What Was Your First Time Like????

[Mikki79]

Unfortunately we had a not so great moment yesterday while my sister was visiting. I wanted her to come over and meet my horse (Plunger my own personal show horse) because she is going to have to show him for me next year while I'm deployed. Well he did a good job for her, didn't test her once....... HOWEVER....... He took off on her son, who likes to think he's a good rider but he isn't... he choked on the saddle horn and didn't once pull back on the reins...... Needless to say Plunger was a GOOD race horse and he had an open field to run in..... It's fenced true but this is a HUGE area and he rounded the first corner and came barreling down the home stretch. I jumped out in front of him to get him stop... he slowed down enough that my nephew bailed off but he was still booking so the landing wasn't pretty (he bounced 3 times ). Luckily no one was injured but I think i'll cage him in a smaller area next time!!!! I've never seen him take off on anyone so I was shocked that he did.. He's usually so laid back but man he took off !!!!!!!!!! I can see how he was an awesome race horse!!!!! Thankfully nobody was seriously injured, I don't think my nephew will ever ride again though.... he had a bad day even the pony bucked him off !!!!! Picture of Dominik taking that fateful walk to Plunger!!!!




Well I'm not gonna lie... When I knew for sure he wasn't injured (seriously) I did start laughing. And I didn't get mad at my horse, he was upset and thought I was going to yell at him but really it wasn't his fault. If my nephew had stopped choking the saddle horn and pulled back on the reins, Plunger would have come to a dead stop. He knows his job and commands very well. Hey I was 4 years old the first time I ate dirt hard because of a horse/pony. Every true horse rider has gone off at least once.... me I ate dirt hard more times than not in my younger years but then I was wild enough to jump on anything new that came in!!!!!!!

We lived in Orchard Park, NY and my parents had bought me a little (only about 10HH) brown and white paint pony named Honey. She was the cutest little butterball you'd ever seen. I'd been riding horses since before I was born and I was always jumping on my sister's pony Cricket, so my parents finally got me my own pony. I was so excited..... My older brother Bill, older sister Sis, and I all went for a ride on our ponies. Well we went down the field and when we hit the end we all turned around and that was all she wrote..... As soon as we turned and Honey saw that open field she was gone..... My sister's pony cricket was a game pony and a darn good one (she took me to states a few times) but by god neither Cricket nor Blackjack could catch up to the little squirt, she was flying and I held on the whole way across the field..... but then she reached the end of the field, did a fast turn and I flew off, burying my nose in the ground. My mother was running up the field yelling Whoa Honey Stop but she didn't listen. My sister was the first to get to me and I'm screaming my head off, my mom is yelling at her to pick me up, and my sister is standing over top of me yelling "she's dead mom, she's dead"......... My mother tried to tell her there was no way I was dead because I'm screaming but she was sure I was dead and wouldn't touch me. It was a fateful day and my first fall.... Why does it seem the first fall is always the worst!?!?!?!?!?! But I survived it and got back on..... My nephew survived.... But I don't think he's ever getting back on!!!!

Anyone else out there want to share their first or worst spill off a horse???????

[Crystal]

My first fall came in my riding lesson, The day my dad was going to come watch me ride (of all days). Nothing worse for the wear. The gelding just threw in a buck when I was asking for a canter. I popped off and remember slowly falling to the ground...The horse stopped and came back to me. What a good ole boy he was.

[majxmom]

The first time I ever came off a horse was bareback, off of my uncle's shetland pony out in his alfalfa field. She went to hogging it, then got her head down. I slid right down her neck like it was a slide, and wasn't the least bit hurt. No big deal. And it was all we talked about all night; it was so comical.

