What are the five E's? There are five types of interventions that improve safety to prevent injury on any idea, in this case horseback riding safety.
FIve E's of Horseback Riding Safety (feel free to comment your own 5 E's in the contact us section!)
The first E, "Engineering." Creating reliable equipment can prevent injury. There is always improvement that can be made in equipment. I think that they could improve riding vests more. Although they have the ones with air bags now they could possibly have one that helps to prevent from the horse from stepping on them when they fall off. Also I think they could improve saddle in order to prevent riders from sliding off the saddle. There is multiple inventions that could improve safety when it comes to riding.
The next E is Enforcement. There needs to better laws that enforce wearing a helmet. The many people that suffer from brain injuries from horseback riding is because they were not wearing a helmet. The only way to make people wear helmets while riding is to create a new law and have more cruel punishment. If someone is seen without wearing a helmet there should be a fine implemented or jail time. Not everyone understands the importance of wearing a helmet however, they will wear one if there is consequences.
Another E is Education. This one is simple because almost all accidents can be prevented with more education on the topic. Education on horseback riding should be required prior to jumping on a horse. I know personally my aunt gave me a brief lesson on horseback riding before I ever was allowed to ride. This should be the case for everyone. Not knowing how to be safe while riding is usually the first cause of any injury.
Economic Investments is the fourth E. Government officials should require standards on all safety equipment as well as make safety equipment more affordable. A good horseback riding helmet can range anywhere from $80 to $400. Most people knowing this cost will ride without wearing a helmet. Making helmets that meet the standards for a decent price could prevent a lot of injuries.
The final E, emergency response. Horseback riding is tricky to have emergency response to especially when riding in the woods. Technology has improved this some with the use of cell phones however, there is always room for improvement. Riding on safe trails can help this situation, this meaning having close access to hospital, getting cell phone reception, making sure the trails are visible and clean, and more.
FIve E's of Horseback Riding Safety (feel free to comment your own 5 E's in the contact us section!)
The first E, "Engineering." Creating reliable equipment can prevent injury. There is always improvement that can be made in equipment. I think that they could improve riding vests more. Although they have the ones with air bags now they could possibly have one that helps to prevent from the horse from stepping on them when they fall off. Also I think they could improve saddle in order to prevent riders from sliding off the saddle. There is multiple inventions that could improve safety when it comes to riding.
The next E is Enforcement. There needs to better laws that enforce wearing a helmet. The many people that suffer from brain injuries from horseback riding is because they were not wearing a helmet. The only way to make people wear helmets while riding is to create a new law and have more cruel punishment. If someone is seen without wearing a helmet there should be a fine implemented or jail time. Not everyone understands the importance of wearing a helmet however, they will wear one if there is consequences.
Another E is Education. This one is simple because almost all accidents can be prevented with more education on the topic. Education on horseback riding should be required prior to jumping on a horse. I know personally my aunt gave me a brief lesson on horseback riding before I ever was allowed to ride. This should be the case for everyone. Not knowing how to be safe while riding is usually the first cause of any injury.
Economic Investments is the fourth E. Government officials should require standards on all safety equipment as well as make safety equipment more affordable. A good horseback riding helmet can range anywhere from $80 to $400. Most people knowing this cost will ride without wearing a helmet. Making helmets that meet the standards for a decent price could prevent a lot of injuries.
The final E, emergency response. Horseback riding is tricky to have emergency response to especially when riding in the woods. Technology has improved this some with the use of cell phones however, there is always room for improvement. Riding on safe trails can help this situation, this meaning having close access to hospital, getting cell phone reception, making sure the trails are visible and clean, and more.
Prevention efforts-
Cultural Factors- Cultural factors is hard to address when talking about horseback riding safety because there is not really community beliefs or traditions. The only somewhat tradition is that families who typically have rode in the past will carry on the tradition to their kids. This is not a bad thing because then someone with a lot of experience is teaching them how to ride so it prevents injuries. When it comes to funding from the community, or anyone, horseback riding is expensive and people will jump on a horse without proper equipment because they can not afford it. Not wearing the proper equipment can result in injury. Most people, when riding leisurely, will not wear proper shoes or helmets. I have seen a lot of people get on horses with gym shoes on instead of with shoes that have a heel such as cowgirl boots. This can result in injury because it is more difficult to stay on the horse. Another thing, like riding bareback, is extremely dangerous and many people are injured from this every year because saddles are too expensive to buy.
Social Factors- Horseback riding can be a leisure activity for many but many also participate, and consider it a serious sport. For leisure riding, one injury occurs for every 100 hours. For amateur racing over jumps, one injury occurs for every five hours. Lastly, one hour of cross-country eventing results in one injury for one hour. These statistics prove that leisure riding is a lot less dangerous then cross-country eventing.
