Injuries associated with recreational horse riding
A shift in the patterns of injuries was seen in this equestrian population over the last 2-3 decades. Most people were riding for a longer period of the year compared to previous studies done in the UK.
Most horses are ridden for recreational purpose. Horses are unpredictable; therefor, all potential risk cannot be anticipated. In the database of the Accident and Emergency Department (AED) of the Kent and Sussex Hospital all patients with horse-related injuries were extracted.
Most injuries occured in female patients. Novice riders with less than 50 hours of experience are at a higher risk of being injured. From the 155 patients 152 wore a helmet (98%). Horse Related injuries accounted for 0,34% of all presentations to the AED. From the injuries 69% were due to falls. In this group 125 patients wore not only helmets but also protective body armour and protective boots.
The importance of matching riding boots and stirrups in reducing the risk of lower limb injury has also been previously alluded to as have the benefits of body protectors in reducing the risk of truncal injury.
> From: Sandiford, J R soc Med 0 (2013) 1-6. All rights reserved to Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/). Click here for the online summary.
