Rider first aid

Knowing how to deal with an injured rider as a result of a fall or accident while handling a horse could make the difference between life and death. Dr James Garwood explains what to do if the worst should happen and how to recognise an emergency

The essential emergency advice that could save a life

IT DOESN’T ALWAYS look like a scene out of Casualty or Holby City. Lots of blood, unconsciousness and odd-shaped limbs aren’t the only criteria of an emergency. Sometimes it’s what you can’t see that matters. The innocuous fall while cantering in an arena that risks becoming a spinal cord injury if that rider tries to get to their feet; the broken ribs dangerously close to puncturing a lung; adrenalin interfering with your ability to feel pain straight away.

Of course, we do get up and walk away from the majority of tumbles. But it’s imperative that for the heavy falls — including those that may be more serious than they first appear — you know how to respond quickly and correctly, to give yourself or your friend the best chances of a positive outcome.

A stark reminder of this was the case of a rider who fell off at a cross-country fence and managed to climb to their feet. Then she collapsed. She is paralysed from the waist down and doctors ruled that if she had been made to lie still until an ambulance arrived, she would have made a full recovery (News, Your Horse, May 2021).

Incidences involving horses are one of the top four reasons the advanced clinical teams on-board Midlands Air Ambulance Charity helicopters are called out.

Remote locations and the traumatic nature of injuries associated with horse riding require specialist teams and equipment to get to the scene as fast as possible.

While you’re waiting, there are things you can do to provide support to the patient before the pre-hospital emergency specialists arrive.