How Safe Is Riding?

The ‘hunting surgeon’ Pedro McDonald debunks a few myths to explain why riding is not as dangerous as its public perception

READERS of Horse & Hound know all too well that when you mention at a party that you are riding, eventing or hunting in the morning, a look of deep concern may appear on your listener’s face. Immediately visions of perilous falls and ensuing injuries come into their mind and, although they might be awed by your bravery, their expression suggests that they honestly consider you a fool and that by tomorrow night you could be fighting for your life in the intensive care unit.

It is indeed true that the list of prominent people who have had accidents with equines is substantial. Although our greatest statesman, Sir Winston Churchill, survived many years riding to hounds, Britain has lost both a king (William III) and a prime minister (Sir Robert Peel) to equestrian accidents. The list of high profile individuals dying through horses is long, and includes both Genghis Khan and Pope Urban VI, although the good Pope actually slid offa mule rather than a horse, in 1389.

However, it must be remembered that there was, until the second half of the 19th century and the advent of railways and bicycles, only walking and riding as a means of transportation on land.

THE first myth of which to disabuse our fellow partygoer is that horse riding will lead to an early grave more often than any other form of transport.

In modern Britain, this is far from the case. Death due to road traffic accidents (RTAs) involving motor vehicles killed nearly 1,800 Britons last year, and this compares with the approximately 15 to 20 equestrian deaths per annum in the UK.

Although nearly the whole population either drives or is a pedestrian, there are still 1.8million regular riders (people riding horses at least once a month), according to the latest BETA survey. Indeed, RTAs are now the ninth leading cause of death in the developed world and use up 2% of all national financial resources.