To think horse riding is too dangerous?

[bellav]

DD10 developed a sudden love for horses after we read War Horse together last autumn.

She has asked for riding lessons and as yet we have said no due to cost but we had secretly planned to get her a few for her birthday next month.

But I have now got cold feet after reading stories on here about serious injuries and even deaths among riders doing mundane things like riding indoors in "safe" conditions.

One article linked said it is more dangerous than riding a motorbike, with a serious accident every 350 hours vs 7000. I know many of these are from cross-country etc, but I can't help worry about the ones that aren't.

AIBU to not want to start down this path?

My daughter has ridden for years. She absolutely loves it and we have been pony owners for 5 years. I don’t want to jinx anything but read into my answer that we are happily continuing 😊

No it's not particularly if you choose the right riding school.

Absolutely any physical activity carries a modicum of risk. Learning to ride, at a proper riding school, wearing proper kit etc, mitigates risk as far as you can without actually replacing the horse with a rocking horse. Bankruptcy is more likely than serious injury, anyway, when it comes to horses. Everything is so bloody expensive!

I have ridden since a child and have had horses all my adult life.
Horses are good for your soul, if not your bank balance 😬
I wouldn't discourage her.

Yes, it has its hazards but mostly at the more advanced levels (that most people don't do) or when handling rather riding when people can get a bit sloppy. I think the risk of serious injury - gut feeling - is less than with motorbikes. It's a fantastic hobby/sport in many ways.

No. It’s addictive though. Ponies are like crack but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

OK. So I am now 42 and started riding at 5. Yes, accidents are possible. They happen. I’ve had them. BUT I can also tell you that if she falls in love with horses, there’s not many better places a girl can spend her teenage years than on a yard, shifting water buckets, hay bales, mucking out, grooming and riding with a bunch of other girls. It’s pretty much Enid Blyton wholesomeness!
Yes accidents can happen. Bad ones, yes even fatal ones. But you can also ride for years and never have one! Brace yourself because she absolutely is going to fall off whilst learning. Yes there will be a few tears and bruises. Character building stuff! Get her a good hat and body protector if she decides to commit and get them fitted properly at a physical retail place, not online.
I can wholeheartedly recommend a life with horses, even if my rotator cuff is absolutely f’ked. Hahaha! Let her do it.

Horses all the way if nothing else it’ll keep get away from boys keep her fit great yard mates the bond with a horse nothing beats it. Forget injury it’s your bank balance that will take the hit and if she’s got the bug you might as well go with it because she’s not going to stop 🤣🤣🤣🤣

@FancyCatSlave ponies like crack 🤣🚀
my mum introduced me to ponies at 3 58 now nothing better in fact I threw out my last bf and bought a horse

@HaveCreditWillShop, your last line made me chuckle because I also have a completely mullered rotator cuff from dislocating my shoulder as a teen. I still ride weekly aged 41 and DD has a pony.
@bellav do you ski? I’d put riding in the same category of risk as skiing tbh, both sports require the same level of concentration, awareness and sensible decision making.

I can't find any credible stats online so not sure where you found that, OP.

My parents thought it would keep me away from boys too. Lol.

MIL has been riding for nearly 60 years she's had the odd tumble but she's pretty reckless, she was still riding at 6 months pregnant and had DH riding bareback by the time he was 5, the worst she's done is the odd broken finger, a couple of ribs and she dislocated her shoulder a few times, BUT that is over 60 years and she likes to take on the horses no one else will because they're too wild and she thinks she can save them. A bit of pony riding at a school isn't going to bring anyone to any harm. I don't let DS ride yet, he's 6, but that's now because I can't cope with the idea of 10 years of mum I want a horse on repeat, also see above Re: MILs health and safety record, she would want to take him.

ETA she also had to get rid of her sporty little retirement car because she kept getting speeding fines and FIL said if she got banned he wasn't going to drive her to the stables at 6 every morning because he still has to go to work

No, no skiing here either. Turns out I am quite risk averse despite riding as a kid for about 8 years. I didn't consider the risks back then. Some of the stories i have read have terrified me. 😥

https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8339097.stm

Unnecessary danger IMO, and just a few lessons doesn’t seem helpful to DD, since if she likes it she won’t be able to continue due to cost.

40 years with horses. Several broken bones from horses. Metalwork in my body. A head injury/brain bleed.
Has it been worth it? Absolutely!

Yes horses are dangerous and riding is high risk, but you can’t shelter kids from everything.

I have been a horse owner for over 40 yrs and had some bad injuries- # clavicle , back injury , facial injury the worst injury was when my horse decided to lay down when I was grooming her one day and went down so quickly I got trapped underneath and # my skull - still loved her to bits . Horses have given me some of the best moments of my life .

We have a horse. It would be absolutely ridiculous to be so risk adverse as to not let your child enjoy the freedom and joy of riding. I assume you ride a bike? Cross the road? Drive a car?!

edited to add, lesson are pricey though and owning a horse is like burning £1k every month!

Life is too short to worry about risks like this. Poring over statistics and gruesome stories is not helpful - it would make more sense to look at things like what kind of riding helmet performs best, or what you should look for in a riding instructor/different levels of qualification in the area. But another approach is just to be hands off and not try to control it so much.

If you are too anxious to let her do horse riding I think you should seek advice about your anxiety. That is not meant to be a criticism, it is genuine advice. If anxiety is getting in the way of living life or causing you to avoid fairly "normal" things (I appreciate horseriding is not everyone's hobby, but it's not like she wants to get into sword swallowing while juggling flaming torches on a tightrope) that's the line where you should be letting someone look into it.

I used to think things like motorcycle riding is too dangerous and then my cousin who I always worried about biking died of a completely random, unavoidable illness with no warning.

Life is too short. I'm not a horse person myself but people who love horses get an enormous amount of joy and passion from it and that is what life is about. Not avoiding every risk. I can be a bit prone to this too so trying to be more conscious of it and step back and not feed it so much.

That’s not quite true, many teenage girls on yards every weekend earning lessons by helping muck out and running around the arena leading little kids! The riding years of Great Britain operate on the backs of girls aged 12-17 😆😆😆😆

It’s not ‘ridiculous’ not to ride for safety reasons. Riding is an optional luxury, not a life skill.

My mum used to tell me a version of little red riding hood.
'Go out in the woods, go out, if you don't go out in the woods nothing will ever happen to you and your life will never begin.'
Fabulous woman, my mum.
The message was don't let fear hold you back. Better a good life than a fearful one.
Let her go. Horses are ace.

I can only assume you’ve never had the joy of a summers evening belting through the countryside or seeing the joy in your kids as they smash a clear round of jumps. I think it’s ridiculous to not do any sport / activity because you’re risk adverse. Unless you stay home and never go anywhere!!

Yep, mine was self inflicted - put a wheelbarrow across the stable door and poop-scooped around the horse without taking him out or tying him up. He decided to jump over the barrow. I tried to grab the front of his rug to stop him as he sailed by 😁 Yanked the muscles off the bone 🤣 Got it operated on but it’s never been right. Fallen off a gazilliom times. Once I broke a pole with my massive arse whilst jumping, there were people watching as we were jumping a decent height. That was embarrassing 🤣