Incidence and nature of horse-riding injuries. A one-year prospective study

Acta Chir Scand. 1976;142(1):57-61.

Abstract

A prospective one-year study of horse-riding accidents was performed in an area with a very high frequency of amateur riding. Totally 174 patients with riding injuries were registered--66% children--making an incidence of only 0.7 per thousand riding occasions. However, many of these injuries were of a severe nature, one leading to death and 27 of the patients reporting persisting symptoms at follow-up one year after the accident. Eleven per cent of the accidents lead to cerebral injuries and 44% to fractures, mainly of the upper extremities. Eleven per cent required hospitalization and 17% operation under general anaesthesia. Clarification of the circumstances concerning the accidents indicated that many of the severe injuries could probably have been avoided by use of better safety equipment.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Age Factors
  • Animals
  • Athletic Injuries / epidemiology*
  • Brain Injuries / epidemiology
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Female
  • Fractures, Bone / epidemiology
  • Horses
  • Hospitalization
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Prospective Studies
  • Sweden