Safety is Top Priority
At horseahaulic.com safety is a top priority. There is a reason that our blog is called “Don’t Ride Dirt.” We are passionate about the kind of safety that keeps you and your horse healthy, happy, and riding upright together for a long time.
How can you become a safe rider? The best thing to do is to gain knowledge, because when you are armed with knowledge you gain confidence. A confident rider develops good, safe habits, which is what our goal is in the first place
Where do you get the knowledge? Right here. Read my articles and comment on them. Read the blogs and the ebooks and other books we will make available to you. Our Ebook Don't Ride Dirt is a great beginning resource.
Get subscriptions to one or two of the horse magazines and start reading. Watch the major trainers on RFD-TV. Attend demonstrations and clinics. The major trainers have travelling clinics. See what general techniques are taught similarly by more than one trainer. Everyone addresses things like trailer loading and respecting your space. But there are different ideas of how to accomplish the same goals.
Unless you have a lot of experience working successfully with young or “green” horses, let a professional lead the way, A green horse and green rider make a recipe for disaster. A good, middle-aged horse can teach you more than you can teach him. but there is that language barrier, which is where a good, patient trainer who speaks fluent Horse, comes in quite handy. Inexperienced riders need to start on older, trained and experienced horses. In particular, the horse should be experienced in the areas of riding you want to pursue. A retired track horse may know a lot about running ovals to win, but nothing about the complexity of trail riding, dressage, barrels or jumping, or even behaving around people. Forcing a horse to change radically can work, but is usually a long and fitful process. Get an instructor and follow what he or she says. Be a little picky about your first instructor in particular. Look for someone with patience, knowledge and a sense of humor. Your horse will pick up on all of it quickly. Temper and lack of patience will sour a horse very rapidly.
Remember that horses learn through figuring out how to make pressure stop. They can learn to think and recognize what works to your liking, or they can simply act out to stop the pressure through flight or fight natural programming. You want him to keep his hoofs on the ground, not over your head.
I can think of things that could make the barns where I have boarded my horse safer places for horses and humans. There are innumerable things that every horse rider and owner do, or don’t do, that you may spot. Be careful that you recognize these habits, traits or actions in yourself before “alerting” others.
Of course you need to alert the owner or barn manager of an obviously unsafe condition. State laws on liability vary widely, and you should get to know yours. Your barn owner probably does. Ask what you are allowed to do yourself, and what you had better not touch. But don't say everything you're thinking because that's a one way ticket out the door.
Here is a really short list of Do’s and Don’ts, and a quick story,
If you do get to actively train your horse, stand in safe zones like 3-4 feet away and 45 degress out from, and facing toward the shoulder. That is a hard place for a horse to kick. Not impossible, just harder than if you were standing closer. Never surprise a horse, particularly from behind. You could take a very unexpected flying lesson. Don’t reach under a horse to pick his feet from the opposite side. Never let a horse push you around with his head.
Learn to interpret your horse’s body language. This is critical. We know a woman who insisted on massaging her horse for hours. He gave her nasty looks, pinned his ears, flinched, and finally cow-kicked her one day. He had warned her repeatedly, but she thought he would never really hurt her. He had, however, previously bitten her. In his earlier life he had a habit of biting from being barn-soured, which she knew. He just had not bitten her before she bought him.
USE COMMON SENSE!
When a horse understands what you are asking he will stand still and cock one hind leg. He will lick his lips, or he will stand where you put him for at least 15 seconds. A nervous or scared horse just won’t do that.
Some horses love to be pampered. My horse falls into that category. Sometimes he sleeps on his feet while he's being tacked. If you have a horse like that keep your guard up. He could wake up and spook at a sudden noise, You don’t stand directly in front or behind him. Don't go from one side to groom the other side by crawling under him. Think about the possible consequences of every action. Safety needs to become second nature to you. Doing something stupid should just feel wrong as you start to do it. It’s like working under a car that is on a bumper jack. You may get away with it, but if you don’t…..
Horses’ reflexes are faster than a cat’s. They startle naturally, and bolt off instinctively. Car engines are rated in “horse-power” for a reason. Your horse can go from standing still to a gallop in three strides. Check the size of his butt muscles to see why. He can kick the wall out of a barn. Repeat that muscle check. He can weigh 8-10 times what you weigh and has a brain the size of a peanut. Think about it.
We live in an age when even Western riders are starting to wear helmets and that's long overdue. Please protect yourself. Wear a properly fitted and approved helmet at all times. Many people recommend that it should also be worn during tacking. Experience says that even a horse’s jaw can feel like a hammer to a human head. To fit properly it should be tight enough that it doesn't slip down over the eyes when you shake your head. The chin-strap should hold it firmly in place so that it can’t rise over your head if pulled upward.
Parents, this is an expensive sport, but it builds life long friendships and at least you know where you kids are at night. Please don't buy a helmet your child can "grow into". It's better to be safe than sorry. A loose fitting helmet offers very little protection.
Children in particular should wear riding safety vests. These are typically foam block and sheet padded vests that are laced or Velcro secured around the torso. Some fancier models have shoulder attachments as well. They are available through local riding shops and horse equipment catalogs. They can easily save a child’s life, and are well worth the small investment. Nothing can prevent all injury, but proper training, thoughtful riding and good safety equipment can make your riding much safer. Think knowledge and safety with natural horsemanship training. Knowledge of horse behavior and horse thinking, horse vision and horse hearing, will make safer riding.
