HAS this ever happened to you? You are sailing through the air on your favourite horse and you know the landing won’t bode well. You know that it’s not the going the way you had planned it and after all the anticipation of a glory day ahead it all ends up in tears. Unfortunately it has happened all too often to many of us, with our first thoughts perhaps of “this is going to hurt” or “oh no, don’t end this way” or perhaps you might say “steady, steady, steaddddy, whoa,whoa, whooooaaa dammit” - but all too late.

So why, despite all our best efforts, do some of us come home with a sore bum or via a diversion to A&E?

Safety is not as simple as having a modicum of skill and preparedness for getting around from start to finish albeit these are the most important aspects. It can actually be down to our attitude to risk and how we mitigate this risk of injury.

So what do I mean by risk? We don’t own our attitude to risk as it affects others. It is not what we do on-board that matters if we are risk adverse. It is what we do to our bodies, our horses, our loved ones and our careers in sport or careers outside our pastime that is important. Think about it, owning risk? If we just “go for it” relying on a non-existent superhero shield for protection we are already doomed. Our luck will run out and we don’t have nine lives - contrary to popular belief - it is the one life that we have, fragile and brittle.

LIFE LESSONS

Having learned the hard way out hunting in December 2015 - I spent 10 days in intensive care - my carefree attitude to risk was carved open in the operating theatre, post a rather nasty rotational fall. I broke all my ribs, punctured both lungs, broke my sternum, had a collar bone removed, prosthetic ligaments put in place and worse still six hours of cardiac surgery to repair my aorta which was damaged from my 17.2hh horse Meastro. I had thought life was all great, taking on whatever came my way, making madness a way of life - then, out of nowhere, I was gulping for air and thinking I’d broken my neck?

Everything is fine today - I rode for the first time last week and mucked out my first wheelbarrow of dung this weekend - but it took 14 months to get this far. It was my realisation while in hospital that your attitude to risk is not your own property - you can’t do what you like. My 80-year-old Dad travelled to see me every day for 10 days in intensive care, my partner Anne Bannon shook uncontrollably watching the chopper land to evacuate me, my horse was taken off on three legs (he is well now) and I lost my much-loved job. Who has a job they love? Well I did, ironically working with equestrian companies that make safety equipment.

On the day in question I was not thinking of risk. I at least had a Super Hit Air Vest on that did just the job it was supposed to when I fell earlier in the day but I did not have a static back protector or a spare gas cylinder when taking on an even bigger hedge with no protection! The inevitable happened.

ADDRESS RISK

So what do you do? The answer is you address risk - you reduce its likelihood of being a factor in your day. My injury was the big-one in a 30-year riding career as a happy hunter and hunter trialer. I now have a specialist safety, wellbeing and performance equestrian business that came quite literally from the ground up that day. Most of my clients at Hoofprints Innovations come to me after they fall - I get that - but it shouldn’t be that way.

So are you serious, serious about your safety and wellbeing, your performance and your loved ones? I am, so let me give you a guide to the basics.

Fitness: Your horse needs to be fit, you do too, you both need to have had rest. The Orscana wearable tech rug sensor is a simple device that will tell you if your horse has had a settled night and travelled well to your event.

Tack: Is your tack intact, is it fit for purpose; do you need studs for the conditions? Kennedy Equi products are a good Irish make of studs and spurs. Do you need protective boots? - try maybe Dalmar or eQuick. Are the conditions underfoot suitable for your abilities? Can you stop when you want not when the horse wants? A Micklem Bridle changed my struggle with my noble steed.

Conditioning: Look at your horse’s ability to recover. Horse First supplements such as Heavy Sweat puts back what sweat takes out. I also recommend getting yourself a stopwatch and using it in accordance with your horse’s ability not what the courses demands. Look at Equisense, another wellbeing wearable technology device that detects gait anomalies, helps with your workout and early prevention of injuries.

Your travel: Don’t race on the roads to get there. A happy horse will give you everything; your life depends on this simple fact, which is often overlooked. Buy decent rugs and coolers for example Horseware have almost 300 rugs to choose from. Wash your horse afterwards - Waterboy is great for getting all that muck and sweat off.

Head protection: An old Mexican proverb: “It is not enough for a man/woman to know how to ride, he/she must know how to fall.” Get yourself a good skull cap of PAS015 or Snell2001 standard - choose a good English make that is used to our isle’s and our attitude to risk. A Snell2001 - Charles Owen 4 Star for example will take the impact of you landing on your head and subsequently the horse landing on you - this is the one I wore on my ill-fated trip and it kept me from being knocked-out, or worse.

Body armour: A level three 2009 purple standard body protector that fits and has not been fallen on several times is a must. Racesafe and Airowear are superb fits. All safety equipment works on the principle of decelerating impact so avoid ones that have taken hardship before. Get yourself an original ‘Hit Air’ Air vest if you are serious about your safety: they cover your neck and coccyx - regular body protectors don’t do this.

Consider wearing a gum shield, bring a medical card and decide whether you want to have longevity in horse riding or a handful of mad days out. Your horse perceives fear, don’t go cross country for a good scare, go cross country because you care about you, your horse and your loved ones. They will thank you for it.

TOP TIP

Get fitted for a hat and body protector - don’t buy online - our sport is too dangerous for guesswork.

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