Horses were the number one cause of animal-related deaths in Australia between 2000 and 2006 according to research done by the National Coroners Information System in Australia.

Of the 128 animal-related deaths during the period, 40 involved horses, 20 cattle and 12 dogs. By comparison, some of the more dangerous animals numbered a lot less with sharks killing 11 people, crocodiles or alligators 4, snakes 8 and spiders 3.

The numbers are a bit of a surprise but people do interract with domesticated animals much more frequently, so if the report showed the percentage of the interractions with the various animal types, the domesticated animals wouldn’t appear as dangerous.

I was taught from a young age to be careful when handling horses as they are both powerful and unpredictable. Experience over the years has just confirmed this to be true.

As I have written a lot about eventing falls and the need for cross country design changes, I thought I should mention some recent Australian research which followed up with approx 900 riders involved in accidents. It found that most riders thought they were mainly to blame for the fall and it could have been avoided . Other factors like illness, spectators, weather, poor fence design, equipment failure were small in number.

While I was initially surprised by this, I realised that this is likely to be the case for any sort of accident as the rider is supposed to be in control of the situation. Isn’t the same true in most car driving accidents?

Some other interesting findings were that few riders landed on their heads and quite a few landed feet first. Also riders felt that back protectors were effective in reducing injury. Wearing a back protector can be a little uncomfortable at first but I would strongly recommend one for cross-country. Like anything, the more you wear it the more you become used to it.

I was delighted by the recent announcement by the US Equestrian Federation of changes to cross-country fences. These have been agreed to address the ongoing issue of horse and rider deaths in eventing competitions from rotational falls.

The use of approved frangible technology, which means the fence will break when it is hit hard, will be applied to all new fences from 1 December 2008. Fences made before this date will have to be retrofit by 1 December 2009.

We just need all other countries to follow suit so the sport is as safe as possible for all involved and soon.

The UK Government has proposed a change to the British Highway Code to forbid horses being ridden two abreast on narrow or busy roads or around bends. The British Horse Society and Association of British Drivers have asked the Government to reconsider the change as they think this will lead to more accidents.

While riding two abreast can help with the training of younger horses in traffic, I also think that it is not always sensible. In some cases, having the younger horse behind and to the inside of an older horse can work equally well. Also it is often possible to ride one horse on the road and one on the grass verge, which I assume will still be OK.

Narrow and twisty roads always have to be ridden very carefully. The best advice is to always ride in a luminous jacket so you can be easily seen and be aware of the best days and times to ride on certain roads. While I try to avoid busy times and busy roads as much as possible, drivers still need to slow down and give any horse an appropriate amount of room, in the same way as a cyclist or motorbike.

Summer has always been my least favourite time for riding my horse. It’s usually hot, the ground is hard and then there’s the flies, which I hate. I never liked them much to start with but I was followed by a swarm of flies when riding through a wood one summer as a kid and ever since then, I really really dislike them.
In the summer months, I often switch the horses routine and put them out at night and bring them in during the day. If they are out during the day, then I always made sure they can get into a box or some shelter from the sun, plus these days you can get Cashel Quiet Ride Fly Mask Standard to protect the horses eyes and ears. I usually ride in the early morning to minimise the heat and fly problems.
My current horse hates flies. He will frequently shake his head and will strike at his nosse with his front feet. I initially tried the more standard horse anti fly ear protection but he is much better with a nose net which just attaches to his noseband. I also use horse fly spray when riding. This seems to vary significantly in effectiveness so you may have to try several until you find one that works for you. It also seems to help a lot if the horses are washed down after riding in the summer, rather than just cooled off after exercise in the summer.
Not all horses like being hosed down with cold water but most quickly come to like it. The regular washing also helps with sweet-itch type problems where they rub their manes and or tails in the summer months.