Horse Safety

In my 25 years of Extension work, I have found the quickest and most sure-fired way to put a roomful of farmers to sleep is to open up a lecture on Farm Safety.  Heads bob, eyes roll and the snoring begins!  Everybody knows this stuff, there’s nothing new and improved about it, it won’t increase your bottom line and besides – “It won’t happen to me”, they all say.  Safety around horses is the same.  We’ve heard the safety spiel a thousand times, but we’re safe, we have good horses and that stuff just doesn’t happen. 

But it does happen – and it just did happen to one of our very experienced, competent and extremely safety-conscious 4-H horse club members in Chatham County.  She is a working student at a dressage training barn working daily with 17 hand warmbloods – a kid who really knows how to handle horses.     We had an inch of snow and the kids were all excited to enjoy their horses on a snow day.  She had ridden around the barnyard bareback – with a helmet - and had just jumped off to put her horse away.  This horse was a trusted family member – owned for 6 years – not mean or ill-mannered – just feeling frisky because of the cold weather and who-knows-what he thought or saw to make him kick out. The horse lunged forward, wheeled around and bucked – connecting with a kick square in the mouth.  Fortunately, she is recovering well and should not have any permanent damage.  But the scenario could have been terribly different.   

This time of the year especially when we feed in the dark, the ground is wet and slick, our horses don’t get as much exercise and attention as they do during the better weather – we can expect them to be less predictable…and more dangerous.  Please – take a minute to go over the basics of safety in working with horses and other large animals, especially with your children.  Fortunately, our 4-Her will recover, but the process will be long and painful.  Let’s use this experience as a lesson to us all – slow down, be careful and never make assumptions.  The list below is only the basics – read, study and learn all you can about horses and their behavior to help prevent an accident within your family. 

Teach and Enforce Ground Manners

Bad manners are dangerous!  A horse who doesn’t respect your personal space puts you in a dangerous spot – whether by rubbing his head on you, nipping, looking for treats, walking too close or ahead of you when leading – all of it puts you at greater risk of being hurt.  Teaching manners in horses is similar to teaching manners in children - be consistent, don’t nag and follow through.  You’ll both be happier and safer when the boundaries are clear. 

Use Proper and Well Maintained Equipment

From halters to helmets and trailers to tie rings, equipment that is worn out or used for a purpose it wasn’t intended just isn’t safe. Make equipment safety checks a regular part of your barn routine. Repair or replace whatever needs it as soon as it’s noticed.  Don’t put it off or you’ll forget!

Emphasize Proper Training

You might get a big laugh out of a clip on America’s Funniest Home Videos watching a bad horse buck someone off or run away with his screaming rider, but just as bad manners are dangerous, so is a horse that’s not properly trained.  Very few people have the skill or time necessary to correct the problem horse.  Seek professional help in fixing problems or trade horses.  Even the good ones can hurt us accidentally – don’t stack the deck against yourself by riding a poorly trained horse. 

Study Horse Behavior - understand how they think, see and communicate

No matter how smart, well-trained and wonderful our horses may be, when we boil it all down to the basics, we trust our lives to animals who’s instinctive preference is to get gone when the going gets tough.  Understanding the mindset of a prey animal will go a long way to keeping us out of danger as we enjoy our horses.  Understand the body language of horses and there will be few “surprises” if you stay alert and watch for signs of your horse’s next move. 

Confident Handling

The horse expects that he may be eaten by a mountain lion at any moment and thousands of years of domestication have done little to change that mindset.  A horse’s herd serves the purpose of protection - horses in a herd environment rely on one another for safety – all eyes and ears are on alert for impending danger. When you interact with your horse, you become a member of his herd. For things to go well between you and your horse you’ve got to convince him you’ve “got his back” and also to make him believe that there are consequences if he challenges you and doesn’t mind his manners.  Calm, confident handling goes a long way to ensuring that your horse feels no need to flee or fight to protect himself.

Tie Right

A horse who leads well ties well – and the opposite is also true.  Teaching a horse to tie well is essential. The halter pulling horse feels trapped and is in fear for its life – and is not concerned one tiny bit for your safety.  A frightened 1200 body pulling with all its might to get free is dangerous.  Remember to always “tie above the eye” - a horse tied to something higher than eye level can’t get the leverage to pull that one tied lower can. 

Be Aware and Stay Focused

Just because you feel confident that your horse would never intentionally do anything to hurt you doesn’t mean he wouldn’t accidentally do so.  A horse outweighs its handler 8-10 times so whether he hurts you on purpose or accidentally doesn’t matter - it still hurts.  The average person involved in a farming accident has been farming all his life, is well familiar and comfortable with the equipment he’s using and therefore has forgotten the potential threat it poses to his health and safety.  Same with horses and horse people.  When you begin to trust a horse and assume that your experience and skill level will keep you safe, you become complacent and increase your risk of getting hurt.   

Always have a Buddy

Ideally you would not go to the barn or ride alone.  Sometimes that just isn’t an option.  Take your cell phone, keep it on your body – not tied to your saddle – and tell someone where you are going and when you think you’ll be back.  There are great phone apps you can use to alert a designated person if you are injured and unable to use your phone yourself – consider installing one if you make a practice of riding solo. 

Be Especially Careful Around Loose Horses

Again, the horse outweighs us 8-10 times and - especially at feeding time - cares little about our health and well-being.  Feeding horses in a group, catching a horse out of a group, turning a horse back into a group – these are all times when safety is top priority and you should be on high alert for aggressive horse-to-horse interactions without regard to your whereabouts or safety.

Mount and Dismount Safely

I used to think I was a hyper-safety conscious wimp about mounting and dismounting.  I believe it is essential for a horse to stand stock still while his rider is getting on and off.  All the cowboys swing up while their horse takes off to do his job and of course they jump down as their horse is sliding to a stop – you know – a little momentum to help you get out of the saddle, right? WRONG!! I recently had the amazing opportunity to ride with a highly respected and talented horseman and super-cool cowboy who reinforced my belief – and says he refuses to get on a horse that won’t stand still.  You are most vulnerable – and most likely to get hurt – in the processes of mounting and dismounting.  Back to manners – make your horse stand still until YOU are ready to ride off. 

Please remember –  SAFETY FIRST -  there are no “do-overs” in an accident!!

Written by Marti Day