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DRAGGINGS &
PREVENTION
 After being in the cattle business all of my life and rodeoing
professionally for sixteen years, I’ve experienced and witnessed a few horse
wrecks. I only got dragged once,
but I saw a man get drug to death. But
it didn’t really sink in until my kids started riding.
My oldest boy, Willy, had size 11 shoes when he was about 10.
So I made all of our kids split their boots down the back like a bronc
rider. But that still wasn’t
enough, I figured more had to be done. The
idea of a breakaway stirrup finally did come to me, and I know it was a blessing
from above. Our number one goal at S.T.I. is to prevent draggings,
whether we sell stirrups or not. In
my opinion, most of the modern riding community has forgotten about the dangers
of getting dragged, or just aren’t aware of the risks.
A dragging occurs
when a riders’ foot gets caught in the stirrup and they get dragged behind
their horse. Draggings most
frequently occur when a horse falls or someone gets thrown. But have happened in simple tasks like a rider slipping while
mounting, everyday buck offs or falls, or the rider wore tennis shoes.
But unlike a dragging you might see in a movie where a stunt rider drags with a
rope well behind a horse, in a real dragging your body will be right next to the
horses hind legs. Those hind legs offer the greatest risk in a dragging because
your body is totally exposed and with one step or a kick that 1200 lb. horse
with iron shoes can do extensive damage.
After years of
research, I’ve noticed that most of the really bad buck offs that result in
head injuries come from stirrup hang ups. They
didn’t necessarily get dragged, but got hung up long enough to get spun around
and have their bodies swung under the horse, exposing the body to the horse’s
hind legs. When a guy gets bucked
off hard, but gets out of his stirrups clean, he’ll generally land hard but
probably not on his head., and probably walk the hurt off.
If they do get spun around in the stirrup, that’s generally where
riders land on their head, or get exposed to the hind legs, and get hurt the
worst.
Draggings can be
prevented by proper horsemanship and the right equipment.
When riding a horse with stirrups, you should be riding in boots with a
defined heel and a slip top. A
rider can also get hung up with their clothing, saddle accessories, or even the
horses mane. Many riders never
think of their rope as a potential hazard, but I’ve known several guys
who’ve gotten into a wreck and wound up getting drug by their rope.
To prevent this, always tie everything on your saddle “high and
tight” without any loose ends. And
always use small saddle strings that can break if you get hung up in it, or if a
tree or fence post snags it. Never
wear real baggy clothing unless it’s of cheap material and could tear easily
if you got hung up on your saddle horn, fence post, tree, etc..
Draggings have
plagued horseback riders since the invention of the stirrup.
Dragging prevention began with the use of riding boots.
These boots had a defined heel to prevent a rider’s foot from slipping
through the stirrup. They also had
an open top so if a rider got hung up, their boot might slip off before they got
drug too long. This boot became
known as the cowboy boot, and today it’s become a popular icon in our society
of the American west, however, we’ve forgotten the purpose for which they were
created. Many modern versions of
the cowboy boot have a less defined heel, and some have laces, making it
impossible for that boot to slip off in a dragging situation.
Speaking of the American west, who can forget the gun toting cowboys
etched in time by greats like Charlie Russell.
It’s a common misconception that these working cowboys wore six guns
because they were all gunslingers. The
six gun emerged in the west as a tool of the working cowboys, so that in the
event of a dragging, they could shoot their horse before they got drug to death.
With this little
bit of information I hope I’ve given you a better understanding of what
happens in a dragging and what you can do to prevent one. My family and I enjoy
horseback riding, and I want to give our customers the opportunity to enjoy it
safely as well.
Michael J. McCoy
  
Documented Draggings Prevented! |
