http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=9b03213e-0cef-46b0-8282-8ed9f65c9e2e
Riding horses dangerous, comparative study shows

CanWest News Service

Monday, September 24, 2007

CALGARY -- Riding a horse hasn't made a name for itself as a dangerous sport, but according to a recent study its potential for injury is on par with rugby and is riskier than auto-racing, motorcycle riding, football and skiing.

Riding was also found to have the highest mortality rate of all sports.

The study, conducted by a University of Calgary and Calgary Health Region research team, surveyed 151 trauma patients admitted to the Foothills Hospital in Calgary with horse-related injuries between 1995 and 2005.

"What we found, and we were surprised, was that a lot of the injured riders were quite experienced horsemen on experienced horses," said trauma surgeon Dr. Robert Mulloy. In fact, researchers found that the typical injured rider was a 47-year- old male with 27 years of riding experience.
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007