I recall hearing in the past that equestrianism had the greatest risk of head trauma of any mainstream sport. If I recall correctly, even more than boxing. It's interesting that mountain biking is in many ways a similar activity (e.g. riding a "vehicle" that you straddle and which doesn't have the inherent stability of a car).
It might be interesting to compare rates in equestrianism and biking to other sports where falls are a significant risk such as Judo or balance beam. Are falls a particularly dangerous part of sports or might there be something specific to falling from something you are straddling? Might it make a difference that Judo and gymnastics include specific training to develop balance and safe falling but biking and horseback riding do not?
>It might be interesting to compare rates in equestrianism and biking to other sports where falls are a significant risk such as Judo or balance beam.
So, in gymnastics you practice falling so you fall safer/more controlled. Falling correctly when you miss a skill was given as much weight as actually performing the skill. There was a policy in my gym that you fall unsafely in class (such as straddling the beam) you were required to do pushups for the rest of class.
Gymnastics also has spotters who can prevent catastrophic injuries.
Because of this, I think the risk of catastrophic injury in gymnastics is fairly low, especially at the lower levels.
I grew up around horses and even rode some myself when I was in my youth. I think the average person does not realize how horribly dangerous horses are. Think like in the movie/book "Gone with the Wind." While useful animals, horses are responsible for countless deaths. And this is purely conjecture on my part, but I imagine horses were more dangerous than cars ever have been.
Even last year, my mother broke her neck from getting thrown, and miraculously made a full recovery despite almost severing her spinal cord. Her horse got spooked, bucked before she could react, and it was almost all over but the crying.
In Judo and gymnastics you're generally also traveling slower. Judo falls are also from a lower height and generally under control (just not yours, heh).
I think the extra 3 feet from a horse makes all the difference. There's basically no way to use your arms to break the fall. I don't think there is any comparison with gymnastics because (I think) most gymnasts stop by their early 20s and are much lighter than an adult equestrian.
It might be interesting to compare rates in equestrianism and biking to other sports where falls are a significant risk such as Judo or balance beam. Are falls a particularly dangerous part of sports or might there be something specific to falling from something you are straddling? Might it make a difference that Judo and gymnastics include specific training to develop balance and safe falling but biking and horseback riding do not?