Economic Factors- National and local economies can affect prevention efforts. Horseback riding is something that is not funded well because it is an expensive activity to participate in therefore, it is not as popular as other activities. There are organizations such as American Youth Horse Council that is mostly volunteer. There is no paid organization dedicated to strictly horse safety. The AAP has addressed horse safety but this is the only program that is anything close to a nationally funded program. If horseback riding was more popular and injuries increased then their would be more organizations, but as of now situations are addressed on a case-by-case situation.
Political Factors- Political factors have had a huge impact on horseback riding injuries for instance, New York State implemented a law in 2013 that anyone under the age of 18 is required to wear a helmet when riding. Head injuries are the number one horse related injury. This decision made by the NYS politician officers improved prevention of head injuries by making this a law.
Physical Factors- When it comes to horseback riding safety location, climate, and community size all have an effect on the number of injuries. Location can be broken into outdoors and indoors for horseback riding. A common thing that causes indoor injuries in horseback riding is a horse bucks in stable and the rider is knocked against the stall and can become unconscious. Horses can kick, jump, stomp, and bolt. All these can cause tissue injuries or result in a concussion. However, kicking, jumping, stomping, and bolts can happen outside as well. 80% of injuries take place from falls outside. When it comes to the climate effecting horse injuries it is not the initial cause of injuries usually. It is more dangerous to ride in the snow and when it is raining then when it is sunny and warm. The problem with riding in the snow mostly, is falling off the horse in an unfamiliar area and being lost in the woods. Hypothermia can take place while you are trying to get back to, or find your horse. Horses are rode mostly in rural areas on trails, usually only competitions take place in urban areas. This being said, since most horse riding takes places in rural areas this is where more the injuries take place as well.
** All resources for this website are listed on the bottom in the other resources section.
Cultural Factors- Cultural factors is hard to address when talking about horseback riding safety because there is not really community beliefs or traditions. The only somewhat tradition is that families who typically have rode in the past will carry on the tradition to their kids. This is not a bad thing because then someone with a lot of experience is teaching them how to ride so it prevents injuries. When it comes to funding from the community, or anyone, horseback riding is expensive and people will jump on a horse without proper equipment because they can not afford it. Not wearing the proper equipment can result in injury. Most people, when riding leisurely, will not wear proper shoes or helmets. I have seen a lot of people get on horses with gym shoes on instead of with shoes that have a heel such as cowgirl boots. This can result in injury because it is more difficult to stay on the horse. Another thing, like riding bareback, is extremely dangerous and many people are injured from this every year because saddles are too expensive to buy.
Social Factors- Horseback riding can be a leisure activity for many but many also participate, and consider it a serious sport. For leisure riding, one injury occurs for every 100 hours. For amateur racing over jumps, one injury occurs for every five hours. Lastly, one hour of cross-country eventing results in one injury for one hour. These statistics prove that leisure riding is a lot less dangerous then cross-country eventing.
Economic Factors- National and local economies can affect prevention efforts. Horseback riding is something that is not funded well because it is an expensive activity to participate in therefore, it is not as popular as other activities. There are organizations such as American Youth Horse Council that is mostly volunteer. There is no paid organization dedicated to strictly horse safety. The AAP has addressed horse safety but this is the only program that is anything close to a nationally funded program. If horseback riding was more popular and injuries increased then their would be more organizations, but as of now situations are addressed on a case-by-case situation.
Political Factors- Political factors have had a huge impact on horseback riding injuries for instance, New York State implemented a law in 2013 that anyone under the age of 18 is required to wear a helmet when riding. Head injuries are the number one horse related injury. This decision made by the NYS politician officers improved prevention of head injuries by making this a law.
Physical Factors- When it comes to horseback riding safety location, climate, and community size all have an effect on the number of injuries. Location can be broken into outdoors and indoors for horseback riding. A common thing that causes indoor injuries in horseback riding is a horse bucks in stable and the rider is knocked against the stall and can become unconscious. Horses can kick, jump, stomp, and bolt. All these can cause tissue injuries or result in a concussion. However, kicking, jumping, stomping, and bolts can happen outside as well. 80% of injuries take place from falls outside. When it comes to the climate effecting horse injuries it is not the initial cause of injuries usually. It is more dangerous to ride in the snow and when it is raining then when it is sunny and warm. The problem with riding in the snow mostly, is falling off the horse in an unfamiliar area and being lost in the woods. Hypothermia can take place while you are trying to get back to, or find your horse. Horses are rode mostly in rural areas on trails, usually only competitions take place in urban areas. This being said, since most horse riding takes places in rural areas this is where more the injuries take place as well.
** All resources for this website are listed on the bottom in the other resources section.