fall (which i guess is a good thing). He got away with soft tissue damage and a concussion(sp?) his horse Taffy is still a bit sore on her lower back and her withers are no longer swollen but still sensitive. We had the vet come out and he said she's just bruised so we're using absorbine on her and it's making her feel better. Now my friend is preaching how important helmets are to everyone, without his helmet it could have been so much worse than a concusion :-(


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## charlicata (Jan 12, 2010)

That is so scary! I'm glad everybody is going to be ok. You're right though, it could have ended up soooooo much worse.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

Ouch. That looks painful.
Glad both are OK.


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## Phantomcolt18 (Sep 25, 2007)

yeah my friend is being released from the hospital today it happened on saturday. Im so happy they're both ok....I've been taking care of their barn all week while he and his wife were at the hospital.


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## poundinghooves (Aug 5, 2010)

Wow. I'm glad everyone is alright. Coulda been worse like Charlicata said.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

One thing that really jumped out in that video is your friend looks way too big for the pony or horse not sure as it wasn't a good view and it looked like it was difficult for the horse to keep it's balance. Just a thought and glad everyone is going to be ok.


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## Phantomcolt18 (Sep 25, 2007)

Churumbeque-no she's about 15.3 and very, very stocky/full of muscle. He's had horses over 40 some yrs and knows what he's doing he would never get on a horse if it was going to be unconfortable for them.....Thanks for your concern though  

Bubba just came home today he's very, very sore but I walked Taffy up to the car so he could see her and he hugged her head and gave her a kiss and kept telling her it wasn't her fault and how much he loved and missed her...it was adorable the man loves his horses <3


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

Phantomcolt18 said:


> He's had horses over 40 some yrs


Wow, I realize it is a small video so it is hard to tell these things, but I would have never guessed the person riding in that video was over 60 years old.


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## AfterParty (Jun 4, 2010)

wow , so scary . Glad horse and rider are okay in the end !


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## Phantomcolt18 (Sep 25, 2007)

Alwaysbehind said:


> Wow, I realize it is a small video so it is hard to tell these things, but I would have never guessed the person riding in that video was over 60 years old.


Yup haha.....he wont be riding for at least 2 months however. He's always been riding and I don't think he plans on stopping anythime soon.


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## SlickDirtyDancin (Jul 11, 2009)

churumbeque said:


> One thing that really jumped out in that video is your friend looks way too big for the pony or horse not sure as it wasn't a good view and it looked like it was difficult for the horse to keep it's balance. Just a thought and glad everyone is going to be ok.


I was going to say the same thing. Not trying to be rude just putting it bluntly...riding a horse that's too small for you is just asking for an accident. However I am still glad both horse and rider will be alright and praying for speedy recoveries.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

SlickDirtyDancin said:


> I was going to say the same thing. Not trying to be rude just putting it bluntly...riding a horse that's too small for you is just asking for an accident. However I am still glad both horse and rider will be alright and praying for speedy recoveries.


She just pointed out that the horse is 15.3hh. At 15.3hh, there is no such thing as a person being "to big for her" unless he weighs 400lbs. 

Horses trip, it happens. Have you seen the guys who do steer wrestling? They're MASSIVE and their horses sure as heck aren't that big.

I'm glad your friend is ok, always scary when things like this happen!


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## iLoveHorsez (Aug 9, 2010)

Ow. I'm glad they are fine though.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

Phantomcolt18 said:


> Churumbeque-no she's about 15.3 and very, very stocky/full of muscle. He's had horses over 40 some yrs and knows what he's doing he would never get on a horse if it was going to be unconfortable for them.....Thanks for your concern though
> 
> <3


 I have no idea how tall the horse is or saying this is the case here but it is amazing how many people think there horse is a different height than it really is and I have seen people that are way off on knowing how big a horse is. I see it in the forum all the time and then when it gets pointed out the real hieght comes out to be much differently then 1st thought. A lady came for lessons this week and her horse is 3" taller than she thought it was.


