Horseback Riding Is More Dangerous Than Football, Motorcycling and Skiing
I thought I would ride the calmest horse on the farm yesterday. I was planning to ride in a big group and my mare is more of a small group girl. Long story short, even the farm’s sweetest calmest gelding was acting ugly yesterday and I mean ugly. He was jumping and twisting and bucking when I was doing some ground work with him so I decided to take my chances with my mare. Horses are animals and even the sweetest ones have their off days . Maybe the cool weather was causing him to kick up his heels. They have their own brain and no matter how well trained, you just never know.
According to a new study by researchers at the University of Texas Rio Grande , horseback riding is the most dangerous sport. More dangerous than football, motorcycling or skiing. Researchers analyzed data on the injuries sustained by over 24,000 adults while horseback riding between 2007 and 2016. The most common type of injury was injuries to the chest and head injuries. Injuries to the arms and legs were also common. The average age of the person with the worst horseback injuries is 47 years old,
Older riders between the ages of 50 and 59 were more likely to be taken to trauma centers while those between 30 and 39 were the least likely to be injured. Sadly 320 people died from their injuries during the study period. The study concludes that riders with head and neck injuries were 44 times more likely to die than those with arm or leg injuries.
That being said, when you have “the bug”, you have it. I was just talking to a guy yesterday on the trail who had been stung so many times by yellow jackets that he had to be hospitalized . “And yet we keep riding” I said. “It’s in our blood” he said. Source: The Hookup; Good Parts Media, The University of Texas Rio Grande
