Falling off

🐴🐴🐴Falling off🐴🐴🐴

Hitting the deck, eating dirt, getting bucked off, smashing the ground, unplanned dismount, emergency dismount: I don’t think it matters what you call it, it really fu*%^!£g hurts. 

I remember once being told you’ll never make a real rider til you can’t count the number of falls you’ve had. Well there you are! It’s official. I’m a real rider!

I must have had some kind of premonition with my post yesterday afternoon about falls when riding alone. Because sure enough, I was airborne, like the Qantas Kangaroo! 

Nothing out of the ordinary, just walking around in the back paddock aka Kangaroo grazing ground on Karmi and a bloody Kangaroo scared the crap out of him and he spun so fast I was gone! I remember hanging on a couple of strides with my saddle hanging off sideways and then thinking “Kel it’s time to bail!”

I’ve got to say though, no matter how many times I fall, the pain never really gets any less. I’ve had falls where my horses have stopped at jumps and I’ve kept going. I’ve had falls where the horse has gone down with me or landed on me. I’ve had falls where I’ve landed on my head, my side, my bum, my ankle, my shins and even my fingers! (Photo here is of Hottee and I hitting the deck a while ago)

Some might say wear an air vest, but with air bags like mine why bother! Yes I have landed on them too (cranky pigging pony)

While in many cases I don’t think anything can be done to stop falls, they’re just an occupational hazard for me, I can say there are certain things I do to prevent falls and minimise pain. I ride more horses than most so therefore it’s likely I’ll fall off more than most it’s just a simple numbers game really. 

Number one. Always wear your helmet. I conked my head hard enough yesterday to see double for a few seconds, feel around for my phone that had come out of my pocket and breathe a sigh of relief to see that my new sunnies had somehow managed to land sitting beautifully upright. “Hey Siri call Renai” I said “Renai, back paddock now please” “Don’t worry Kel I’m sending the doctor who lives on site 😂❤️” 

I may have been seeing double but I could still see my saddle hanging sideways off the horse as he ran off to the others in the paddock, all the while thinking “Of course I put the good fu#%*^g saddle on today didn’t I?” 

“Don’t stand up Kel” Ange says. “Yeh, yeh, gotta catch the horse!”

Karmi is caught and feeling a bit flustered but settles quickly once the sideways saddle is extracted from his back. Crap I think. One of my free jump stirrups is missing. Stirrup leather buckle is somehow undone and one stirrup has slid off. 

Free jumps. My first go to for safety! These stirrups cost me a kidney but they are amazing with their opening at the top and side bendy plastic that lets your foot come clear out without getting stuck. It’s not the first time they’ve let me ejector seat myself with no repercussions of being stuck or dragged. Highly recommend them. Put $10 a week in a savings account and you’ll have a pair in a year!

My helmet, although doesn’t have a mark on it clearly took the brunt of my fall and my head feels perfectly fine today! With ground as hard as it is I’m glad I was wearing one.

My phone, stuck in my pocket, somehow did come out, but was near enough for me to call for help. 

And most of all, people knowing where I was so that they could help when I needed it!

So my partner comes to check on me, makes sure I’m right and takes me home. I climb into the bath and soak my achy body and have a glass of moscato with some panadiene. Bed time is not fun and I fall asleep with an ice pack while trailing bettadine and blood from my grazed elbow through my clean sheets. 

Do I think there is anything I could have done differently? No, not really. Do I feel worried about getting on a horse again? No not at all. Do I blame the horse? No of course not, they’re flight animals and sometimes shit happens. 

So what annoys me the most about falling off last night? I’ve now got to go traipsing around the paddock to find my lost kidney, aka my precious freejump stirrup 😂

Stay safe riders! Wear your helmets and be smart 🐴