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## Charis (Jul 6, 2010)

MacabreMikolaj said:


> She just pointed out that the horse is 15.3hh. At 15.3hh, there is no such thing as a person being "to big for her" unless he weighs 400lbs.


*MacabreMikolaj* I respect for your posts, but this statement is very untrue. It completely depends on the horse's build, health, and the rider's weight distribution and ability. Here are a few horses around the same height, 15.2 to 15.3, and I would put different types of people on each of them. 
Head Horse -Ready to Haul and Win! | Buy this Horse at Equine.com
2007 Half Arabian - Daughter of Afires Heir | Buy this Horse at Equine.com
*Phantomcolt18,* I hope your friend has a fast recovery, but I am in the camp that wonders if his mount isn't too small for a big rider, and/or he might want to consider some lessons just to brush up on balance.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

^

From the video, it is obvious the person on her is not overly "fat". So I would assume that what was meant is that the person is to tall. And unless that person is closing in on 7'0" tall, 15.3hh is a height that ANY person can ride.

To say that this person is to big for this horse and hence that is what caused the fall is somewhat ridiculous in my opinion. A lot of things could have caused this fall, but a man riding a 15.3hh stock horse was not one of them.

A child of 5'0" and weighing 100lbs could have caused this fall on a 17hh by throwing off the centre of balance. 99% of the horses in rodeo are UNDER 16hh and ridden by 200lb+ and 6'0"+ men, so the statement that he's to big for her is a bit silly. Heck, even if she IS only 15hh, the statement is still silly. Size doesn't matter if you're not riding properly, ANY size person could have caused an accident.

And as it was her HIND end that went down first, I say bad step and not rider error at all. Rider error usually accounts for front end slips from travelling to heavy on the forehand - this mare simply lost the footing and her hind end couldn't keep up with her front end.

And for the record, as "dainty" as an Arabian may look, she could carry just as much weight as the QH you posted. Appearances are deciveing and people constantly saying "you're to big!" is silly. I am 5'7" and 200lbs and I ride a 14.3hh Arab that has ZERO problems packing me around for days at a time, and also wins at gaming.


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## SlickDirtyDancin (Jul 11, 2009)

Just to be clear I completely meant the riders height and male type build(NOT implying that he is overweight or fat at all) was too much for that horse. It is one thing for a person of that height and build to do everyday riding on a horse of that size but doing speed events that involve high paces and quick turns could throw the horse off balance easily. However I have never met the man or the horse so I can't say my theories as to what happened are right or wrong. 

And I fully agree to the poster talking about people believing their horses are taller than the horse really is. I see it more often than not and have actually surprised my friends by getting out a measuring device and showing them.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

Phantom, how is your friend doing? I hope he is recovering well.


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## shaker (May 22, 2010)

MacabreMikolaj said:


> ^
> 
> From the video, it is obvious the person on her is not overly "fat". So I would assume that what was meant is that the person is to tall. And unless that person is closing in on 7'0" tall, 15.3hh is a height that ANY person can ride.
> 
> ...


I agree.

We have a 13.5 HH Arabian pony named Thunder, who had a real bad habit of bolting into a gallop constantly when we first got him. He has an endless amount of energy and loves to run. Needless to say we didn't know any one small that had the experience to teach the horse better manners.

I am 6'1" 200lbs and decided I would get on him figuring he would not want to run with my heavy butt on his back. Needless to say he took off as if I was not even on his back. Taking me by surprise, I went for a crazy ride jumping a five foot wide ditch and zig zaging through other obstacles covering about 500 yards in a hurry before I got him to start listening to me and regaining control. Despite me weighing 30% of thunders weight, Thunder never missed a step.

I have rode him a few times and now he is a great horse to ride, and my size has never meant a thing to him.

Horses are far stronger than most people give them credit for.

