Pediatric Equestrian Injuries

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Abstract
There is very little public and physician awareness about the nature and frequency of equestrian-related injuries, especially in the pediatric age group. The charts of 136 patients up through the age of 19 years who were admitted for equestrian-related injuries were reviewed. Seventy-six per cent of these patients were female, and 77% of all patients were between the ages of 11 and 19 years. The most common injury was head and facial trauma, with 60 patients being admitted for closed head injury and 15 with skull and facial fractures. Fractures of the extremities comprised the second largest group and accounted for another 38 admissions. Seventy-five per cent of all the patients were thrown from the horse while another 15% were kicked by the animal. The circumstances surrounding the accident and mechanisms of these injuries were analyzed. From this review it appears that if effective safety gear, which is readily available, is utilized, many of these severe injuries could be prevented.

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