Just as with any other sport, horseback riding comes with injuries. They actually happen pretty frequently, some of the time not even from actually riding. Injuries can occur from falling off of the horses or even just interacting with them. While working with the horses on the ground, getting stepped on can break toes, holding the lead lines wrong can result in broken fingers, and kicks ovver frequently from unruly horses.
During my 11 years of riding, I have had a total of 5 concussions from falling off of a horse. Many would think that the helmets would protect your head from injuries like this but often that's not the case. Hitting the ground after being thrown from a moving horse is equivalent to falling off the top of a moving car going about 15 miles per hour. This impact can result in concussions, broken arms, legs, and torn muscles.
This article from the American Medical Equestrian Association website gives statistics on the most common and frequent injuries involved with horseback riding. I'd say that these statistics are pretty accurate after witnessing quite a few happening in my lifetime. I'd go ahead and think it's safe to say that horseback riding isn't for the faint of heart.
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I agree with you. Equestrian is to me is supposed to be all pretty and graceful. This is a part of equestrian is something you don't really think about and isn't very pretty. I know that in my experience as a soccer player, injuries play a major part in the sport. There is always a risk of injury and I think that this aspect helps prove its validity as a sport.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely! I know with my experience as a dancer, people do not realize how many injuries come from simple mistakes or common accidents. It seems like if you don't play a "contact" sport then people assume you don't get hurt. I love how you put your own personal experience into this blog, it really proves your point. Great job :)
ReplyDeleteMadison,
ReplyDeleteWow, I never really thought about people getting hurt so much while horseback riding. I knew about the risk of getting thrown off or stepped on, but I never knew about how common torn muscles were from it. I think this article really helps in your argument that horseback riding is a sport because it puts it on the same level as classical sports like football and soccer.