The second time was a much bigger deal. I was on a rental horse riding with a large group. I was only about 8, but a fairly experienced rider of rental horses. It was kind of a nag, but I wasn't having any particular problem with this horse. We crossed a creek. Someone else's horse didn't want to cross, and I went back over to the other side to help the reluctant horse cross. When I went through the water again, suddenly my horse whipped around and took off at full speed with "the bit in his teeth." At eight, I had never been taught an emergency stop. I was absolutely powerless. I pulled and pulled, to no avail. It went through my mind that there was a highway that we had to cross coming up with a blind curve. The horse jumped over a dry creek bed, there was a low hanging limb, and pow! I was off. I got knocked out briefly and had the wind knocked out of me. Several minutes later, I imagine, my party finally found me and I came to with someone picking me up. Thank God my neck wasn't broken, because they put me on the back of someone else's horse to ride me back to the rental barn. That was the longest ride of my life, barely conscious, hanging on, so uncomfortable, scared.

But the worst was yet to come. I was always horse crazy, but an opportunity to ride didn't come up again for about six months. We went camping at Pismo Beach, and you could rent horses to ride on the beach. I wanted to badly to go, but I was shocked to find that I was terrified. I couldn't tell anyone I was scared -- I was the horse girl! All of my fear was transmitted to the horse, and I had the worst ride. The poor mare was probably having her mouth clutched at all times, and she was just fighting for some slack. I insisted on walking every step. Finally we were late getting back because I was so pokey, and my sister took off at a gallop to get back on time. My horse naturally wanted to run as well. My heart was in my throat as I wrestled with this mare. Then I remembered something from a kid's book I'd read, that horses will calm down if you sing to them. The horse's name was Dolly, so I started singing, "Hello, Dolly" (it was the '60's, after all, forgive me). A miracle happened. The mare calmed down. I calmed down. We walked calmly. And a feeling of pure joy came over me that horses were not ruined for me.

Of course, it wasn't the singing that did it (and if you'd heard me sing, you'd agree). The singing calmed ME down. I stopped clutching at the reins, Dolly had some slack, she calmed down, and it seemed like the singing was doing it. I learned something that day I've never forgotten about how a horse can feel your tension.

[Mikki79]

My last horse that I ended my 4H career with gave me my worst fall ever!!! I outgrew ponies fast (I think I was 12 when I hit 5'9") and finally topped off at 6' so I went from a pony to a horse very fast. His name was Giddy-up go big red bonfire, seriously that was his full name. and he was a 15'3" power house. Most people think they have massive horses I DID HAVE ONE. He was not overly tall but he had a chest on him that was bigger than a barrel and he knew how to use his weight. He weighted almost 1400 lbs and was ROCK SOLID, I rode that horse over mountains almost daily. Hands down the most powerful horse i've ever owned, not the fastest, but the most powerful. His take off what like a rocket fueled jet taking off. When he let go you better be leaning over his ears because he was throwing you back to the saddle, if you weren't you were going off. And he was a Foxtrotter!!!!

Well he hated men, he was abused by a male when we got him and he never forgot it, my brother got hung up in the saddle and he dragged him on the ground thru half a corn field, he dumped my brother in law off, he went one way and my BIL flew out of the saddle and rolled down a hill, but he did a number on me as well. I was about 16 years old and he got the bit between his teeth and took off on me. He ran full out up a dirt road (mind you the whole way I was pulling with all my might on one rein to try to get him turned) and at the end of that road was a trailer used as a camp and he ran me straight for that thing, about a foot away from it he did a dead stop , I was riding bareback and he ejected me over his head, I slammed into the trailer, bounced on the ground, and he took off for the pasture!!!! I somehow managed to get myself picked up off the ground (still don't know how I managed to not get injured on that one) and had to go catch him!!!!!!

[Derby Lyn]

My first fall was on the school horse, Mandy. She was a bay QH type mare, very honest and sweet. I had just learned to canter, this was maybe my 3rd time doing it. We were cantering along just fine and then she stumbled hard, down to her knees and I went over her head. Poor mare, I felt so bad for her, she even had dirt up her nose.

