The fall is at 3:00 - read the description below for more info on what happened.

Casper was absolutely 100% fine and not even slightly fazed as he slid down rather than falling heavily - the GoPro footage makes it look much more dramatic than it was as the camera was attached to my head, which hit the ground a lot faster/from higher up. Obviously I would not have shared the video if Casper were harmed in any way, so there's no need to worry :-) I got back on and walked and trotted him round for a bit to make sure he was still confident and happy (which he was!) before swapping onto Roger for the rest of the lesson just to be on the safe side (Rodge is more balanced whereas Casper is very weak on the right rein, particularly in the canter, which is partly why he fell - although the brand new wood chip surface is a little loose, all the other horses were fine on it). The arena will be no problem for Casper once the new surface has settled down a bit more, even if he gets a bit of wheel spin in the canter!

No need to give me ‘tips’ in the comments or try to tell me what I did wrong. I can see exactly what mistakes I made and have learnt from the fall how I could have ridden differently and changed the outcome :-)

In case you’re wondering exactly why/how Casper fell, I had a dilemma with Casper while cantering, which was that I could either let him bend to the outside and lead with his inside shoulder round the corner on the right rein, which he does because he’s very weak and unbalanced on the right lead, or do what I usually do which is to open my inside hand, close my inside leg and push him out into the corner. The trouble then is that Casper, being green, often still mistakes all types of leg pressure as ‘go go go!!’ and it can cause him to speed off at 100mph, which is exactly what I didn’t want him to do on the newly laid looser surface, equally it would mean a sharper corner which I was also trying to avoid in this lesson due to Casper’s lack of balance. I decided to let him bend to the outside in a steady canter and take a sweeping line down round the end of the school as I had done the previous time, but unfortunately he sped up round the turn to try to catch up with the horse in front (which in turn meant leaning in further with his inside shoulder) and I wasn’t able to correct in time before we fell. It really was just one of those freak accidents that happens when all kinds of variables happen at once - horses are living, breathing creatures with minds of their own who do not always react or respond in the way we expect them to!

With regards to the wood chip surface: It's the exact same surface I've been riding on for the last three years in all of my lesson videos, it's was just resurfaced a few days ago which is why it looks so different. I've personally ridden on wood chip for 12 years, seen over 70 horses & ponies ridden on the surface, and this is the first one I've ever seen go down. Wood chip is an eco friendly, hard wearing and inexpensive option for surfacing that is low maintenance and offers good footing once settled (again, this arena was only resurfaced a few days previously). For this reason it’s often quite popular with riding schools in the UK.
It is NOT slippery to ride on once settled.
It is NOT uncomfortable for the horses feet.
It has NOT got sharp or splintery edges.
It is SOFT to land on for both horse & rider.
It is SPECIFICALLY MADE for equestrian arenas.
Please remember, I go to a riding school once a week for lessons, I DO NOT have a say in the arena surface (though I have no problem with wood chip). There's no point in telling me to change it :-)

I got my second concussion of the year from the fall as well as whiplash, but after a quick visit to A&E and a few days of taking it easy I am now also fine! I couldn’t remember falling off or swapping horses, and at one point actually had to check my arm for wood chips as evidence that I had hit the deck on Casper earlier on - editing the footage was very entertaining as it was like seeing one of my own videos for the very first time!

If you are a star and managed to read what is possibly the longest description ever (sorry!), leave your favourite food emoji below so I can see 😂🍏🍔🍰🍋🧀🍕

🚨For a bit of balance, I would appreciate it if anyone leaving rude or negative criticism/tips/advice would also donate at least £1 to a charity of their choice 😊

QOTD: If you could change one thing about your riding, what would it be?

Ponies/horses:
Casper - 13.3hh Appaloosa x New Forest gelding
Roger - 14hh piebald gelding

Helmet cam: GoPro Hero 6

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