Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

I'm with your husband.  You CAN learn to fall safely, but like anything else it takes a lot of practice.  You're correct in that when you are flying through the air at great height, speed, velocity, you really don't have time to "think" about what you're doing.  That's where lots of training takes over.  The muscle memory goes to work and you fall appropriately.  Gymnastics and martial arts are great for this (I have experience in both and currently teach defensive tactics that include falling).  Like anything else, its baby steps first.  You start at a very low height (i.e. squatting) and then just kind of lay down in the appropriate position whether you're doing a front, side, or back fall.  As you get better, you increase the height and speed.  It is difficult to learn, but its one of those things that sticks with you once you get it right (thank goodness, because I seem to fall off all the time at speed).  The important thing is to find somebody who is qualified to teach you how to fall, not just tell you to tuck and roll.

 

Good luck!

 

abigail

Chico, CA

Deblyons54@xxxxxxx wrote:

"If I were describe myself with way, for me, this would be another thing
to "practice at home." :)

I am personally of the opinion that one of the most important things to
know how to do in order to avoid serious riding injuries is to know how
to fall off without getting hurt, and yes, there are ways to practice
this (and much of it can be done without a horse)."

 

 

My husband has done martial arts his entire life and insists that I can learn to fall safely. I challenged him to fall off the bed "safely", which is a good bit different from falling while standing or being thrown in a martial arts or wrestling throw. He has never taken me up on it - so how do you fall off the 5 feet from a horses back safely? I had a serious injury in a spook, spin and bolt a few years ago. We were meandering at a walk after a wonderful relaxed trot/canter and a bird flew up in front of him. There was no time to react and I was flying through the air and broke my back when I hit. Now I think about it - how could I have fallen "safely" at that velocity, from that height at that speed?