It might surprise you to know that an estimated 30 million Americans ride horses each year and a further 3.5 million ride in the UK, so just imagine how many there are around the world! More than 2,300 American riders under the age of 25 years are hospitalized annually because of horseback-riding injuries.  In fact there are more injuries to horse riders than there are to those that ride motorbikes!

So why might this be?  Well, certain activities, such as jumping and cross-country, are inherently risky because horses are heavy (up to 1,500 pounds), can travel very fast (up to 30 mph or more) and can stand as tall as 3 meters high. While there are serious injuries from specific activities such as jumping and galloping, most injuries result from simply falling off the horse.  Injuries from this though can be severe and sometimes fatal, so the fundamentals of safety are crucial if you are to take up this hobby.

Of the horse related injuries, about 80% occur whilst riding.  The remaining 20% occur during horse handling activities (e.g. driving, grooming, feeding, shoeing, leading) and unrelated activities, such as playing in the vicinity of a horse.
Some very famous people have suffered horse riding accidents in recent times, the most well known of these being
• Roy Kinnear (1934-1988), British character actor, bled to death due to a broken pelvis sustained by a horse fall
• Christopher Reeve (1952-2004), actor, paralyzed in 1995 from the neck down following a fall from his horse while riding cross-country in a 3-day event.
• Maureen Connolly (1934-1969), tennis star, career ended in 1954 by injuries suffered in a collision between her horse and a truck

Safety while riding and working around horses is of paramount importance and a great resource can be found here