Horseback Riding

My friend loves horses but has never ridden a horse before. The other day I was telling her about my horse accident and she told me now she's scared of horses because she didn't know that you could die riding a horse. What people that don't have any experience or knowledge of horses assume is because we can ride them they are tame and safe but horseback riding is just as dangerous as any other sport.

Every sport has it's dangers. Football can result in brain damage, broken bones, torn ligaments. Horse back riding is equally dangerous. I almost died in my accident. But I still got back on the horse even though my doctor said if I had another fall like that it will kill me. Let me break it down for you.

You are strapping a piece of leather to a 2,200 pound animal that's 4-6 feet tall and putting a bit of metal in his/her mouth to control which way you go by tugging on it. Then you are throwing yourself onto this extremely strong and fast wild animal that you have no idea what could happen that could scare the horse.

Now none of this is hurting the animal it's actually good for their health but still imagine carrying around a human sized backpack for hours and run around with the thing digging into your side. Same thing.

Horses are still wild animals just because they were born and raised by humans doesn't mean they are completely tame. If you have a wolf and you breed the wolf the puppies don't become dogs they are still wolves.

Horses are potentially dangerous animals. If you fall off that horse and you don't have a helmet you could get more than a broken bone or paralyzed you can get brain damage which can be worse. If the horse gets spooked and takes off it doesn't take much to get run over and killed, assuming the fall didn't kill you.

I look back at my horseback riding career and I don't regret anything. I loved every second of it. I think part of what I loved about it was the danger. Horses are very strong powerful animals and are dangerous and so is the sport.

Having knowledge of this and respect for the animal can save your life. The horse can be spooked which can be dangerous for you. Now don't think that because of this danger that it's a bad idea to ride there are so many benefits that come alone with it, upper body strength, improved posture, more energy, improved focus and concentration, improved motor skills and self discipline and confidence. Also it's fun and exciting and even relaxing.

It's a beautiful sport and it takes some brave parents to strap their child to a 2,200 pound animal and hope they can boss it around. But we do it. It takes a very strong and brave person to get on a horse, it takes a even stronger person to ride the horse, it takes a extremely brave person to continue to ride the horse, but it takes an astounding person to fall off the horse nearly die and get back on like nothing happened. That was me. I nearly died because of the accident and as soon as I got out of the hospital I was back on that horse.

It was scary. The fall, hospital the pain, knowing that I could have died that day. But I loved riding more than I feared the danger. I don’t know if that makes me crazy, brave, an addict or just stupid but I got back on the horse at my next lesson three days later. The thing I hate most about the fact that I quit is that all I have are the memories of the feeling and knowing I can’t get back on a horse again.

It’s a painful thought that I won’t be able to ride again. But it was fun while it lasted and boy did it last. Horseback riding changed my life. The rush and the jolt of adrenaline coursing through my body when the horse would go from walk to trot to canter it was invigorating. Horseback riding was such a big part of my life for so long that I feel like there’s a void an empty space that won't be filled. Not completely.

Riding was an adventure and I could've made a career out of it. But I didn't want the pressure of competition to spoil what I loved. So I let it go. I have no doubt that horseback riding saved my life. Everyone tormented me because of my bipolar disorder. But the horses didn't care. All they wanted to do was go.

Horseback Riding was my escape my trainer reminded me constantly how amazing it is that I was able to do control that animal. She compared it to driving a bus you have to be aware of everything. It's so complicated, but once you're up there, nothing else matters; it's so simple.