IMHO the horse in the video simply tripped, it can happen to any horse and has nothing to do with the size of the rider.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

^

I used to do speed events on the 14hh dam of my current Arab, and I was pushing 180lbs back then. She couldn't have been more then 700lbs, so she was packing 25% of her own weight and that little spitfire rode me into the ground on numerous occasions. I got so fed up with fighting her one day, I finally said "Fine you spinny witch, run til you drop!" That lunatic galloped me full tilt the entire 10 miles home and me having a heart attack thinking I'd killed her. I rubbed her down with liniment and the next morning I could barely get out of bed and she was prancing around that pasture still rarin' to go!

Size of the horse has VERY little to do with incidents like this - as I already stated, he could have been on a 17hh horse and if he's not balancing her properly, he's going to have a wreck regardless. Smaller horses actually tend to be MUCH more nimble, agile and sure footed then larger ones anyway!

Photo of me riding my little Arab mare back in the day!


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## leonalee (Jul 1, 2010)

I really hope that your friend makes a speedy recovery to riding - it really sounds like he loves his horse! And that is AWESOME that he is staying spry and riding! 

This seems to have been turned into a thread about people being TOO HEAVY for their mounts. I'm inclined to put my two-cents in and just say that a horse should never be asked to carry more than 20% of it's body weight... 1000lb horse, 200lb weight limit (and that is really pushing it). I don't know what ever ended up happening to it, but I found an ad one time that had a picture of a man clearly over 400 lbs on a horse that they claimed was 15.2. In the description of the horse, the ad said "No buck, rear or bolt..." My first reaction was "Well, if that is his rider, I'm sure thats not the only thing he can't do - probably can't walk very well, either!" I wish I could find it - I swear the ad had to be a joke. However, I'm not sure the man was edited ONTO the horse (that part looked very sadly REAL - the horses legs were sort of splayed to keep itself balanced)...

PS - the sizes of the horse/rider combo probably wouldn't have helped much in the way of preventing the accident. Has anybody kept up with Courtney King-Dye's blog? She had a similar accident (sans helmet) and has a long road to recovery ahead of her. Important to note that she is ITTY BITTY and rides giant warmbloods: no weight bearing issue here that caused he accident, that is what it was: an accident, could happen to anybody.


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## DSJ46 (Aug 11, 2010)

yikes! yes, helmets are paramount


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## Phantomcolt18 (Sep 25, 2007)

hey guys sorry I was on vacation. Wow this thread went in a weird direction so I'll clear a few things up. We have three different people that measure our horses when we get them to make sure they are the height they are claimed to be when being sold(I've heard of peple not knowing exactly how tall their horse is, it's very common.) Our three people are the man in the video(had horses for over 40 yrs), our vet(been practicing for 30 or so years) and our friend who is a trainer(for 25ish yrs). So we are positive of Taffy's height at 15.3. Also Taffy's weight is around 1200 ish lbs of all muscle. She is a very stong horse and routinely picks bubba off the ground when he tries to de-worm her(he was working on training her out of that before the accident.but now it will have to weight, which he's upset about) Bubba only weighs about 210 and he is only about 5' 6" I am 5'5" and he stands just above me. He has been riding for over 40 yrs and is a very good rider....I have never seen his horse take a bad step or him lose his balance or the horse lose it's balance because of him and I've been riding with them for over 5 yrs now. Other horses tripped in the back of the arena that day....one was a 13.2 pony with a 95lb rider on his back he tripped in the same spot but his quick little legs helped him recover pretty fast. The dirt was just a little too deep from the previous events. After this they raked the whole arena. 

Thank you all for your concern I know it is a small video and hard to tell these things but I assure you everything is okay Bubba would NEVER harm a horse in any way shape or form. 

Also as an UPDATE on him: he is doing very well still has headaches and his right arm is very sore as he tore his rotory(SP?) cuff, his 2010 show season is over....he'll be able to ride again around october(our shows end early october) Taffy's back is fully healed and vet said she could be ridden again in a few weeks.


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## luclaq (Aug 16, 2010)

helmets are overrated^^


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## Phantomcolt18 (Sep 25, 2007)

luclaq said:


> helmets are overrated^^


 
A helmet is what saved his life...no matter what anyone says it's a very good idea to use one.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

Phantomcolt18 said:


> A helmet is what saved his life...no matter what anyone says it's a very good idea to use one.


