Falling Off At 17'1"

Brief blog hiatus as we take another weather punch to the gut here in KC.  Good weather news is that they predict mild temps through early January.  Fearing this may change in a heartbeat.

Back to complex subject of falling correctly off a horse, a thing that occurs to yours truly when getting on our newly sprouted 17'1" hander  Tee Pee Minister who I've referred to as #148.  #17 btw is hardly a midget anymore.  Looking at him this weekend, he may have shot up again and maybe is now a full 16'1".  Cause for optimism if we can get 'em to the race track.

So, describe what I see as the #1 problem in riding a tall horse.  Looking at these Clydesdale's recently featured in Paulick report one might say, "what's the problem"?  The riders look comfortable regardless of distance off the ground.

There are two aspects to this along with the presumption that in training the young horse the rider will fall.  It's going to happen.  When it does, what happens?

Aspect #1 is prior research that I read in "The Horse" that fall injuries are geometrically more severe related to the height of the horse.  I'll try to illustrate this point in the next post.  Makes logical sense, of course, from the simple aspect, higher the fall the greater the impact.

There's a #2 aspect to this, however, that occurs when you're sitting up there at 17'1" which the reader may pick up by looking at the Clydesdale's. To pick up on this--picture one of those jocks being dislodged by visualizing the trip to the ground.  If you're sitting on a 16'1" inch horse calculating  your fall--unknown what other riders do, but I calculate how I'm going to fall with each and every step the horse takes, and this is particularly true at speed on the race track--at 16'1", although that's up there a little ways, if you are falling off, the idea--per that British Riding School Vid a few posts ago--is to tuck, hit the ground and roll to disperse the force off any one area.

At 17'1" however--here's the problem--I am unable to figure out how to tuck and roll because I am up so high.  At that height--and in particular if the maneuver of the horse would throw me up even higher before the actual fall--any attempt to tuck and roll is likely to result in the body of the rider spinning on the way down so that the rider loses control over the landing,

Illustrate by looking at those Clydesdale's and imagining a rider diving off one of those head first into the tuck. One can visualize the tuck being achieved way too high before hitting the ground so that the rider might be spinning in the air before hitting the ground.  This could result in an uncontrolled landing--on the head, neck, or anywhere.

This is the trouble I am having on Tee Pee Minister #148.  I sit on horses 16'1" such as #17 and though it's a ways up there, I can calculate my fall at that height and how I am going to hit the ground.  On Tee Pee however, I am having a lot of trouble figure out how I am calculating that fall to land safely.  A little more on this next post.

Training:  Since last Thurs. when I arrived weather has been 14 degrees, 18 degrees and on Sun it was 25 degrees.  I've been on horses as low as 15 degrees.  Since there was also precip Sun. decided to lay them off till weather improves.  Possibly recommence today depending on temps. Forecast looks good from here into Jan.