Accident Procedures for Students
Any sport can result in an injury, and it is important to our team that you get all the info you need on best practices when it comes to dealing with riding accidents or horse related injuries at the barn. We follow Sport Manitoba and Equine Canada Guidelines. Please see the following policies and recommendations:
ii.Significant blood loss that can’t be controlled, blood from ear
iii.Broken bones that have punctured skin or that can’t be immobilized (if it can be immobilized with basic first kit then they are ok to be driven, but otherwise ambulance call)
iv.Difficulty breathing
v.Any neck or back pain
vi.Tingling or no feeling in hands or feet
vii.Significant pain when moving lower limbs
viii.Not able to stand or mobilize themself
ix.If the student cannot get someone to drive them home and they have a significant injury causing pain or signs of concussion (but does not warrant calling an ambulance). We do not want to risk students getting in an accident on the way home.
4. After any serious fall, kick or other injury we strongly advise that students seek medical advice and have someone available to monitor them at home for signs of additional trauma and injuries that were not apparent during the initial first-aider assessment.
In the unfortunate case that an accident has resulted in a serious injury that will prevent a participant from returning to lessons for the session please let us know via email and we can discuss the options for pre-paid lessons and exceptions to our cancellation policies.
- Any fall, kick or accident that is suspected to have resulted in a head injury or whip lash:
- Students/parents/guardians please read the Equine Canada and Sport Manitoba concussion education guidelines, baseline test and return to play policies: https://www.sagehillstables.com/concussion-guidelines.html
- Helmets need to be discarded in the case of an incident (fall or kick) that caused impact to the helmet. Students can borrow a Sagehill helmet if need or coaches can reschedule your lesson until you can get a new helmet. Please cut the straps so that it cannot be used by another student.
- Please notify Sagehill directly of any doctor’s updates and recommendations
- Students are required to have a doctors note to return to play after a concussion or suspected concussion. We can reschedule lessons as needed until the student is cleared to return to play. Please email the doctors note to [email protected]
- We strongly recommend seeing a medical professional to examine injured areas
- Open wounds should be cleaned and bandaged immediately and be monitored for signs of infection, and seek medical attention if showing signs of infection
- Students can return to ride if the coach is comfortable that the injury will not worsen from working around/with horses or riding horses, and that the student can safely handle the horse on the ground and in the saddle. We can reschedule lessons as needed until the student is comfortable returning to lessons and horse care activities.
- Guidelines on When to Call an Ambulance:
ii.Significant blood loss that can’t be controlled, blood from ear
iii.Broken bones that have punctured skin or that can’t be immobilized (if it can be immobilized with basic first kit then they are ok to be driven, but otherwise ambulance call)
iv.Difficulty breathing
v.Any neck or back pain
vi.Tingling or no feeling in hands or feet
vii.Significant pain when moving lower limbs
viii.Not able to stand or mobilize themself
ix.If the student cannot get someone to drive them home and they have a significant injury causing pain or signs of concussion (but does not warrant calling an ambulance). We do not want to risk students getting in an accident on the way home.
4. After any serious fall, kick or other injury we strongly advise that students seek medical advice and have someone available to monitor them at home for signs of additional trauma and injuries that were not apparent during the initial first-aider assessment.
In the unfortunate case that an accident has resulted in a serious injury that will prevent a participant from returning to lessons for the session please let us know via email and we can discuss the options for pre-paid lessons and exceptions to our cancellation policies.
Accident Procedures for Horses
No matter the reason for the incident, any accident/incident in the lesson program can negatively affect a students experience at our business and affect their perception and treatment of horses. It is important that we do our best to ensure that horse welfare is always considered first before training, and that student skill is always matched appropriately with the lesson horses to avoid accidents.
- If a horse is involved in an accident (fall, bite, kick or other), an accident report must be filled out before the coach or staff leaves the property.
- A horse involved in an accident requires an assessment before being used in lessons again:
- The incident needs to be reviewed by the horse manager and the barn to determine the cause of the incident. If the incident has the potential to be duplicated, a coach may use or ride the horse through the scenario to assess if the cause was horse or human error.
- If the incident was due to horse error or behavior, the horse requires a vet-check/clearance by a vet for any signs of potential pain. This includes incidents that involve spooking, bucking, bolting, girthyness, tripping, biting, back pain, lameness, kicking or change in disposition.
- If the vet cannot find any signs of pain/discomfort, or if the vet finds something and following treatment for the issue, the horse can then receive training if necessary for the behavior or training issue. If the issue can be fixed the horse can return to lessons and/or the skill level the rider adjusted accordingly.
- If human error or skill level is determined to be the cause of the incident (i.e. foot stepped on, bite, anxious horse or imbalanced rider), and pain and has been ruled out, the level of rider required for the horse needs to be re-assessed and only riders capable of handling the situation or horse behavior can use/ride the horse at it’s current training level.
- If a horse continues to have similar issues following a vet check/vet treatment, training and adjustment of student level, the usefulness of the horse in the lesson program needs to be re-evaluated.
- If an accident that is the horses fault results in a serious injury (i.e. hospitalization, life altering) to a student (i.e., from a buck, bolt, trip, kick, ect), that horse is to pulled from the lesson program. The program cannot take the risk of the horse repeating the incident with future students and the liability associated with that, despite the fact that it may be a fixable health issue, as some horse’s reaction to pain or stress is not suitable for the lesson program.