[Mahubah]

Went sideways off an App mare when she bolted after a stablemate who had gotten loose; I was riding bareback and had no purchase to speak of. Got the wind pretty well knocked out of me but no real damage. Haven't ridden nearly enough to collect much more experience than that.

[Tiz]

I was laying on my horse, backwards, with my head on her hindquarters, resting on my crossed arms. My horse was grazing, until she had this "Foolish little girl" light bulb go off in her head, took a couple of quiet steps, then neatly bucked me off.

[mehile]

I was taking my Tb mare out on a trail ride(I think I was about 15 at the time) and we came to a very long field that we'd never ridden in before. Me being the impulsive kid thought it was the opportune time for a nice gallop. We got most of the way down the field when I realized we were coming very quickly upon a creek that had been hidden by some bushes. (Wasn't a wide creek just maybe 2-3 ft but had a high bank so not one you could ride through. ) My first thought was to stop her but there wasn't time(so I thought ) and so I was like I can do this she'll just jump it not a big jump (we'd never jumped before but I was brave, or stupid so I was like ok ok this should be fun. Well I got mentally set and just as we got to the edge of the creek and I was expecting "liftoff" Dancer thought otherwise and put on such brakes it would've made a reining trainer proud. I actually didn't come off, just got thrown up on her neck but barely had I gotten out the thought "whew that was close" then there was that liftoff I was no longer expecting. I landed softly in a beggerlice bush on the other side with dancer looking down on my like "What are you doing down there? It wasn't THAT bad of a jump"

[erins isle]

My first time? Can't remember I fell so many times in such a short time. It was a long time ago! Once on holiday my pony went of in a field and just stopped in front of a creek, I was lucky, I didn't fell in.

[freshman]

My first time? For a minute there I was wondering what you were asking...

[Mikki79]

Obviously your mind was running away with my horse !!!!!!

So Freshman, no first or worst fall off story from you???

[Lucy]

I don't remember. I took many tumbles, but very few stuck with me. I was the sort of kid who learned nothing from falling off; I'd bounce right back up and do the same damn fool stunt that had gotten me on the ground to begin with.

But it probably was the first pony I had, when I was about seven - a nasty little mare purchased by my stepfather, who knew nothing of horses, and so didn't realize that a shetland that could be bought dirt-cheap was Guaranteed Trouble. Her favorite stunt was to shake a kid off her, then walk back and forth stepping on it before it could get up.

I don't recall falling off her - I remember getting kicked and bitten by her, but not falling off. I must have, though. Everyone else did.

[fearan]

I was four. It was in a lesson and I was riding an ex-showjumper named Hans because I was the only 4 yr old girl strong enough to stop him.

The girth was loose and I was too dumb to realize it. We we trotting. Post, post, post, post... plop.

I was unhurt, but quite surprised. Not as surprised as Hans, who trotted on a few steps, then turned around and stared at me horrorstruck as if to say: "what are you doing down there, fool girl?"

Since then I have had many far more exciting falls

[xfactor fan]

Early riding lesson, we'd just learned how to do a running dismount. Was riding a retired cowpony at a lope, in a square arena. He made a sharp turn and I came off. On my feet, and still had the reins. With one very surprised horse trying to figure out what just happened and why is rider was standing on the ground.
Not much of a wreck.

[Pan Zareta]

First time: 8 yrs old, 3rd or 4th lesson, trying to get the hang of posting, horse turned, I didn't. ::thud::

Most Memorable Uncommanded Dismount:
being launched into low orbit by the last in a string of ~7 horses to step across a log housing a (by the time we got there) very disgruntled community of ground-nesting hornets. Bareback, there was no way to ride out that buck, and it was probably best to be propelled away from the swarm, anyway. (Horse was fine after some antihistamine & rubbing his head on my jeans for 2 hours.)

Honorable Mention:
Being deposited on the ground about 10' from a badger. The horse spun a whiplash-inducing 180 right out from underneath me the minute he saw it, and bolted for the barn.