Preventing the Preventable: Stable Injuries and One Way to Minimize Risk

It is important for people to begin a discussion from a position of mutual understanding; concurrence helps. So let's kick start this by agreeing on three points:

• Equestrian activities, and many barn activities for that matter, have an inherent risk that other activities just don't.
• With some thought, planning, and adherence to safety protocol, the risks are manageable and the rewards immeasurable.
• An equestrian life is much cooler than most!

Alright.... pushed the envelope with the latter point, but if an athlete from another discipline is able to convince me otherwise, coffee is on me (I promise to remain not at all unbiased).

With all of that said, we accept that there is an inherent risk to this lifestyle, and that is one reason why ranch and farm managers and owners should have a keen eye towards preventable injuries.

As their name implies, mounting blocks aid riders with mounting their horses, and are more than just convenient. For many riders, they help overcome physical limitations that might otherwise prevent one from riding at all, and therefore, are found nearly anywhere there is a horse.

With numerous options for purchase online, and varying degrees of stability, slip resistance, and price point, it is likely that multiple factors shaped the decision on what type to procure.

Price and stability are easily overcome by fabricating your own mounting blocks, which many people do; they just build one. The farm where I intern did just that (sort of). Fortunately, they are located in the Pacific North West and blessed with very large trees.

When a tree falls, or has to be cut, stumps make for an aesthetically pleasing mounting block. Their size and weight provide a very stable a stable base, if cut at an angle which creates a level surface in relation to the ground. However, they are anything but slip resistant, and become extremely slick with exposure to weather conditions.

One of the owners pointed this issue out and was looking for a solution. Both of us were leaning towards paint additives that could be mixed, and then applied to the standing surface of the blocks for slip-resistance. We're in the rainy season, so getting the blocks dry enough to apply the paint was a problem.

I wish I could take credit for the the idea, but it was all her's; composite roof shingles. They had a few bundles of left over from a recent job, and their texture and resistance to weather made an ideal slip resistant surface. The shingles also matched the roof of the stable which they were installed to support. This was a bonus, and gave a sense of extension to the stable, which although slight, made the place feel a little larger.

It's likely that this solution is not for everyone. You'd have to be able to acquire large stumps and appreciate the aesthetic look of natural wood over a perfectly square, constructed or manufactured, mounting block.

The shingles and roofing nails can be picked up from your local hardware store for a reasonable price, and certainly less costly than an injury or insurance deductible. With a good pair of shears, shingles can be cut to match the unique shape of each stump and add some character to the blocks. The project pictured above took about an hour to trace, cut, and apply.

Grab the materials, and if you have a working student, snag them too. Take a look at your potential slip surfaces and correct them as soon as possible. A fall from a horse is probably the danger many are worried about most, and work the hardest to prevent. However, it's not the only fall that can cause injury, and definitely not the most preventable.

There are many solutions that will work, and some that might work better for you. Find which one is best for your operation, and secure the surfaces today. Don't let a a preventable injury take an equestrians out of the competition before it even begins.