It is a good idea however - IF the fall is specific - a helmet CAN save lives. Unfortunately wearing a helmet is not 100% fool proof. Christopher Reeves was wearing a helmet and he still ended up paralyzed. In his case there are those saying if he had not been wearing the helmet, he would of been ok. The helmet caused his head to 'stick' in place instead of sliding on the footing.

I'm sure there are many here that can relate stories of those who were saved by a helmet (or vest) and those who still died due to injuries.

Bottom line - each riders choice. (or barn/event rules)


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## Phantomcolt18 (Sep 25, 2007)

yes it's definately 100% the riders choice i just felt it wasn't the right place to say helmets were overrated about this particular situation.....but as you said it is 100% the riders choice and everyone is different in their feelings for it.


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## PintoTess (Aug 18, 2010)

phew! he doesnt realise just how luck he is to come out alive after that!


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## Phantomcolt18 (Sep 25, 2007)

I know it was scary seeing it I can only imagine how he felt when it actually happened....it happened so fast he probably didn't have time to think. He is doing fine now his right arm is still very sore as he tore his rotator(sp?) cuff, Taffy is back to competing but his friend is competing her as his doctor told him he couldn't bounce around much anymore 1) due to his age 2) his injuries and Taffy was very upity... so he got a mellower horse to work with and she is a total dream her trot is like sitting in a chair


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## ShutUpJoe (Nov 10, 2009)

It kind of looked to me, with my untrained eye, that the horse hit the bad spot trying to avoid running into that other horse. It also looked pretty...mushy. I'm glad the horse and rider are ok. Looked like a really bad fall.


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

ShutUpJoe said:


> It kind of looked to me, with my untrained eye, that the horse hit the bad spot trying to avoid running into that other horse. It also looked pretty...mushy. I'm glad the horse and rider are ok. Looked like a really bad fall.


I know nothing about this type of riding, but that is what I saw as well. Seemed like the horse was going to run into the other and was trying to avoid that. Glad both are going to be ok.


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## Phantomcolt18 (Sep 25, 2007)

AlexS said:


> I know nothing about this type of riding, but that is what I saw as well. Seemed like the horse was going to run into the other and was trying to avoid that. Glad both are going to be ok.


 
When the people are running doubles if you have a fast horse running up the other horse that's waiting needs to get up to speed so they can "meet" for lack of better word and hand off the baton behind and between the barrels so it is very, very possible they may have gotten close. When we went to the back of the arena to help Bubba we tried to look for a reason the fall may have happened it there were a couple of really deep pockets and we're thinking she hit one.


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

Phantomcolt18 said:


> When the people are running doubles if you have a fast horse running up the other horse that's waiting needs to get up to speed so they can "meet" for lack of better word and hand off the baton behind and between the barrels so it is very, very possible they may have gotten close. When we went to the back of the arena to help Bubba we tried to look for a reason the fall may have happened it there were a couple of really deep pockets and we're thinking she hit one.


Thanks I know literally NOTHING about this sport so I did not even know that there is a baton. Do they drag the arena between a few horses going out, or are deep pockets common? Either way, it doesn't really matter, I am just glad that both the horse and rider will be ok, I was just asking out of interest.


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## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

Ouch :S I'm glad they're both going to be ok, one of my friends fell off her horse yesterday and got a punctured lung and 3 broken ribs so she's in icu at the moment poor girl :S
And i got thrown (yes thrown) off a horse about 2 weeks ago and somehow managed to come out scotch free.

I think we all need to appreciate the job our helmets do a little more lol.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

This was way back in August. Phantom, glad to hear your friend is doing better.


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## Arksly (Mar 13, 2010)

I can't see the video because I'm on my iPod but it I very possible for a horse to go down because of a deep spot. I was riding Jesse (who is a 16.2hh 1600lb warmblood paint cross, I'm 5'3 and 125lbs) and as I was cantering, he stepped in a deep spot in the arena and almost went down. Luckily, he saved both of us but just barely. So just saying, it is a huge possibility.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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