Should You Ride Alone
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I don’t know how many miles or the number of hours I ride alone. Even when I’m in the arena, I ride alone. I actually pick out times when I think no one else will be there, so I get some quiet uninterrupted time with my horse. One winter evening, I was riding alone after supper. It was dark and the arena lights were on. The lights make a faint high-pitched whine, which seems to make my horse edgy. The side door was open, with a gate to prevent entrance to the arena from outside. I had just gone for a little canter and was walking on a loose rein when a white horse popped its head around the corner over the gate. My horse did a powerful 180 degree turn and I was catapulted out of the saddle into the dirt. She continued around the outside of the arena, with the saddle turned onto her side.
I laid still for a moment, checking for damage, but got up quickly when my mare started galloping back towards me, clearly terrified that the saddle and I were not where we usually were. I dusted myself off, adjusted the saddle and got back on. It was about a half an hour later when my mother came to do the final feeding, and I told her what happened.
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I don’t fall of often. That was the first time I’d fallen off my horse in more than eight years. Nothing really bad happened. Yet, what if something had? Yes, I had my cellphone on me. I was wearing a helmet, proper boots and all the rest. But, it’s possible to fall off, despite being careful, and not be able to use a phone. It was a half hour after my fall that someone else showed up - who may or may not have glanced into the arena. Should I have been riding alone?
There are lots of people who do high risk sports alone. A local man was exploring caves alone. He slipped 20 meters (65ft) into a narrow crevasse. By luck, hikers heard a strange disembodied voice calling for help just before nightfall. Twenty hours after he fell, rescuers were finally able to lift him out, bruised but wiser. Had he been with a climbing partner, help might have reached him sooner. It’s an unwritten law amongst snowmobilers that they shouldn’t go out alone. Dirtbikers are warned not to go out alone. And when it comes to horseback riding, one website claims that 50% of falls from a horse while riding out leave the rider unable to call for help or get back on their horse. Riding alone, or doing any high risk activity by yourself adds extra risk.
Sometimes though, it’s hard to find a riding partner. And, I have to admit, I like riding alone, just me and my horse enjoying the quiet sounds of nature. I know while I might be listening for the melodic trill of the yellow throated warbler, my horse is probably listening for the stealthy padding of a pack of bloodthirsty wolves and pining for the security of her buddies back home. Or, sometimes I just don’t want anyone watching as I try to conquer a set of cavalletti with grace and rhythm. Here’s a few guidelines to reduce the risk of riding alone:
• Wear safety equipment, including a torso protector, especially if jumping.
• Tell someone where you are going and when you plan to return, then follow your plan so if someone has to look for you, you’re not somewhere other than where you said you’d be.
• Stay in control, and dismount if things get hairy.
• Use music or talk radio to mask odd sounds when riding in an arena.
• Stick to trails you know when you ride out.
• Avoid roadsides and riding at night.
• Keep your cellphone on you, rather than on your horse. That way if your horse leaves the scene you can still call for help.
Do you have tips for riding alone? Or, is riding alone foolhardy? |
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Shadowcat
I never trail ride alone but I do ride in the arena by myself. Most of the time when I ride, if it's just me, my trainer will be in the barn or the house and let me do my own thing. I'm totally fine with that. I prefer to ride by myself in the arena.
I never trail ride alone but I do ride in the arena by myself. Most of the time when I ride, if it's just me, my trainer will be in the barn or the house and let me do my own thing. I'm totally fine with that. I prefer to ride by myself in the arena.
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Jul 1, 2015
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