[eponacowgirl]

We had a boarder out riding in a field this afternoon. Our ground has been fairly dry and nice to ride on lately. We had a quick 5 minute sprinkle this afternoon, which, apparently, rendered the grass slick. She was cantering along on her steady-eddie paint gelding when his feet went out from underneath him and he slipped on his side- landing on her leg and snapping it in multiple places. The only thing that kept the bone from dislocating enough to break the skin was her tall riding boot.

She was out by herself, no cell phone. She commenced screaming at the top of her lungs.

LUCKY FOR HER (in a very Lassie-like scene) my TB and another boarders Anglo-Arab chose the exact same moment to wheel around in cross ties and stare hard off into the distance. Every other horse in the barn could not be bothered.

We thought it was odd enough that we wanted to see what they were looking at. Had only one of our horses done it- or neither of our horses been in the barn- we never would have investigated.

I stood with our horses who were on full alert while she walked outside- she had to go through two gates before she saw the boarder's horse standing grazing through a tree line. Again- lucky- I wouldn't have gone so far to see what they could have been looking at, I would have chalked it up to them being horses and gone on with my life.

Anyway, her horse had made no motions to head back to the barn and no one else was planning to ride today- who knows how long she would have lain there before one of us noticed she was gone. WE never heard her yell. She had to tell us that she was screaming bloody murder.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE have your phone on your person if you ride without direct supervision!

Also, the paramedics made the point that even if you have it with you- if you're out riding by yourself, don't turn it to silent. If you are unable to use the phone, someone may be able to locate you sooner if your phone's ringer is audible.

[AnotherRound]

We had a boarder out riding in a field this afternoon. Our ground has been fairly dry and nice to ride on lately. We had a quick 5 minute sprinkle this afternoon, which, apparently, rendered the grass slick. She was cantering along on her steady-eddie paint gelding when his feet went out from underneath him and he slipped on his side- landing on her leg and snapping it in multiple places. The only thing that kept the bone from dislocating enough to break the skin was her tall riding boot.

She was out by herself, no cell phone. She commenced screaming at the top of her lungs.

LUCKY FOR HER (in a very Lassie-like scene) my TB and another boarders Anglo-Arab chose the exact same moment to wheel around in cross ties and stare hard off into the distance. Every other horse in the barn could not be bothered.

We thought it was odd enough that we wanted to see what they were looking at. Had only one of our horses done it- or neither of our horses been in the barn- we never would have investigated.

I stood with our horses who were on full alert while she walked outside- she had to go through two gates before she saw the boarder's horse standing grazing through a tree line. Again- lucky- I wouldn't have gone so far to see what they could have been looking at, I would have chalked it up to them being horses and gone on with my life.

Anyway, her horse had made no motions to head back to the barn and no one else was planning to ride today- who knows how long she would have lain there before one of us noticed she was gone. WE never heard her yell. She had to tell us that she was screaming bloody murder.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE have your phone on your person if you ride without direct supervision!

Also, the paramedics made the point that even if you have it with you- if you're out riding by yourself, don't turn it to silent. If you are unable to use the phone, someone may be able to locate your sooner if your phone's ringer is audible.

good point

[Petstorejunkie]

I always ride with it on my belt and not my boot so that if pretty much no matter what I can reach it.
The ringer is a good point, but one that should be practiced so that the horse can deal with the funky ring tones of today.

[Lone]

ugh- scary! glad you all were able to find her fairly quickly!

[BuddyRoo]

Oh man! Thank goodness for your horses being tuned in!

good message.

Thank you.

[Chief2]

Another small tip: before leaving the barn, dial either the barn telephone number or your emergency contact's telephone number, let it ring once and then hang up. That way, you or the EMT can just hit the redial feature to be connected with your emergency contact if something should happen to you on your ride.

[Meredith Clark]

You can also put your emergency contact under "ICE" in your phone book, that's what the campus police told everyone to do and would look for if they found any of us drunk or unconscious.

oh, and ICE is In Case (of) Emergency

[lily04]

Just make sure it is on your body and not one of those saddle cases they say are good for carrying cell phones. My sister fell while riding alone and her horse took her phone home with him and he didn't bother to call any body to let them know where he had dumped her. Luckily nobody was injured but she had a long walk home.

