Falling Off Your Horse - Getting Over the Unscheduled Dismount

Back in the Saddle Again

Whoop-pi-ti-yi-yo
Rockin' to and fro
Back in the saddle again
Whoop-pi-ti-yi-yay
I go my own way
Back in the saddle again.
Gene Autry (The Singing Cowboy)

Falling Off Your Horse - Getting Over the Unscheduled Dismount

Have you been launched by your Lippizan? Pitched by your pony? Heaved by your Hanoverian? Thrown by your Thoroughbred? Upended by your Appaloosa? Catapulted by your Quarterhorse? Abandoned by your Arabian? Sprung by your Selle Francais?

Ask any seasoned equestrian how many times he or she has fallen off a horse. An honest horseman will likely run out of fingers, just trying to count his or her landings. English and Western equestrians alike will claim that you haven't really become a rider until you have hit the dirt a few times.

One of the main appeals of horsemanship is the risk, the challenge, and the rush that comes from doing something daring. After all, we ride living creatures, about ten times our size, with wills of their own. When we can enlist their full cooperation, it is magic. When we can't, we can experience crash landings.

What's an equestrian to do? Click here for several practical steps to reestablish your own self confidence, the horse's trust and your solid seat in the saddle. Ride on!


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