What Equestrian is really like

I am 99.9% sure that no other sport requires you to wear your medical infomation on your arm. Does your sport have padded vests you can wear so that instead of snapping your spine in two or punturing your lungs, you might just break a couple ribs or fracture a veterbrae? Can your teammate turn on you and kill you instantly, or paralyse you? Make one mistake and you could be on the ground. Can your teammate speak to you only though body lanugage, without voice? Over 14,000 riders were in hospital last year from horse riding. Cheerleading? Gymnastics? Just under 10,000.

Many people don't realise how dangerous it is for the horse as well. You may be a flexible cheerleader, but can you get your wrist, whilst your hand is fisted and resting on your knuckles, to touch the ground. No. It's physically impossible. I watched a documentry about horse's muscles and flexiblity. A horse, when galloping or landing after a jump, their fetlock (a bone in the horse's foot) takes almost all of their weight and can easily touch the ground. Most race horses don't make it to the track. They're either badly injured and put down, or sold on because they're not fast enough.

Could you run, full pelt, for 10 to 15 minutes, no breaks or slowing down, no water on the way, whilst jumping up to 25 obstacles that can go up to 1.8 metres (6 foot 2 I think) on a course which has many hills?

Could you?

You may think you are super fit, strong and flexible, but you don't know half of it.

Comments

LOVE EVERY BIT OF IT! Nice job! - visitor