Horse Riding - How Many Times Do You Need to Fall?

We have all hear it one time or another in our ridingmay have been overfacing their horse, causing him to
career; it takes 10, 50 or even 100 falls to make astop at a fence or startle at something he is not
good rider. But why is this true? And how many fallsused to. It may have been trying something the rider
does it actually take?is not ready for. Mistakes are useful because they
While the saying is, of course, mostly there toteach you to avoid making that same mistake again.
encourage you after tumbling off in a lesson, there isHaving a few uneventful falls can also build
some truth to it. Falling off a horse teaches you asconfidence. Once a rider discovers that falling off isn't
much as staying on in many cases.so bad, she can get over the initial fear of falling. Of
First of all, most riders who have never fallen offcourse, the opposite is true of a serious fall. Being
have not been truly challenged by their horses. Ainjured can be a terrible blow to the confidence.
pleasure rider who has a reliable horse and enjoysThe one thing true about falling off is that the better
riding the trails is unlikely to come off very often.a rider you become, the less likely you are to fall off.
Most spills are caused by unreliable horses, or whenUnfortunately, this also means that the falls you
trying new skills that are more difficult that you areexperience as a better rider have a higher risk of
used to.being bad ones. This is because it takes a lot more to
Likewise, many riders who have never venturedget you off. While a beginner might tumble when a
beyond a school horse have not fallen off. Schoolhorse stops suddenly, or when it spooks, an
horses can be difficult at times, but often they areexperienced rider is unlikely to be unseated that way.
pretty calm and sensible, unlikely to do much thatInstead, it may take a serious bucking episode or a
tosses the average rider. If they have a history ofbig crash at a fence, to get an experienced rider off.
tossing riders, they probably won't be a schoolie forIt is impossible to say how many falls it takes to
very long.become a good rider. 100 falls off your pony as a
With the constant concern for rider safety and thechild may be equivalent to 10 falls off your
fear of being sued, many riding schools are careful toexperienced dressage horse as an adult. That's
avoid creating situations that increase the risk of spills.because your falls are directly related to the risks
They use quieter horses, don't push riders as fast,you pull when riding. A kid is far more likely to play
and avoid taking the horses or riders anywheresilly games or try unrealistic things when playing
unusual. Because of this many riders are growing inaround on her pony. As an adult, your can learn a lot
experience, but never getting truly challenged.more by schooling yourself, and are not as likely to
Sometimes a rider has a lot of spills because she istry silly games in your free time.
overhorsed. This means that the horse she is riding isEither way, falling off should be looked at as a
too green, too strong, or even too trained for thelearning experience, not a terrible accident. There is
rider's ability. Other times an overzealous parent oralways a reason that you fell off, and something you
coach pushes the rider too far too fast. This is acould have done to prevent the situation. Take your
sure recipe for falls.time and get back your confidence, and know that
These falls are bad if they set a rider back, scaringthe next time that situation arises, you will know at
them and making them unwilling to go further. On theleast one thing not to do, and hopefully have some
other hand, sometimes a few falls are a good thing.better ideas of how to avoid a tumble.
Usually a rider falls because they made a mistake. It