Riders are urged to report all equine-related accidents to help create a safer environment for horse lovers.
The British Horse Society (BHS) and the British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) stressed the advice at the 30th National Equine Forum on 3 March.
They called on every equestrian to help improve safety across the sector by reporting all their incidents and accidents. It was highlighted that collecting and recording information about events that negatively affect safety was a core part of both organisations’ drive to help reduce the dangers for equestrians.
Alan Hiscox, Director of Safety at the BHS updated delegates on the charity’s initiatives to improve riding safety, including the incident reporting Horse I App which had now reached 12,000 downloads.
He said-BHS statistics have helped influence changes to the Highway Code in January this year and he was pleased to be able to note that road incidences had subsequently dropped by 23 percent.
Claire Williams, Executive Director of BETA, stated that their data indicated that 64 percent of riders had been involved in an accident while riding and that using the right protective equipment could improve safety.
She shared details of BETA’s accident and safety equipment reporting form aimed at anyone having an accident involving a horse that resulted in an injury, whether mounted or on the ground.
