I saw this video and thought it was perfect for a Sunday morning review.
A rider on the Royal Mounted is bucked off. The horse is out of control for a while. The team helps corral him. Once settled, the dismounted officer is back on.
What I found compelling was the instruction afterwards. The lead officer tells them what happened (a stick caught in his tail) and how to avoid injury… and how to move on. He also gives them all a pep talk, which I thought was very becoming.
Watch video here.
As the video starts, you see a horse who is out of control with the lead officer yelling at the rider to release the weight on the reins… a moment later, you see a riderless horse coming around the group at full buck.
The fallen rider can be seen in the back as she is attended to by an aid. The riderless horse continues to run at full speed, bucking, around the very well trained group of horses, who do their best to remain in position and stay calm.
You hear the leader yelling, Close off the front, close off the front – now close the rear!” in order to trap and calm the loose horse.
The fallen rider remounts (headed right), the aid is remounting while the instructor is following the fallen rider.
They all get back into position and the leader speaks to the group about what happened and safety moving forward. (A twig got caught in the spooked horse’s tail.)
They continue to train without incident.
The child on the pony is riding very dangerously in the first photo — with stirrup “home.” He or she should be taught to put it on the ball of the foot, not the arch. Not only is this bad form, she or he loses all flex in the ankle, and most importantly, it’s a safety hazard.
I won’t say what I think about bit converters…