[dressagetraks]

Another good idea in general and especially for those of us in dodgy cell phone service areas is a whistle, like a coach's whistle. Mine is on a string and tucks inside my shirt out of the way. I've tested it. It would wake the dead and easily would get the attention of the neighbors. It hangs by the door, and I try to keep it on me when going out around the farm, whether riding or just working on farm things.

[2boys]

Woah. I am so glad it all worked out.
I put my phone on the ground just outside of the ring because my husband loves to call incessantly while I am at the barn. It is my little statement to the world that I am AT THE BARN and am enjoying my ALONE time. I guess I'd better suck it upand keep it on me. That story hit home...

[bird4416]

I put mine on the arena fence when I'm schooling but usually hook it on my boot or tuck in it a pocket when I hack out.

[mustangtrailrider]

I always ride with the cellphone on my person. I used to ride it on my saddle, but quickly ended that bad habit.

Now, I understand having the ringer turned on, I really do. I just think that the ringer turned ON is a bad idea. I think it can cause more accidents than it would avoid. The right horse at the right time could easily use it as an excuse to spook.

I had a horse "spook" at a cell phone ringing. I ended up with a badly dislocating shoulder that is still haunting me to this day. So, phone is always set to vibrate for me. I will take my chances at being found without a ringing phone.

Phone is on vibrate in my little world.

[appdream]

In the days before cell phones, I fell off and broke my pelvis. I laid for two and a half hours before someone heard me call for help. At least, I was in the pasture, so things were easy once I was found.

Know someone else who fell off while trailriding alone. She lost consciousness, so her rescue entailed search teams and a helicopter.

Always take precautions before riding. Carry your cell phone and let people know what your riding plans are.

[HighFlyinBey++]

My former roommate found himself in a similar situation last summer when the mare he was riding flipped over on him, breaking his pelvis. He was in the arena and not far from help in the barn, but he still had to scream several times before they heard him. He ended up getting air-lifted & spending several months in a wheelchair.

I like the whistle idea just in case the phone is also broken in the accident. It would have come in handy the day I found my horse's foot caught in his paddock--and I'd lost my voice & left the stupid phone in the house.

[Breyer]

Wondeerful suggestion. I always carry mine. Of course, didn't help any when mare collapsed in the river, throwing me under water, then trampeling me into the riverbed underwater 3 miles out. Fortuantly this was during a hunter pace, and I had a fellow rider to help me get back on- soaked, in severe pain, and in 30 deg weather. No option but to get back on my 17hh and ride to the end. Always have a back up phone, or someone with one when around water!!

[JustTrails]

Oh my! Glad your horses were so alert, as well as you. Jingles for your friend, that's a long recovery.

My cell is in my pants pocket with ringer on full volume from the moment I leave my truck. The whistle is a really good idea. FYI - sharp blasts in 3 is an international distress signal.

Does anyone have the SPOT system? It's an emergency GPS locator system. My friend has one, fortunately has not needed to use it. It's on my list of things to acquire, as I'm often in the remote park by myself.

[eponacowgirl]

I do like the whistle idea, as well. Very helpful if you get dunked, smush your cell on the way down or happen to be out of a service area.

All of my horses are desensitized to cell phone ringers- I ride with an mp3 player on speaker in my pocket. The only time I've had a youngster spook at it was when a song started off three rimshots (sounds kinda like gun fire) of course the first one startled her, then there was too more and she just kept scooting. I played it again and she was fine.

I've had a couple spook at the vibration or the noise it makes, so I don't think either is a sure bet, but I'm willing to take my risks with the ringer and mp3 player.

[thatmoody]

So how is your rider doing? And thank you for the reminder, btw, I always forget and leave mine in the car...

[RiverBendPol]

Yikers! What an awful story. I hope she's recovering well. Another reminder is to carry your phone some where other than your belt, convenient as it may be. If you have it on your belt and fall on it, it can really do some serious bruising of internals, especially if you have it toward your back. Winter is good for me as I keep my phone in a jacket pocket. T-shirts and breeches in the summer make it harder to stow the phone! I love the whistle idea...I wonder who would ever look for me here...

[Alagirl]

Another good idea in general and especially for those of us in dodgy cell phone service areas is a whistle, like a coach's whistle. Mine is on a string and tucks inside my shirt out of the way. I've tested it. It would wake the dead and easily would get the attention of the neighbors. It hangs by the door, and I try to keep it on me when going out around the farm, whether riding or just working on farm things.

These whistles are really cheap in the camping section...

good point!