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Okay, FINALLY a topic I know all about! Before I got old and fat, I was always on a horse. Now I'd have to ride a Clydesdale. But in my younger years, I owned, trained, and bred a number of equines. When you ride as much as I did, and as many different animals as I did, sooner or later you're going to fall off. I would ride just about anything. When someone would utter a statement like, "I gotta horse, but nobody can ride 'em," that would be my clue to respond with something like, "I bet I can!" That adventuresome (crazy?) behavior led me to many spills. In fact, I made falling off into somewhat of an art form and created a guideline for falls, with an ascending pain rating scale of 1-10:

The "slide" - This is when you're taking a turn too fast, and you just slide off your mount, usually from the side. With a slide, your rear never actually looses contact with the horse's body until it has surpassed the actual surface area of the equine. This can also be caused by improper tightening of the girth. A slide can also occur if said horse stops abruptly. In that case, the slide is usually over the neck. If the pony rears, a slide might occur down the backside. A slide is generally the least painfull of all falls, with a 2-5 range.

The "pitch" - This fall differs from the slide in that your bottom actually looses contact with the animal and becomes minimally airborne. A pitch usually is the direct effect of gentle to moderate bucking. Pain rider feels is in direct proportion to the landing position and landing surface. For example, a butt-first landing in a pile of hay might rate a 2, while a head-first landing into a pile of rocks would be closer to 10.

The "fly" - The fly is generally induced by moderate to severe bucking, and is a more exaggerated form of the pitch. In the fly, the rider's body achieves considerable air space and flying time and height. Again, depending on landing position and surface, a fly will range from 5 to 10.

The "squash" - The most dangerous and painfull of all falls, the squash entails the horse's body actually "squashing" or "squishing" the rider beneath its body. This might occur from rearing or rolling, as when the animal rears so high that it falls backward onto the rider, penning him beneath the horse. A squash generally rates a 10, due to the weight of the animal. Horses are heavy.

These are the major categories of falls. Of course, there are several sub-categories, too numerous to mention. The only aboslutely certain prevention for falls is to never get on a horse. Once a fall occurs, however, rider must, as soon as possible, get back on the horse that caused the fall. In the case of a lengthy hospital stay or other down time, the rider should have another horseman ride the animal, if at all possible.

Learn more about this author, Holle Abee.
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