Horse riding is a dangerous activity. Few equestrians have had a career riding without suffering from injuries, some serious. Below is a summary of some medical literature on the topic.
Sports Medicine 9(1):36-47, 1009
Synopsis: The most common location of horse-related injuries is:
- Upper extremity 24-61% (reported in different studies)
- Lower extremity 36-40%
- Head and face 20%
The most common type of injury is:
- Soft tissue injury 92%
- Fractures 57%
- Concussion 15%
The most frequent consequence of injury is:
- Hospitalization 5%
- Residual impairment 2% (i.e. seizures, paralysis, cognitive impairments, etc)
- Death 1%
JAMA, April 10, 1996, vol 275, no 14, p. 1072
Synopsis: During 1992-93 in Oklahoma, horseback riding was the leading cause of sports-related head injury, (109 of 9409 injuries or 1.2% associated with riding and 23 additional injuries attributable to horses) Of the 109, there were 3 deaths (3%). The injury statistics were:
- Males 55, female 54
- Age range 3 yr to 71 yrs, median 30 yrs
- Most commonly seen in spring and summer
- 48% occurred on Saturday or Sunday
- 95% involved riders who struck their heads on the ground or a nearby object after falling from the horse
- 4% were kicked or rolled on after falling from the horse
- 1% hit head on a pole while riding and fell to the ground
- 90% were associated with recreational activities
- 10% were work-related
- 107 were hospitalized with a median LOS of 2 days
- 79% had one or more indicators of a severe brain injury, including:
- Loss of consciousness 63%
- Posttraumatic amnesia 46%
- Persistent neurologic sequelae 13% (seizures, cognitive/vision/speech deficits, motor impairment)
Among the 23 injuries not riding related, 21 (91%) resulted from a direct kick to the head by the horse, where 1 died immediately and 2 required CPR. 13 of these injuries occurred in children less that 13 yrs old.
Journal of Trauma 1997 July; 43(1):97-99
Synopsis: Thirty million Americans ride horses and 50,000 are treated in Emergency Departments annually. Neurologic injuries constitute the majority of severe injuries and fatalities. A prospective study of all patients admitted to the University of Kentucky Medical Center with equine-related trauma from July 1992 - January 1996 showed the following:
- 18 of 30 (60%) patients were male
- 11 (37%) were professional riders
- 24 (80%) were head injuries and 9 (30%) were spinal injuries (4 with both)
- Age ranged from 3 to 64 yrs
- 5 patients died (17%)
- 2 suffered permanent paralysis (7)
- 60% were caused by "ejection or fall from horse"
- 40% were kicked by the horse, with 4 of these sustaining crush injuries
- 6 patients (20%) required craniotomy (i.e. brain surgery)
- 24 patients (80%) were not wearing helmets, including all fatalities and craniotomy patients
Experience is not protective; helmets are.
EquiMed wishes to thank Emmy R. Miller, PhD, RN for providing this summary.